The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

Book:  The Pledge

Author:  Kimberly Derting

Publisher:  Simon and Schuster

Date:  November 15, 2011

Source:  Simon and Schuster Galley Grab

My grade: A

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.

My Review

First, let me say that I got to meet the wonderful Kimberly Derting at YallFest the weekend of November 12^th and she is so nice!  I enjoyed meeting her and talking to her about this book.  I also got to buy a copy of it early!  I was actually in the middle of reading it as a galley on my Nook, but of course, I needed to get a hard copy to get signed.

Next, I need to preface this review by saying that I normally don’t like to read books that take place in other worlds.  I am not a high fantasy reader.  I like Harry Potter because it is a world within our own world.  Same with Twilight and all the other paranormal books I read.  I originally didn’t plan on reading this book, but I kept reading reviews that talked about how wonderful it was, so I got curious and decided to request it.

Boy, am I ever glad that I did!  This book was fantastic!

I loved the world that Derting created.  It felt almost like a character itself.  Or maybe the Queen and the country felt like the same person.  I don’t know, but she created a living and breathing setting in this book that sort of sucked me into it.  I found it hard to leave the book and when I had to put it down, my head was in a sort of fog.

It was interesting to see the society that she created.  It was unlike any other dystopian society that I’ve read about.  I also liked that as a reader, I got to see the society through different points of view.

I enjoyed the characters and there were some definite surprises with some of them that I didn’t see coming at all!  Charlie was a likeable heroine and Max was a great leading man.  I totally fell for him and even more so after a certain secret about him is revealed.

The thing that was best about this book, though, was the non-stop plot!  There were so many mysteries and plot twists.  It constantly kept me guessing and then there was always something else that surprised me.  I could not put it down because I couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next. 

About 2/3 of the way through the book, I realized that there was no way this book could really finish in one installment, so I ran to my trusty goodreads to make sure there was a second book.  It was nice that Kimberly Derting did wrap up the book nicely, even though there is obviously more to come.  I’m not satisfied with the ending as the total end, but at least it didn’t cut off right in the middle of an incredibly important scene (clearsthroatCatchingFireclearsthroat)

I highly recommend this book and give it a solid A.  Good characters, great plot and an interesting world.  What more could a girl ask for?  Besides an iPad, of course. : )