TORTURE DOWN TEEN ROMANCE LANE III

The Pledge

by Kimberly Derting

Margaret K. McElderry | November 15, 2011

     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 remember reading The Pledge in 8th grade and forcing my friend to read it for our English project; I'd like to apologize to her. I don't remember why I liked it, but I have an inkling it was the romance and the "concept." That was my justification for books back then. I remember being enthralled by the dystopian society: the government (monarchy,) the oppression, the resistance, and the stratification-the language barrier.

I have to give props to the author for her imagination. I was intrigued the moment I read the prologue; an old queen, wasting away, transfers her essence to an heir, ensuring the same monarch rules for eternity. Ew, creepy, but cool! Then the point of view shifts to our main character, through which we learn about the oppressive and precarious state of her country: heavy security, executions, curfews, a large influx of refugees, a constant fear of a breach and war, a resistance, and class discrimination. I found the world, history, culture, and the rise of a new monarch fascinating, but that was overshadowed by a poorly developed-rushed-romance.

The foundation of this romance is shaky, built on lies and deception-I'm making it sound more interesting than it actually is. They meet in a club, nothing wrong with that, and Max, the love interest, leaves an unsettling feeling. You fascinate me. You're so beautiful. I'm going to speak in a foreign language that you don't understand, even if it will get you executed, to prove this hypothesis I have. A disregard for her safety and well-being. I promise to protect you. You endanger her all the time. I show up in places, and I try to worm my way into your heart. He gives me chills due to his controlling and untrustworthy actions, this is due to his status, but that doesn't justify his actions.

The main character is rather drab and leaves little to no impression, though I wish I had her powers. She's your typical special snowflake: someone seemingly normal is part of something bigger than herself, haven't seen that before! Charlie/Charlaina isn't an empowering figure in a dystopian society, though she is a great older sister. She is supposed to be the face of a new era/an uprising, but she is underwhelming. She lacks a personality; she's not witty, not cunning, nor intellectually superior. She's compassionate, but that's not a quality that makes you go, Wow, she's interesting, I want to know more about her, and I want to support her. She needs more charisma, grit, and steel.

I finished this book in one sitting, not because it was amazing, which you can infer considering I picked it apart above. The writing is simple, doesn't have life, or that je ne sais quoi. An interesting concept and world can only make up for the weak characters and boring writing for so long.