In Kimberly Derting's The pledge, we embark on a fairy-tale like story set in a dystopian future where language dictates your class standing. I was first attracted to this book by it's intriguing premise and original setting. Unfortunately, I found myself unable to connect to the characters nor was I very invested in the story.As a reader, I'm very character oriented. I feel the need to be able to relate to the characters. Feel their emotions, understand their decisions and connect with their pe [...]

Kimberly Derting's The Pledge has a lot going for it: it has an interesting and original concept, fascinating (albeit mostly lacking) world-building, great writing that allows the novel to flow easily and makes for a quick read, some interesting relationship dynamics, and an explosive ending making way for an interesting sequel. However, that being said, The Pledge also has a lot that is not going for it, most prominently the characterization, the predictability of the plot, and, last but certai [...]

Man, only 30 some pages in, and it's so good. Have agent edits to do, but I wanna read!

The Pledge is Kimberly Derting’s latest book. It’s a dystopia. Democracy has fallen. Nations are ruled by matrilineal queens. In Charlaina’s society citizens are divided and stratified by language. Englaise is the common language spoken by all classes. Each class has their own language as well, so for example the vendor class speaks Pashon. Charlaina, Charlie for short, can understand every language, even though it is against the law. One is not supposed to acknowledge or look up when anot [...]

I think this was a great start to a promising series. I really enjoyed it!Seventeen-year old Charlaina, Charlie, lives in the kingdom of Ludania ruled by cruel and ancient Queen Sabara. Her subjects are divided by classes, languages, and strict rules that govern them. A person can be put to death for small infractions, so all must be careful. The country is currently in turmoil because there is a war going on. There are revolutionaries that have risen up to change the oppressive conditions. Char [...]

This had so much potential. Kimberly Derting had the right idea, came up with some nice details to her dystopian society, she had everything she needed to make a great story. And then it all went downhill in this jumble of cliches and boring storytelling that came together in one snooze festival in which you're left as that one bored person wondering what the hell are you going to eat for dinner tonight since you haven't gone grocery shopping ever since Jesus died the second time. So the story o [...]

I wasn't all that impressed with THE BODY FINDER, and I was pretty hesitant when THE PLEDGE showed up on my doorstep. I wasn't sure Kimberly Derting deserved another chance. If I didn't like her first novel, what were the odds I'd like the first book in a totally different genre? How big were the chances I'd find the experience of reading her third novel like I did her first and give up on her in general? Thankfully, that wasn't the case. I'm glad I did end up giving it a chance, because it wasn [...]

Well, I read that really fast. I started The Pledge by Kimberly Derting late last night/early this morning and I just finished it. Before you ask, yes I do sleep. Quite well, actually.The Pledge marks a departure for Derting into the world of Dystopic Fantasy. Having been a fan of her Body Finder series I was very eager to get a look at her newest work. I'm not disappointed, far from it. Derting has cemented a place on my auto buy list of authors.The aging Queen of Ludania has no heir - no femal [...]

First off, tell me the this cover is not gorgeous!! I love it :)Second, I need to tell you how cool I think this story idea is! The plot revolves around this world (in the future) where humans have been forced to speak only one language - the language of their class. The servants speak one language, while the vendors speak another, and royalty another, and so on. The point being, that if you can't speak another language, you are stuck in your class forever, and more importantly, humans will neve [...]

The more YA books I see being released amidst the continuing dystopia trend (a fad that seems to have a lot more mileage than I originally anticipated, although the sales figures are a more mixed bag), the more I find myself questioning what makes a book dystopian. With “The Body Finder” author Kimberly Derting's latest, the first in a planned trilogy, I hesitate to call it, for lack of a better term, pure dystopian since it mixes more fantastical elements into the story. This discussion asi [...]

I have been hesitant to read The Pledge because I have not read that many great reviews, but when I found it in audio, I just had to give it a try, and i am SO GLAD I did because this book was incredible! The light dystopian element, the historical themes, the revolutionary plots. Every single minute of listening to this audio kept me on the edge! I would stay a couple of minutes in the car after I parked because I just didn't want to leave this world. In the end I ended up getting the ebook and [...]

Another book with a very interesting premise. Language being the boundary that separates one social class from another. I liked the idea and I loved the world building. The thing that spoiled the book for me is the extremely cliched writing. This book could have been so much better had the author chosen not to employ dialogue that reads like it came waltzing straight out of a sappy romance movie. I also saw a lot of Mary Sue-ish development from the main character and wellI like my heroines flaw [...]

Bu tür kitaplar okumayı seviyorum. Baskıcı devlet ve özgürlük arayışındaki halk Akıcı bir kitaptı fakat kısaydı, ikinci kitabın tadını çıkara çıkara okuruz umarım :)) Özellikle erkek karakterlerin kişiliği çok güzel oturtulmuş. Max, seni Charlaine'den ne kadar çok kıskandığımı bir bilsen!!!! :D Ve Charlaine'in kardeşi Angelana'ya karşı tavırları çok güzel ve özeldi ;) Umarım ikinci kitap da birinci kitap kadar iyi olur :)

When I read Derting's The Body Finder, I was not impressed. After reading the start of her second series.I am still not impressed. The marketing is all there. Gorgeous cover, creative dystopian premise, the promise of romance.All of this is very in right now. Unfortunately.The weakest part of The Pledge was the world-building. As a dystopian, it was very weak. There is no reason for this world, no how, no why. Supposedly, it was set sometime in the future, as it alludes to current cities, but no [...]

Warning: Big spoilersDisappointing! The idea of a society separated into castes by languages intrigued me, and I thought the heroine, Charlie, having the secret ability to understand all languages would make an interesting plot. However, the author didn't put her brilliant idea to use. It's only mentioned over and over, that Charlie shouldn't be able to understand this person or that person, but she does. Not once does she overhear something that adds to or enhances the plot. The caste system, t [...]

