Review: The Pledge

The Pledge
by Kimberly Derting
Series: The Pledge #1
Format: Paperback
Release Date: November 15, 2011
by Margaret K. McElderry

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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

The Pledge has gotten a lot of mixed reviews, so I was kind of nervous to read it.  But I am happy to announce that I loved it!  The idea, first off, was awesome.  The originality was so cool to read.  I loved how Derting set up the society, where you can only speak the language of your caste, and have to look away if a member of a caste above you is speaking in there own particular language.  The monarchy, the society, the world, everything, was awesome, and Derting explained it in a very easy-to-understand-yet-not-boring way.  The writing was very, very good, and the staging was perfect.  I could never guess where the story was going to go next, and there were several twists that I didn’t see happening in a million years and left me with my mouth hanging open.  The story telling was perfect, and…gosh, it’s just such a great book.

I don’t think anyone (by anyone I mean any girl) will complain if a smoking hot big muscular guy was introduced, and I certainly didn’t object.  I LOVED Max!!!!!  He was so loyal and nice and sweet and hot and sexy and hot and I said that already but he was seriously HOT!  Gosh…I just loved him!

I also really liked (and am totally jealous of for the above reasons) Charlie.  She was really kick-butt, smart, and kind of defiant, which I liked.  I loved how close her and her sister were, and that made the story that much sweeter.

The sequel to this book, The Essence, is coming out in January 2013, and I think I might die if I don’t get my hands on it soon.  I NEED TO FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENS!!!!

5 pink flowers