THE PLEDGE by Kimberley Derting

“Words held meaning, but voices held emotion.” 

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 think that the plot is good but the way it was delivered and morphed to a story was disatisfying. Everything was so predictable and so easy. There weren't enough conflict to stir emotions from the reader. It was as if the story was made in a rush. A book like this could never touch a person's heart. It was just something to entertain but it failed.

It was a work of a mediocre. Nothing was striking. Not even the setting or the characters. The severeness of the situation was not palpable. It was as if there was no war or anything. I was not bored nor was I hyped. The characters were weak and emotional. In times of war, characters in this kind of books were suppose to be strong and capable.

I just feel like certain elements are not apt for this book. It lacks a lot of factor. It was not enough to push me to read the next book. Gah.

I'm not saying it was bad. The writing style was good and the flow was cute but there was nothing striking in this story.