Release Date: November 15, 2011
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Series: The Pledge, Book 1
Rating: YA 14+
Format: eGalley
Source: Simon & Schuster Galley Grab
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In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed.
Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime.
Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime.
I absolutely ADORE Kimberly Derting's The Body Finder series and cannot speak any less of her fabulous new book, The Pledge!
The Pledge was such an original idea for a dystopian novel. Using something which already kind of segregates us today: language. The future world which Derting creates shows a more dramatic portrayal of our world today, about how speaking what language affects class. But, of course, what if there were one person who knew all the languages? Of course, in the tradation of dystopian and other YA novels, we have a society rebel.
Charlie, I found, was a much stronger character than Violet from The Body Finder. Although they both have their similarities, like the non-mingling, the headstrong and stubbornness, Charlie I felt had more will. More will to move, to protect all she loves, and to sacrifice her needs and wants for others. A totally rockin' rebel, I would say.
Max. Love the way he protects Charlie, love EVERYTHING about him. *Sigh*. And likewise with Charlie, he's also quite similar to Jay from TBF. He'd risk his life for Charlie, and never let any harm come to her. I think we have probably THE best boyfriend ever here people.
I also love the supporting characters in this novel: Aron, Brook, Xander, Angelina predominantly. Love how much each of them would risk their lived protecting Charlie, endangering their own lives. Angelina is seriously the cutest little sister I've ever read about!
And then of course...we have our baddie. The Queen of Ludania is seriously one you do not want to mess with. She really reminds me of The Queen of Hearts from Alice in Wonderland, with the whole, "off with his head!" thing going on. But seriously, one evil queen? even though she's ancient, still gives me the chills.
The Pledge was an exciting new dystopian, in a beautifully created (future) world, with deadly fates for just a glimpse. Kimberly Derting has certainly set the bar high for dystopians now with her latest novel, and will be one tough to top. Although the ending I felt was complete where it ended in this book, I'm excited to see what happens in the sequel.
If you have not read this book or The Body Finder, you seriously have not read the definition of "awesome" yet.
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Thanks for the review! We've been looking forward to this one for a while and definitely need to get our hands on it now. (Any of Kimberly's books, really...)
ReplyDeleteThe Pledge is an interesting concept for a novel which mixes fantasy into a dyspoian society. There are Queens, princes, lost royality, a rebelion, and a simple Vendor's daughter all thrown together to create a new world where language and classes separate everyone.
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