336 pages
Ages: 14 and up
Release Date: November 15th, 2011
You can read an excerpt here.
Synopsis: Words are the most dangerous weapon of all.
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.
It sounds like a winner, right?
Wrong.
I think it's safe to say that the new 'it' genre is Dystopian/Post-Apocalyptic and everyone seeems to jump on the dystopia bandwagon. And unfortunately most authors have the same, repetitive idea of the futuristic world: one all-powerful/perfect/opressive society, one girl wants to escape or rebel, then one mysterious boy suddenly appears on the scene and joins her to do so. It gets a bit boring after a while, right? So does The Pledge stand out next to all the other books out there? Well, since tales are told over and over, most books have the potential to be labeled cliché. I think the way you connect with the story and the characters is what makes the difference.
Unfortunately The Pledge didn't work for me. When I'm reading a book, being able to relate or make a connection with the characters is a vital part of my ability to enjoy the book. I need to be a part of the character’s journey, to experience the same ups and downs. In Pledge, I just couldn't make a connection with the characters. I kept wanting to find a little more depth, a little more complexity, something that would make the characters feel more than two-dimensional, something that would make them real, flesh and blood, three-dimensional people.
