So we skip ahead to the day that the Germans are coming to visit.  Kriss asks America what their plan is.

I considered for a moment.  I disliked Celeste and wouldn’t mind seeing her fail, but I wasn’t sure I wanted her to do it on this grand a scale.

I feel the need to remind everyone, since America has clearly forgotten, that THIS IS A DIPLOMATIC ENVOY FROM A FORGEIN COUNTRY VISITING THE PALACE.  At a time when you’re country is at war and needs allies like breathing.  The failure of this day does not mean that Celeste looks foolish, it means that your country looks foolish to potential allies.  And yet the only thing stopping America from outright sabotage is the thought that it might be a bit excessive to do so.

I would say she clearly doesn’t need to be queen of anything, but then again, the current queen decided to hand all this over to untrained teenagers, so maybe it wouldn’t be that much of a switch for them.

Celeste shows off her idiocy by dressing exactly the opposite of what’s considered acceptable to the Germans.  (I have no idea anything about German culture, so I don’t know if this is accurate or something the author made up.  Dark, conservative dress = good?)  The other girls are flustered and messing up as well.

The Germans show up not speaking fluent English.  …yes, Germany look at all its people and said “We need to send someone to an English-speaking country.  Ummmm, you, you speak almost no English.  Why don’t you go?”

THIS IS NOT HOW POLITICS WORKS.

America notes that Silvia is walking around the whole time taking notes.

Kriss and I quickly realized that our only hope was to have Silvia fall in love with our reception.

It’s the utter selfishness of this that really gets to me.  America has not one single, solitary thought for what any of this means for her country.  She hasn’t even told us why the Germans and Italians are visiting, or what they’re doing.  All she cares about is herself, and through her narration, it makes it seem like that’s all anyone cares about.  Even Maxon, when he talked to her about the event, only cared about what it meant in terms of elimination, not actual important shit.

And really, after that line, we skip to the next day.  She has exactly zero fucks to give about what the Germans were up to or what their visit resulted in.

So it’s the next day and the girls get ready for their own reception.  Before anyone shows up, America and Kriss take some time out to repeatedly compliment each other.  It’s nice to see America getting along with another girl besides Marlee, and this time someone she’s actually in competition with! But the “you’re better” “no, you’re better” delivery is still nauseating.

America and Kriss are dressed similarly, so it’ll be clear that they’re working together as hosts, and they give Silvia and the queen matching necklaces as well.  …because apparently no one would know that THE FUCKING QUEEN is a host unless she had a bangle to signify that.

The necklace idea was really a bribe to get Silvia on their side, though.  America admits as much.  It works.

The Italians show up, and they’re described in much better terms than the Germans.  I think this is just to highlight how much better this reception is than the last one, but still, really?  America’s day has to be so much better than Celeste’s that even the guests are nicer?

The Italian monarchy was even younger than Illea’s.  They had been closed off to our attempts at friendship for decades, according to the packet I’d read, and this was the only time they’d ever reached out to us.

AND YOU DECIDED TO HAND THIS VERY IMPORTANT EVEN OFF TO UNTRIED TEENAGERS?

GOD, NO WONDER NO ONE WANTS TO BE YOUR FRIENDS.

MORONS.

And why is everything a monarchy again?  Italy had a king once upon a time.  They got rid of the monarchy for a reason.  Why would they decide to go back to that method of ruling?

The Italian guests push wine on America and dote on her and basically just love her to bits even though she’s done nothing but basic manners.  (I think; the whole start of the reception is summarized, so the first dialogue we see is just these girls fawning all over her.)  The two girls she’s talking to also gush about Maxon, because you know what, that’s all this book cares about.  Even its attempts to shoehorn in some politics or other plot just circle around to be about boys, fancy dresses, and girl-on-girl competition.  That’s all this book is.  Nothing else.  Anything that looks like something else is just those other three things in disguise.

Then after the toast…the Italians throw their glasses against the wall.  Did the author confuse Italy and Greece?  I couldn’t find anything about people in Italy doing this.  I’ve found Russian and Jewish traditions of throwing drinking glasses, but always in specific circumstances, not just “wheeee.”  And on top of that, you don’t throw your guest’s glasses.  You throw cheap stuff that’s handed out for throwing, not the good crystal.  (or whatever)

And then Natalie gets up and dances on a table?

For fuck’s sake, author, what is going on here?  It’s like this whole thing is just an amalgamation of images that generally mean “good party,” with no thought given to if it fits or not.  So we’ve got a Jewish wedding and a frat party thrown in to an afternoon tea.

Elise comes up to talk to her about how good she did, then gets kind of shocked when America compliments Elise back.  She points out that they’re a in a competition with a rather extreme prize, and she wouldn’t go out of her way to help America with anything.  For some reason, this shocks America. I guess she didn’t realize this.

This isn’t just some prize.  This is a husband, a crown, a future.  And you probably have the most to gain or lose by it.

Not really.  America has exactly as much as the rest of them.  She’s already been elevated two caste levels just being in the Selection, and she’ll have a marriage lined up for her if she gets kicked out.  Remember, last book we found out that rejected girls were being married by richies and celebrities.  So even though Elise doesn’t know about Aspen, she shouldn’t assume that America is going to be futureless.  America’s material position is now exactly the same as the others, and she has exactly as much to gain or lose in the competition. 

Just because she was a lower caste to begin with doesn’t mean she has more at stake.  She’s not going to go back to being a Five, after all.

It was obvious I wasn’t as mentally in this as she was.  One more thing that made me doubt my ability to do this job.

First of all, being a queen is not a fucking competition, so that’s immaterial.  Second, the only reason you’re not competing as hard is because Maxon ALREADY TOLD YOU HE WANTS TO MARRY YOU.  You’ve won.  You don’t need to compete.

America goes off to talk to the Italian princess, who hints at the fact that they haven’t made official political relations because Illea’s caste system is fucked up.  She then says (in not so many words) that America seems anti-caste, too, so if she wins the crown and tries to change things, they’ll be more open to forming official bonds with the country.  Then she gives America a note and walks off.

I think that was the most political thing that’s happened so far in either book.  Not a stellar showing, but hey, it’s something!

Hours later, she goes back to her room and finds a letter from her dad.  He spends many, many words basically saying that he approves of Maxon and thinks she’d be a good princess, but if she turns it all down, that’s cool, too.  Haven’t we already been over this?

Then she remembers the note from the Italian princess and finds out it’s a phone number.  Apparently giving that to America was a risk, but…why?  We don’t have enough context to understand why that would or wouldn’t be acceptable.  Why can’t the princess call and receive calls from whoever the fuck she wants?  We don’t know, and the book doesn’t want to tell us.

By the way, those three chapters I didn’t go over?  Yeah, they’ve had absolutely no impact on today’s chapter.  I read them, but I could have skipped over them entirely and been able to understand this chapter here just fine.  (Well, as much as anyone can understand it.)  Not a good sign.