2.5Vamos a ver, yo siempre llego tarde. En el caso literario a libros que salieron hace mucho tiempo y ya mucha gente no está hablando de ellos. Y este libro es uno de ellos, de los que nunca más volví a escuchar hablar. Supongo que tiene que ver con que la editorial dejó la saga abandonada en español y en inglés no tuvo tanto ruido (a mi parecer).Bueno, podría empezar a quejarme desde el primer momento, pero tengo que decir un par de cosas antes de iniciar con la explicación del porqué [...]

I was curious about what type of world Charlie's would be. It started out really good too: with Queen Sabara transferrring her power. It's the same power that got me more curious. Charlie's world is a more different since that it's language that kept the people apart. I wanted to know more of Queen Sabara and her power; I wanted to know how their world worked. Sadly a good deal of THE PLEDGE deals with Charlie and Max' romance~ the same romance that developed too quickly. In fact a lot of this w [...]

Intriguing and suspenseful, The Pledge is a fantastic story woven behind a realistic fantasy/dystopia setting.Charliana lives in a world that is divided by the language they speak and judged by status – the lower and higher class. If the lower class ever looks a member of the higher class in the eye while speaking their own language, the penalty for this is death. As Charliana and her family try to keep under the radar and work to the best of their ability to help her families restaurant stay [...]

I was seriously contemplating giving this one star. The Pledge had an interesting premise, but it utterly failed.The sole reason I didn't give this one star was Xander and Brooklynn. They were definitely the most interesting characters (far more so than Max and Charlie) and if the story was written from one of their perspective, it would have been so much more fun to read.I really didn't like Charlie. Something about her rubbed me the wrong way. But I hated Max a hundred times more than Charlie. [...]

OKAY, OKAAAAYYY. Well. To start off on an honest note, I have to admit that this book was a tad slow in the beginning. I persevered though and it totally paid off!! For me, The Pledge was a perfect mix of dystopian and medieval. The fact that it's set in a futuristic setting but also implements other elements, like having queens and not really using technology, really sucked me in. Being obsessed with Medieval times myself (don't ask me why cause I'm not even sure why) I loved the whole queen an [...]

Charlaina "Charlie" Hart is seventeen and a member of the Vendor class, the class of merchants. Her parents have a restaurant, she attends a school for vendor children, and her friends are the children of other vendors. As a member of this class, she's only allowed to speak two languages: parshon, the language of her class, and Englaise, the universal language and language of the Serving class, the lowest class in Ludania. But Charlie has a unique and very secret gift: she can understand all lan [...]

Set in a post-apocalyptic society--in what I can only assume used to be the United States--17 year old Charlie has a secret. Unlike everyone else in her class, or in any other class, she understands other languages--a sin punishable by death if discovered. It's a secret so important, she hides it from everyone, including her two closest friends, only to be discovered by someone else who could be more dangerous that she'd like to admit.I cannot say enough good things about this book. It's the fir [...]

I held the letter, vividly picturing the six words written inside the folds. Six words that I already knew by heart. Six words that meant more to me than they should. I unfolded the top third of the paper, then the bottom, purposely keeping my eyes unfocused for just a moment. My heart stoppedE PLEDGE was one of the best dystopian books I have read this year. I didn't expect to fall madly in love with Max, the book. But I was unable to put the book down until I was flipping to the very last pag [...]

I've never read The Body Finder and I don't have any intention to do it. When I realized that The Pledge was from the same author, that didn't discourage me to read it because the plot premise sounded interesting.One thing needs to be clear: This is not dystopian and shouldn't be considered as such.Do I see paranormal powers in a distant future? Eeeh, I don't think so. Division of people by the language they speak? Possibly.This is plain fantasy, period.And also, monarchy in the distant future i [...]

Captivating. Moving. Engaging. This is a really good dystopian world. However, I was a bit surprised to know that it has fantasy in it. It reminds me somehow of Cinder by Marissa Meyer, they both have the same heroine, hero and villain qualities.This book is hard to review without spilling some spoilers. Ugh. It has all a dystopian world can have - war, resistance, ruler, and danger. It's one dangerous world. But I love everything about it. I can't believe how I easily became attached with all t [...]

Еще одна книжка из серии "Стеклянные города".Когда я научусь по аннотации угадывать исход?Опять особенная героиня и "таинственный красавец". И без вселенского зла не обошлось. Но это все понятно, жанр и публика требуют, так что я знала, на что иду. Не знала только, что мир окаж� [...]

Charliana can read, hear and speak other languages. All of them. Including those she shouldn't know. But when a mysterious Max appears, will she be exposed for who she really is?This book drags on, and on, and on. It's at such a slow pace, it's redonculous. And the plot. Oh geeze, the plot is stupid. I can't believe I gave this book my time. Charliana, why are thou so annoying?The only thing I liked was that it was dystopia and YA, but I didn't enjoy it.

Another fun and interesting series by Kimberly Derting! The different languages and the rules regarding them was such a new idea. Loved Charlie and Max. As usual the characters are very well developed. I feel like I know them well enough to recognize them on the street if they appeared. =) On to the next book in the series.

Three Stars The Pledge is a fresh introduction to Kimberly Derting's new, dystopian series.A cheer squeals from the mob squeezed around the main square of Ludania. A wave of bodies clawing and pushing to peer at the imminent execution. In Ludania, Queen Sabara rules the land with an indomitable, iron fist. The slightest infraction, such as failure to divert your eyes when addressed by someone of a higher class, will earn you a one way trip to the gallows. It is a land organized into a caste syst [...]