"The One" is a satisfying dystopian YA romance. (HarperTeen)

Kiera Cass’ “The Selection” trilogy falls into the latter category, and it’s everything that a fan of dystopian young adult (YA) romance could ask for. The series follows America Singer, a young woman in the post-World War IV U.S., which is now a monarchy called Illyria.

The country has been divided into a caste system, and America and her family are of a low caste—but all that changes when America is chosen alongside 24 other girls to participate in The Selection, the process by which the prince, Maxon Schreave, will be married off to the future queen of Illyria. Though America entered with no intention of becoming queen (her heart was set on her love back home, Aspen Leger), she finds herself won over by the earnestly charming but awkward prince, and peculiarly suited to be queen of Illyria. But which love will she choose? Dependable Aspen, who she’s loved for years, or Maxon, who she loves more, but comes with more strings attached?

As trite as the conflict sounds, Cass’ first two books, “The Selection” and “The Elite” set the stage quite adeptly, keeping the plot moving along in a compelling fashion and, delightfully, not teaching young women any harmful lessons about healthy relationships. And so the stage is set for the third and final book, “The One,” in which America must not only choose who she wants to marry, but also attempt to salvage a country that is falling apart at the seams. Like “The Hunger Games” and “Divergent” before it, Cass takes the final volume of the saga to some interesting and unexpected places narratively, but it all works (and happily, isn’t quite as heartbreaking as its predecessors).

It’s also rewarding to watch America repair some bridges she burned on her path through the Selection. Like any other teenage girl, America makes her fair share of mistakes, but it’s good to see her make up for the wrongs she did to others. One relationship in particular takes a delightfully unexpected twist that shows the power of empathy, a trait too-often missing in everyone, not just young women.

While it may not attain the popularity levels of “The Hunger Games,” “Twilight,” or “Divergent,” “The Selection” trilogy offers a satisfying take on romance in a dystopian America.

Reach Contributing Writer Katie here; follow her on Twitter here.