pagingserenity
Written on Jul 3, 2015
Final rating: 4.5/5
To read my full review, visit Paging Serenity.
Words are the most dangerous weapon of all...Seventeen-year-old Charlaina knows she has exceptional but perilous powers. In the far future, in a land controlled by an aged and ruthless queen, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. Even acknowledging a member of the ruling class while they are speaking their native tongue is punishable by death. Charlie can understand all languages, a secret she must protect to stay alive. When she meets the alluringly handsome Max, who speaks in a language she hasn't heard before, she is intensely attracted to him. Max believes that Charlie is the key to something bigger and he pledges to protect her. But as war descends, can she trust him?
- ISBN10 0749011858
- ISBN13 9780749011857
- Publish Date 26 March 2012 (first published 15 November 2011)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country GB
- Imprint Allison & Busby
- Edition UK ed.
- Format Paperback
- Pages 384
- Language English
Reviews
Final rating: 4.5/5
To read my full review, visit Paging Serenity.
liz089
Written on Feb 25, 2015
Title: The Pledge
Author: Kimberly Derting
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry
Release Date: November 2011
Pages: 323
How I got the book: E-reader
Summary
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
Why did I read this book: This is a book that I’ve had in the back of my mind for a while. I keep up-to-date with what comes out and what I still should read some time when I actually have the time.. Which is not as often as I would like unfortunately. But this has been one of those books, so I read it.
Cover impressions: Cool. I like to whole dark setting, with some mysterious girl in it. The name of the book again in see through letters over the cover, cool.
Review
So The Pledge.. I remembered it from some time ago, and thought, why not? Basically it is about a world with a class system, from poor to rich with their own languages. They’re not allowed to know each other’s languages, let alone speak them. Above these classes is the Queen, the ruler of all, who all have to pledge their allegiance to. She is kind of evil, has a lot of rules and kills a lot of people. But she is not an ordinary Queen, she has powers and has the Essence of a soul that has been passed on for generations. Her body is dying, and because of that she needs a new body to pass her Essence through.
In this world only women can rule, there can only be Queens. Unfortunately, there has only been male heirs, so she has no heir to speak of. But! Before this royal line, there was another royal line, from who they thought it was lost… but guess what ^^ They still exist, only has been hidden for a very long time. Because, there were only male heirs to this line as well.. until now..
Oh yes, and there is a resistance group thingy, who has been led by one of the prince’s. They have been searching for the long lost princess to help them in their revolution.
So our main character, Charlie (Charlaina) is this girl growing up in one of the lower classes. As a daughter of a vendor she is not the lowest of the lowest, she can go to school for example, but still is one of those looked down upon. She has well.. not the best personality, I actually kind of missed a personality al together.. Sometimes she is a bit shy and withdrawn, but she stands up on other times to those above her, she is very protective of her little sister, who is kind of cute. She gave her some character.. but well, I had a lot of trouble relating to her.
Her friends were oké, Max (the main love interest) was oké, ehm.. some other characters were oké.. but I really missed some real persons with real personality. It was all so shallow and to the surface so to say… kind of boring.
The plot itself was all kind of predictable, of course she would become the next queen with powers. Oh! About those powers! I found them kind of lame.. She can speak every languages.. soo ?? You call that awesome powers? Meh... Her sister, Angelina, she has some real powers! She can heal people (even from near dead), heal a lot of people after each other btw, and she can see into a person about their intentions (good, bad, trustworthy).. I mean, that does seem like some good qualities for a Queen, right? Instead of knowing languages.. But well…
So in the end, of course they have a stand-off. Queen versus Charlie. Charlie is first all set to do anything to not receive the evil Queens Essence. But, when Angelina comes in, she gives in. So about that! The rebels have been underground for more than a decade, no one has been able to find them.. And then all of the sudden when Charlie is meeting the Queen they find them and… They know exactly who they need to comprehend. HOW?? Kind of bullshit. But well, Angelina saves the day (YES Angelina, not Charlie) and the Queen is dead. The Essence was somewhere in between but seems to be gone all of the sudden, and no one bothers to make sure.. Sooo guess what.. not really gone. Surprise…
Rating
I really do not know much more to say about this.. Like there is not enough to talk about really, it was all kind of shallow and predictable. The end. Well not really the end, because there are 2 more sequels, but… I think I’ve had enough with this one. Not really a book I would recommend, not much worth your time. So many books that are put together much better than this one. So I think I will give it 2.5 Freyja’s.. having some doubts between 2/3.
