How It All Goes Down
- The narrator's mother has just received a letter that's making her very excited. We don't know what it says, but it seems like it has something to do with becoming royalty. Whoa.
- The narrator isn't interested, though, so she hides in her room. She's the oldest child in the house, so she's tired of having so many responsibilities foisted upon her.
- One of those responsibilities happens to be cooking, so she gets to work at dinner. Mom pops in and starts talking about the letter.
- Mom mentions something called "the Selection," which we know is a big deal because it's the title of the book we're holding (1.10).
- Our characters live in a country called Illéa; their local province is called Carolina. From what they're saying, it seems like the country is currently being attacked by rebels.
- They also keep referring to people in terms of numbers—so-and-so is a "Six" and so-and-so is a "Three." As this goes on, we realize that they're talking about a numerical caste system.
- These characters are Fives, as we learn. That's the third lowest caste, so it isn't great, but there are people who are a lot worse off. Fives are also legally bound to work as artists and musicians.
- The narrator and her mom sing; her dad and her little sister, May, paint. Her little brother, Gerad, is only six, but he hasn't shown much interest in the arts yet.
- We learn that there used to be Halloween and Christmas, but not anymore. It all seems very mysterious, but this definitely seems like some dystopian future-America.
- The narrator wants to help her mom by taking part in the Selection (apparently the family will get paid for her participation), but something's holding her back, though she won't say what it is.
- The narrator has two older siblings: Kenna, who's married, and Kota, who doesn't live at home anymore, for reasons undisclosed.
- At dinner, the narrator's mom whips the letter out and reads it to the family, much to the narrator's chagrin.
- Basically, the Selection is the process in which the next Queen of Illéa is chosen: 35 women are selected from the country's population who then compete to marry the current prince.
- Right now, that's Prince Maxon Schreave. So, basically, the narrator is being invited to take part in The Bachelorette: Royal Edition. Also, we finally learn her name: America Singer. Yes, really.
- America's family tries to convince her to apply, but she doesn't think she's good enough. Her mom is being especially pushy.
- Oddly, America doesn't eat her dinner. Once everyone's done, she takes her leftovers, covers them with a napkin, tosses them in the fridge, and heads to bed.
- At midnight, America sneaks out of her room, grabs the leftovers, and creeps outside. Hmm…
- America crawls into her tree house, which is lit by a small candle. Someone's there already, and he's armed with the best chapter-closing bit of dialogue ever:
- "Hey there, gorgeous" (1.80).