Review: The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

4 yummy oatmeal butterscotch chip cookies.

Cover Love:
It's okay. It's very pretty and all, but it's a little too fashion model for me.

Why I Wanted to Read This:
I really like Kimberly Derting's writing and was excited by the synopsis of this one. Here it is from GoodReads:

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.

I Kept Reading Because: I was caught up in the story early on and couldn't stop reading!

Romance?: Yes!

What I Liked (& Didn't):
Ok, here's how I feel about the recent run on dystopian novels. Sometime sI feel like the author is trying too hard. As I started reading this one, I wasn't sure I could get on board with the language separation, but, I quickly got over that. For one thing, this doesn't actually have to be a dystopian. It could just be an alternate country, or reality, or planet. Good stuff!

I adored Max. Just loved him all kinds of ways. And Xander. Loved him also.

I liked Charlie and her family. I didn't even really guess the twist that came with them. It was very well done.

Queen Sabara was super evil. What a good, crazy villain. In the next book I would like to meet some of the other queens that rules the surrounding countries.

I liked Charlie and Angelina's "powers". Especially Charlies. What a hard thing to keep hidden in a world like that!

To Sum Up: Good read that I will be buying for my library. I know several young readers who will love this one! I look forward to the next book in the series.

Book received from Simon & Schuster's Galley Grab.