What I regret most of this though, is that it could have been sooo much more. You have a nice setting, with a cool kingdom with some new concepts.. but she just didn’t get everything out of it. It’s a shame really, it could have been a much better story.
reveriesociety_
Written on Sep 25, 2013
Kelly
Written on Aug 14, 2013
The Pledge was a magical blend of dystopian and the paranormal, where citizens are segregated and ruled with an iron fist. They are monitored using passport scanners and armed guards throughout the city. The law is cruel and unjust and punishable by public hanging, especially related to the rebellion with family members turning in their own. Charlie was not only likable, she was endearing. I loved the addition of younger sister Angelina, she was a beacon of innocence within the war ravaged word Charlie lives in.
I thoroughly enjoyed it, and looking forward to continuing with the series. In comparison to Kimberly Derting's body finder series, The Pledge was fantastic, my only regret is that I hadn't read it sooner.
Artemis
Written on Dec 1, 2012
jeannamichel
Written on Nov 19, 2012
Oh my, this book! It is fantastic!
The cover is gorgeous and depicts the novel well. It’s mysterious, gripping, secretive, and even dark.
This book was recommended to me by my friend and at first, it didn’t sound like something I would normally read. I don’t think this novel got the buzz it truly deserves. When it first released, I remember hearing nothing about it except my friend telling me to read it. I am so grateful, she told me to read The Pledge because it is one of the best dystopians I have read this year.
Kimberly Derting is a fabulous author. I have had my sights set on The Body Finder for years now but haven’t had time to read it. The Pledge has only helped intensify my desire to read her other works. Her style of writing seems really unique to me and I found that as much as she created this whole world, Derting told it in such a way that made it interesting. There were no history lessons or terribly long descriptions. Derting showed her readers the world through dialogue which was a fantastic way to keep us interested in the moving plot.
There is something about having the ability to know every language in the world and being able to understand them that made me want to keep reading. I didn’t know much about the book when I began reading but the entire idea floored me from beginning to end. It sounds like such a simple concept and Derting created this entire series on something so original; I am hooked.
I fell in love with each and every character. They all had secrets and I wanted to get into each head to figure them out. The Pledge is told from Charlie’s perspective but Derting jumps around in third person, during some chapters. It was very easy to understand and made me love the story even more.
The Pledge is definitely a gorgeous piece of work that deserves more attention than it is currently getting.
Amber
Written on Nov 3, 2011
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The story kicks off right away as Kimberly Derting throws us into this dystopian world that she’s created. There’s a lot of mystery during the first few chapters, especially surrounding Charlie, and even after we find out exactly what is different about her there is still an immense amount of information to be discovered.
The plot is fast paced, and I couldn’t get enough. There are plenty of twists and turns that I didn’t see coming, and I was genuinely surprised about. I applaud Kimberly Derting for tricking me! I loved the adventure that Charlie was forced into, and meeting all of the new characters along the way was an added bonus, because I loved every single one of them. There was a particular scene that involved almost all the main characters, which included Charlie being attacked for being playful. And I found this hysterical, although I can’t say why!
Charlie is the main protagonist, and I must say that I really enjoyed reading about her character. The story is told from her perspective for the most part, and I loved being inside her head. She had a lot of struggles going on in there, and while she didn’t particularly have any flaws that stood out, she did have a lot of problems that made it fun to watch her pull through or fail.
The synopsis tells you that Max is the love interest in this book, so that’s not a spoiler. If you’re my friend on Goodreads then you may have read that Max annoyed me in the beginning. He came across as very controlling and a bit of a git. However, as Charlie got to know him more his character opened up and we got to see what he was really like. He reminded me a tiny bit of Damon Salvatore (TV version!) if any of you want a comparison.
Xander also deserves a special mention, because Xander is awesome. *hugs him tight and never lets go*
I’m sure most of you have probably read The Body Finder and its sequel, Desires of the Dead, because they’re pretty popular books. For those of you that have, I don’t think I need to tell you that Kimberly Derting has a fantastic writing style that just flows off the page as you read. For those of you who haven’t read any books by Kimberly Derting, I just told you all that you need to know.
I will definitely be recommending this book to all of my blogger friends – after you've picked up my other recommendations, of course – as well as others. It’s a great dystopian novel with great world building and back-story, with lots of action and surprises thrown in!