Review: The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

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.

This book didn't originally strike me as a book that I would fall in love with. I'm not the biggest fan of multiple p.o.v's. I don't like to know all of the book's mysteries in just a few chapters but this book does not disappoint in the secrets department and once I picked it up, I couldn't put it down. I then mentally facepalmed myself for waiting so long to read it. The Pledge is a dystopian novel (should have been my first hint that I needed to read it; dystopians are always attention-catching for me) set in Ludania, a country ruled by a brutal, powerful queen. But, there's something different about this queen: she's ruled Ludania for centuries by taking over the bodies of her descendants. She never wants to give up the crown, or her country, and she's found a way to accomplish this, but what happens when she no longer has a female descendant to take the throne and her stolen time is running out? 
In one of the lower classes of Ludania's society lies Charlie, a responsible, compassionate girl with a loving family who's not supposed to understand any language other than her class' and the universal language. Yet, she can somehow understand any language. Too bad this means certain death for Charlie if anyone found out about her ability.
Enter Max, a boy who catches Charlie's eye and her attention. Max is a mystery to Charlie, with perceptive eyes that can see through her lies and that don't miss a thing, his strange new language that Charlie's never heard but can understand and his two friends that follow him around everywhere. Charlie knows she needs to stay away from him if she wants to keep herself safe but Max is always there: in her mind, on the street and she can't get away from him. Especially not after he slips her a note saying 'I Pledge to keep you safe'. I mean really, who would be able to stay away from him? Who would want to?
Before Charlie can decide whether or not Max can be trusted, though, she has to grab her sister and go into hiding along with the rest of her city to escape the rebel army that has penetrated the border. Max keeps his pledge, but something happens and some of Max's secrets are revealed, causing her to question him. Is he really who she thought he was, or is there way more to him that Charlie never considered? And does Charlie need to be asking this same question about herself and her family? (I think yes)
This book and its characters kept me constantly questioning things. I eagerly waited for answers to all of my questions, and I got them. . . along with more questions. I love books like this because they keep me on my toes and there are so many different directions for the book to take that I'm never bored. It also doesn't hurt that the book has a lead character that you instantly love because of her powerful personality. I give this book a five out of five and eagerly await the second one. I also recommend it to anyone looking for a dystopian novel that really makes you think, great characters to lead you to the answers and leaves little surprises for you along the way.
5 stars

Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

Hardcover, 487 pages                                             Published May 3rd 2011 by Katherine Tegen Books    Beatrice "Tris" Prior has reached the fateful age of sixteen, the stage at which teenagers in Veronica Roth's dystopian Chicago must select which of five factions to join for life. Each faction represents a virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Dauntless, Amity, and Erudite. To the surprise of herself and her selfless Abnegation family, she chooses Dauntless, the path of courage. Her choice exposes her to the demanding, violent initiation rites of this group, but it also threatens to expose a personal secret that could place in mortal danger.

What if you had to choose what the most important aspect of life was? Would you choose peacefulness, honesty, bravery, selflessness, or intelligence? How do you even decide this when all of these are qualities everyone should have at least some of?

Beatrice, or Tris, has to decide to stay with her family and be something she's not or leave them for what she believes. Tris is one of the bravest characters I have ever read about. She is bad ass and is not afraid to stand up for the people she cares about, which also makes her a bit selfless at times. Throughout the book you see her develop from a small girl who doesn't know what she needs to do, to a young woman who follows what she believes and doesn't stop along the way to ask questions. Then there's Four. What can I say about him? He is just a great character. He is mysterious about so many things in his life and lets few people in. Four has his own opinions but doesn't speak them too often and is more reserved than Tris. He thinks things through where she acts on impulse (which I guess would make them a great couple ;D ). At first I wasn't too attached but by the end of the book I was completely emotionally invested in his character.

Divergent is one of those books that you will pick up to read for a few chapters and you end up sitting there for hours. The book is quick paced from the start with the initiation process all through the end of the book. The action doesn't lag and you just have to keep going to find out what comes next. The world building is great. There is so much detail put into this world, from the trains and the schedule, to the different sections of the city. Each section is so different but it is so well developed. If you are a true dystopian fan I highly recommend this book. There is so much going on that even though the book is close to 500 pages you won't even notice. And Insurgent is coming out May 1st so you'll want to read this one soon if you haven't read it yet.