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A review by librarianlizreads
The Heir by Kiera Cass
3.0
Please note that this review is written for my use as a librarian and may not appeal directly to readers. Please review at your own risk.
Accelerated Reader has this book listed as being for middle grades and above, or readers in 6th grade and above. They also have listed that this read is worth 12 AR points.
I had a really hard time with this story. Eadlyn is a hard character to like and I didn’t. She was so incredibly spoiled and closed minded that I really hated her. I sort of wanted all of those bad things to happen to her because I couldn’t understand how she could be so blind as to the pain she was causing others. I loved the boys though and they saved the story. Kile is such a misunderstood yet promising young man. He has a lot of heart and I can believe that Eady didn’t see it early on. Hale is such a sweetheart that does more for Eadlyn than she deserves for sure. Henry and Erik are just dolls. I want so much for them, but I don’t see how it can workout for Eadlyn and Henry while they can’t talk to each other. I do look forward to the next one so that I can see what happens to the boys if nothing else.
Caution Notes*:
Nothing really. It breifly covers lgtbq topics, sexual violence, and fictional political topics.
Recommended for:
Teens and possibly tweens who enjoy dystopian or princesses or fairy tales.
Summary:
-Do not read past this point if you would like to avoid spoilers-
This book takes place a little over 20 years after America and Maxon fall in love. It features their daughter, Eadlyn. They have decided to change the laws yet again during Maxon’s reign. Not only did he eliminate the caste system, but they decided that princesses no longer needed to be married off to foreign leaders. Their daughter Eadlyn is to one day rule as Queen. However, the country is not living through the change as well as Maxon thought they would. They are upset about continuing hardships all over the country and they are causing violence. At a loss on what to do, they ask Eadlyn to have her own Selection in order to give the country something happier to think about. Eadlyn hates the idea but agrees to do it with the assumption that the whole thing will be a joke and she’ll just get rid of all the boys. However the entire process begins to open Eadlyn’s eyes to issues she never knew she had. She discovers that the nation really doesn’t like her that much. She also finds that opening up to the boys is something she never planned on. Even her beloved twin brother gets brutally honest with her to ensure that she knows she’s making mistakes and that she could benefit so much from this Selection if she would only take it seriously. When she tries to use her childhood friend for a publicized kiss, she gets much more than she bargained for. She finds that she really liked that kiss and wants to kiss Kile a lot more. After several of her decisions in the selection, like ruthlessly cutting a third of the boys without even having a first date, it becomes clear quickly that the nation is not believing that Eadlyn is a nice person. She tries and tries to rectify this, but she continues to make moves that prove more and more that she isn’t taking the selection seriously. All the while, she starts to slowly learn that some of the boys are truly wonderful people. She begins to get attached, even though she thought that wasn’t possible, and she learns more about her nation from the tales they share with her. She also finds however that some of the boys are definitely not what she was expecting. Jack seems turned on by her being mean to him and she realizes that he could have easily hurt her. Burke starts a fight in the kitchens after a cooking date. Both boys are sent home and Eadlyn is left rather shaken. Erik helps to remove her quickly from the kitchen fight and comforts her. He is also present to help lift her spirits after Baden tells her how awful of a person she is and leaves. Her remaining pool of suitors is shrinking quickly. To make matters worse, when her twin brother’s girlfriend comes to visit, Eadlyn tries to convince him that he should consider breaking up with her. Ahren reacts badly and disappears with Camille over night, getting married and moving to France without telling his family. Eadlyn is shocked and hurt but before she can deal with her emotions, she learns that her mother has suffered a heart attack from the shock of Ahren leaving. We are left here until the next book.
*Caution notes are not to say, don’t read the book. I only include these so that those individuals who have particular themes they do not like to read about or are not ready for their kids to read about are aware. I do not support censoring. :)
Accelerated Reader has this book listed as being for middle grades and above, or readers in 6th grade and above. They also have listed that this read is worth 12 AR points.
I had a really hard time with this story. Eadlyn is a hard character to like and I didn’t. She was so incredibly spoiled and closed minded that I really hated her. I sort of wanted all of those bad things to happen to her because I couldn’t understand how she could be so blind as to the pain she was causing others. I loved the boys though and they saved the story. Kile is such a misunderstood yet promising young man. He has a lot of heart and I can believe that Eady didn’t see it early on. Hale is such a sweetheart that does more for Eadlyn than she deserves for sure. Henry and Erik are just dolls. I want so much for them, but I don’t see how it can workout for Eadlyn and Henry while they can’t talk to each other. I do look forward to the next one so that I can see what happens to the boys if nothing else.
Caution Notes*:
Nothing really. It breifly covers lgtbq topics, sexual violence, and fictional political topics.
Recommended for:
Teens and possibly tweens who enjoy dystopian or princesses or fairy tales.
Summary:
-Do not read past this point if you would like to avoid spoilers-
This book takes place a little over 20 years after America and Maxon fall in love. It features their daughter, Eadlyn. They have decided to change the laws yet again during Maxon’s reign. Not only did he eliminate the caste system, but they decided that princesses no longer needed to be married off to foreign leaders. Their daughter Eadlyn is to one day rule as Queen. However, the country is not living through the change as well as Maxon thought they would. They are upset about continuing hardships all over the country and they are causing violence. At a loss on what to do, they ask Eadlyn to have her own Selection in order to give the country something happier to think about. Eadlyn hates the idea but agrees to do it with the assumption that the whole thing will be a joke and she’ll just get rid of all the boys. However the entire process begins to open Eadlyn’s eyes to issues she never knew she had. She discovers that the nation really doesn’t like her that much. She also finds that opening up to the boys is something she never planned on. Even her beloved twin brother gets brutally honest with her to ensure that she knows she’s making mistakes and that she could benefit so much from this Selection if she would only take it seriously. When she tries to use her childhood friend for a publicized kiss, she gets much more than she bargained for. She finds that she really liked that kiss and wants to kiss Kile a lot more. After several of her decisions in the selection, like ruthlessly cutting a third of the boys without even having a first date, it becomes clear quickly that the nation is not believing that Eadlyn is a nice person. She tries and tries to rectify this, but she continues to make moves that prove more and more that she isn’t taking the selection seriously. All the while, she starts to slowly learn that some of the boys are truly wonderful people. She begins to get attached, even though she thought that wasn’t possible, and she learns more about her nation from the tales they share with her. She also finds however that some of the boys are definitely not what she was expecting. Jack seems turned on by her being mean to him and she realizes that he could have easily hurt her. Burke starts a fight in the kitchens after a cooking date. Both boys are sent home and Eadlyn is left rather shaken. Erik helps to remove her quickly from the kitchen fight and comforts her. He is also present to help lift her spirits after Baden tells her how awful of a person she is and leaves. Her remaining pool of suitors is shrinking quickly. To make matters worse, when her twin brother’s girlfriend comes to visit, Eadlyn tries to convince him that he should consider breaking up with her. Ahren reacts badly and disappears with Camille over night, getting married and moving to France without telling his family. Eadlyn is shocked and hurt but before she can deal with her emotions, she learns that her mother has suffered a heart attack from the shock of Ahren leaving. We are left here until the next book.
*Caution notes are not to say, don’t read the book. I only include these so that those individuals who have particular themes they do not like to read about or are not ready for their kids to read about are aware. I do not support censoring. :)