Review: The Pledge

The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

Synopsis from: Shelfari.com

Published by: Margaret K. McElderry

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 in their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always n 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 of the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets 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 become real emergencies 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.

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Kimberly Derting has been one of my favourite authors ever since I read The Body Finder and Desires of the Dead. They were really good, and I liked all the mystery and surprises. It was no different in The Pledge. I found myself trying to guess different parts in the story. Also, I was surprised very often, such as the identity of people, or even small things. It was a little unusual at the beginning, but that's because it was dystopian. After reading into a few pages, I got the feel for it.

Charlie was a really strong character, and I liked how she was always trying to figure things out and wouldn't give up. She seemed a little stubborn at some times, but I liked that about her. Even though there were a lot of surprises in the book, I have to say that the one involving Charlie was the biggest. I wasn't really expecting it, but it was there at the back of my mind. When I found out, I was sort of like, wow, this is cliched, but when they went into description, it wasn't really like that. It was different, and I really enjoyed it.

At first, I didn't really pick up on the mystery surrounding why Max could speak in the language of the Royals. It didn't bug me. I mean, Charlie could understand different languages, so maybe he just had the same gift, but a little different. But his secret was also a huge surprise, and I was sort of shocked by Charlie's reaction. I would have imagined her being furious for him not telling her, but she seemed a little cool about it, and took it in. If it were me, I wouldn't be able to do that. [redacted] was a huge surprise also. I didn't expect him to be [redacted] either, but it made sense after it was explained.

I thought the entire plot of the book was pretty straight forward, and that I was able to follow it pretty easily. Sometimes, authors but so much into the plot, that I get mixed up and can't follow what is happening. Here, it was straight forward, but Kimberly added a lot of details, explaining and making it interesting. I read it without any rests (except bathroom breaks), because it was a page turner.

I recommend this book to anyone who has read her first few books, because this one is just as amazing. I also suggest people who haven't read them to read this one. It's a dystopian novel, and I find that I really like these kind of books in this genre. You may not, but I assure you, this is a really good one, and you should consider reading it.