Ramblings of a Book-A-Holic

So I honestly did not intend to enjoy this book as much as I did. Don't get me wrong, I didn't think it was going to be terrible; I thought the plot sounded truly fascinating and something very unique, but it wasn't something I was necessarily dying to get my hands on. But now after reading this novel I have to say that it was DEFINITELY a book I should have been dying to get my hands on.

The Pledge was rich, and full of depth. Its pages were full of lies and neverending secrets that only made the story more intriguing.

The story is about a girl names Charlaine, or as everyone else calls her, Charlie. She has a deadly secret that only her family knows about, and it turns out that not even she knows everything about it. In Charlie's society, you cannot understand or speak any language of someone in a class above you. When someone from a higher class speaks, those below that person are not allowed to meet that person's eyes or acknowlegde them in anyway. To do so would equal a crime punishable by death: they get hung. So you can only imagine how difficult it must be for Charlie to hide her secret: she is able to understand any language of any class.

I thought Charlie could be easily identified with. She's a serious and sincere girl, and very special. I can only imagine what it would be like to hide a huge, essential part of yourself from all those you love. Charlie wants to confide in her best friends, Aron and Brooklyn, but knows she cannot because it would endanger them all. She's alwso very protective of her younger sister who has not yet found her voice, which is a little strange.

The Queen is mercilless, and horrible. She's old and dying and needs to find a suitable female heir immediately. I found it sort of interesting how in this novel, boys born into the royal family are pretty much cast aside because girls were more valued. I just found it sort of ironic since in reality, it was usually quite the opposite.

Max is, naturally, the dark and mysterious boy with a complicated history. He has a HUGE secret that he keeps from Charlie. It was nice how they didn't instantly fall in love with one another. Their love sort of grew as the story went on so it was more real.

I admit it was a tad slow for me in the beginning, but the pace really picked up as I read further. Derting did a great job creating this slightly terrifying dystopian world and I'm glad I gave this book a chance. It definitely made me want to pick up the Body Finder series again.