The Pledge

A phenomenal story about the power of language, and the strength of the weak, "The Pledge" takes the reader through a caste system that has every likeness to those class systems we see around us every day. The extreme nature of this story's class system will keep the reader at the edge of their seat, rooting for the underdog, and looking to join the fight. ( )

I was sorely disappointed in this book. I had to force myself to finish it. The main character was seriously lacking in any recognizable development or even personality traits; she was instantly (and without a true reason as to why) attractive to a male character who was "drop dead gorgeous;" she was verbally tough and yet completely helpless on her own and reliant on pretty much all other male characters around her to save her. I loved the idea behind this book with the language and class barrier, but the fem-pro was pathetically weak and incredibly whiny and extremely difficult to relate to or even feel sympathy for. The twists were VERY predictable, and I'm not usually the person who figures things out immediately at all. The twists were all also pathetically reliant upon a certain female theme we're all familiar with in the Disney movies, as well. This whole book, to me, was just an overall fail. The ONLY redeeming quality it might have is the bond Charlie has with her little sister Angelina. I liked the strong connection back to the family throughout the book, but seriously, that should not be the only thing I like about a fem-pro who was supposed to be bad ass and instead wilted like an effin flower in November. I do not recommend this book to anyone at all and will most likely be giving mine away or using it to create some sort of craft-- that's how much I disliked it. :| ( )

really bethany? stop! I want to read adult books again!!

Needless to say, I was really stoked about this book, especially since I got a free ARC from a giveaway through Presenting Lenore. You know me and my undying love for dystopias. Unfortunately, The Pledge did not fulfill my hopes. It had some good parts and some rather obnoxious parts, which I will attempt to enumerate somewhat in this review.

The Good:
A society based on discrepancies in language is a very interesting idea, especially since, in some senses, this has been done in real cultures, such as how Russian royals used to speak in French. Intriguing, too, were the seemingly magical powers possessed by Charlie and the Queen of the realm. Why do only women have the capability to have such powers? I don't know, but, heck yeah, strong women! Actually, one of the few things I really liked about Charlie is that she spoke almost entirely in Englaise, because she didn't see the point of making things hard on people. Why not speak so everyone could understand?

The Bad:
While I liked the language differences, I had trouble accepting that people were incapable of ever learning a language they were not born with. This just isn't how language works so far as I know. Not being allowed to speak an upper crust language, I get, but being incapable of ever learning or speaking it?

Another thing I really didn't like was what transpired in one particular scene. Charlie and her best friend Brooklynn go to an illegal nightclub, despite being underage (woo, doubly illegal!). When let in, they receive hand stamps, much like clubs now have for those below the drinking age, only these are laced with drugs to loosen people up. Charlie feels some ill effects from hers, so she decides to wander around the building and finds a secret hallway. Discovered by a mysterious, vaguely creepy, secretive guy, she lets him put something else on her hand (supposedly to help, but what does she know?!?) and falls asleep trustingly. To be fair, nothing untoward occurred, but I just want to say that no one should ever do this. Charlie is a bad role model!

The Obnoxious:
While the overarching plot had some interesting things going on, the romance running through it was just completely stereotypical YA and barftastic. The words describing any encounter between Charlie and Max are reminiscent of such works as Twilight, Personal Demons, or Hereafter. Here's a sample scene of the two of them, just after their first makeout session: "I was still shaking when I finally turned my head away, ending the kiss. It was the hardest thing I'd ever done. My lips felt swollen and raw, and achingly cold in the absence of his" (265). The hardest thing she ever had to do? Really? Come on.

At this juncture, I do not know if I will be trying the sequel; I may have to just to figure out why a sequel needs to exist, as this seems to have wrapped up the existing plot threads. For those of you who enjoy melodramatic teenage romances complete with instalove and some dystopian business, The Pledge will satisfy your every desire. ( )

I really enjoyed this book, even more than I thought I would. I've read the Body Finders books and thought this was going to be another book in the growing list of teen-dystopia series coming out, so I had vague ideas of what to expect, but the book did not match them... in a good way.

To be honest, while it has the science-fiction/authoritarian/political-upheaval vibe so popular in the teen fantasy genre now, I felt it transcended being lumped in with most of the books coming out lately due to the feel of the story feeling more like a futuristic fairy tale, its style borrowing more from a classic fairy tale than the post-Hunger Games trend. And it really, really works. It didn't feel like a rehash or a bandwagon of any of the genres, but felt fresh while recalling those literary traditions and genres.

I don't want to say too much about the actual story since I fear I will give too much away, but the heroine, the love interest and the storyline were all rather well developed and engrossing. And, as I see this was a series, it was nice to not see it relying on a cliffhanger, but being rather tidy about the current storyline, yet drawing you in enough to want the next book. That's pretty rare nowadays, so massive props to that.

Overall, probably in my Top 10 teen books out this year. And I've read a lot. ( )