Pledge by Kimberly Derting

Pledge by Kimberly Derting

Genre: Dystopian

Hardcover: 323 Pages

Published: November 15, 2011

Series: The Pledge

            1. The Pledge

            2. The Essence

            3. The Offering

Rating:★★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

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:

            This was a great beginning to a promising series. I truly enjoyed this interesting dystopian novel which revolves around a 17 year old Charlaina or Charlie. She lives in a kingdom of Ludania ruled by cruel and ancient Queen Sabara. This queens subjects are divided by class, language and strict rules that are to be followed at any cost. Any disobedience is followed by death and punishment. Ludania is currently in turmoil because of a war that has been going on for years to change the oppressive conditions.      Charlie is among the commoners who is trying to get through her life without getting caught in the war. Unfortunately, Charlie is a big pawn in this war. She can speak and understand all the languages spoken in Ludania and that makes her a threat. However, no one knows yet, and Charlie plans to keep it that way. If the queen or her loyal subjects find out then it's the end for Charlie.  

          

        However, when Charlie starts to attract the attention of a young man named Max, things start to get interesting. As Charlie and Max get to know each other, Charlie is closer to revealing her secrets to Max who happens to have dangerous secrets of his own. But can Charlie trust Max or will he betray her and serve her to the queen. As the tension rises and the war threatens Charlie's life, Charlie must decided who she can trust and what necessary steps she should take in order to stay alive.

            This was definitely a great start to this series. There was lots of tension and trying to figure out who to trust was very frustrating. The author wrote a unique piece of story that captures the readers attention and gets them hooked. However, this book was pretty detailed and long. I think the author could have taken some things out because certain chapters got pretty boring to read.