You’ve seen the fan art. You’ve probably scrolled past the "Team Maxon vs. Team Aspen" TikToks that still, years later, have people ready to throw hands in the comments. At the center of it all is a girl with fire-red hair and a name that literally sounds like a patriotic stage name.
America Singer.
She’s the heart of Kiera Cass’s The Selection series, a character who manages to be both incredibly relatable and deeply frustrating. Honestly, that’s probably why we’re still talking about her. She isn't a "chosen one" with magic powers or a super-soldier. She’s just a girl from a low-ranking family who really, really likes bread and somehow ends up in a televised competition to marry a prince.
But there’s a lot more to her than just being the girl who kneed Prince Maxon in the groin during their first meeting.
The World That Made America Singer
To understand why America acts the way she does, you’ve gotta look at Illéa. It’s a dystopian future North America where society is strictly carved into eight castes. America starts as a Five.
In this world, Fives are the "artist" caste. They’re musicians, painters, and performers. It sounds glamorous, but in reality, it’s a struggle. America and her family are basically working-class artists who sometimes skip meals to make sure everyone is fed. Her name isn't just a quirk; her father, Shalom, was a secret rebel who named her after a lost country that fought for its freedom.
Even her last name is literal—she’s a singer. It’s part of her identity and her survival. When she enters the Selection, she isn't doing it because she wants a crown. She does it because she’s hungry, her family needs the money participants get, and she’s trying to outrun a broken heart.
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That Infamous Love Triangle
Let's talk about the elephant in the palace: Aspen Leger and Prince Maxon Schreave.
Most YA heroines have a "choice," but America’s choice feels particularly messy because it’s tied so deeply to her class identity.
- Aspen (The Six): He was her secret boyfriend back home. He’s a Six—the servant caste—which meant if they married, America would actually drop a level. Their love was all about stolen moments and pennies in a jar. When he breaks up with her to "save" her from poverty, it destroys her.
- Maxon (The One): The Crown Prince. On TV, he looks like a cardboard cutout, but in person, he’s sheltered, kind, and surprisingly patient with America’s constant indecision.
What most people get wrong about America is that her "wishy-washiness" isn't just for drama. It's a trauma response. She’s a seventeen-year-old girl who was dumped by the person she thought was her forever, then shoved into a Hunger Games-style dating show where the King (Clarkson) is low-key terrifying. She’s trying to figure out if she wants a life she knows or a life she never thought she deserved.
Why She’s Not Your Average Dystopian Heroine
America Singer isn't Katniss Everdeen. She isn't trying to take down the government in book one.
In fact, she starts out pretty selfish. She tells Maxon straight to his face that she’s only there for the food and to get away from her ex. They actually form a "business arrangement" first: she helps him understand the other girls, and he keeps her in the competition so her family keeps getting paid.
It’s refreshing, kinda.
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She’s stubborn to a fault. She has a temper that she definitely inherited from her mother, Magda. There are moments in The Elite where you just want to shake her because she’s being so hypocritical about Maxon seeing other girls—even though she’s literally sneaking around with Aspen (who’s now a palace guard).
But then, she does something like standing up to King Clarkson or befriending her maids (Anne, Mary, and Lucy) when the other girls treat them like furniture. She sees the humanity in the lower castes because she lived it.
The Evolution from Five to Queen
By the time we get to The One, America isn't just a girl in a pretty dress. She becomes a symbol of change.
The most pivotal moments for her character aren't the kisses in the garden. They’re the moments she spends in the secret library, reading the real history of Illéa. When she learns that the caste system was basically a giant power grab by Gregory Illéa, her perspective shifts.
She realizes she can’t just "be" a princess; she has to change what being a princess means.
Her advocacy for the lower castes—specifically her push to end the caste system entirely—is what makes her a leader. She uses the "Report" (the country's televised news program) to speak directly to the people. It’s risky, it almost gets her kicked out (and worse), but it’s the moment she stops being a "Selected" and starts being a Queen.
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Real Talk: Is America Singer Actually Likable?
This is where the fandom splits.
Some readers find her infuriatingly impulsive. She makes bad calls. She keeps secrets that nearly ruin everything. She’s "not like other girls" in a way that felt a bit trope-heavy even when the books first came out in the early 2010s.
But others—and I'd lean this way—argue that her flaws make her human.
She isn't perfect at politics. She’s terrified of the responsibility of the crown. She’s a teenager who is confused about her feelings while living in a literal gilded cage. If you were seventeen and your ex showed up at your new boyfriend’s house in a soldier’s uniform, you’d probably be a bit of a mess too.
What to Do if You’re Just Starting the Series
If you're diving into the world of America Singer for the first time, or maybe doing a re-read because the Netflix movie rumors (that have been circulating forever) have you nostalgic, here is how to get the most out of it:
- Read the Novellas: Don’t skip The Prince or The Guard. Seeing America through Maxon’s and Aspen’s eyes changes how you view her "moodiness." It adds layers to her character that the main trilogy misses.
- Watch the Subtext: Pay attention to how America treats her maids. It’s the clearest indicator of her true character and why she’s the only one fit to lead.
- Don't Rush The Elite: A lot of people hate the second book because of the romantic tension. Instead of focusing on who she'll choose, look at how the external rebel attacks are slowly radicalizing her.
- Check out The Heir and The Crown: These follow America’s daughter, Eadlyn. Seeing America as a mother and a Queen Consort provides a really satisfying "full circle" moment for her character arc.
America Singer remains a staple of YA literature because she’s a reminder that you don’t have to be a perfect, stoic warrior to change the world. Sometimes, you just have to be a girl who is brave enough to be honest—and stubborn enough to never back down from a fight.