The Pledge

September 26, 2011
Derting’s chilling dystopia envisions an America ruled by monarchy, most of its cities razed, and its citizens straitjacketed in a caste system divided by language. Deviations from the limitations of one’s caste are punishable by death. Rebels threaten the authority of an aged, amoral queen, who in the opening scene murders her daughter to assume control of the younger body. That body has now reached its limits, and another host is required. Seventeen-year-old Charlie Hart doesn’t know anything about this; she is coping with totalitarianism as best she can and keeping her one secret—that she can instinctively understand the languages of every caste, even the royal dialect. Not even her best friend Brooklynn knows, but now strangers suspect her, notably Max, a beautiful, frightening man who believes Charlie could be the key to changing their society. But can Charlie trust him? Frequent perspective shifts give the narrative a certain busyness, and the absolute, unrealistic limitations on language have the artificiality of a thought experiment. But Derting (Desires of the Dead) is right on when depicting the bonds of family, friendship, and first love. Ages 14–up.

February 1, 2012

Gr 9-11-Words have unexpected power in this well-imagined, but poorly executed, fantasy. The citizens of Ludania are kept segregated by a law that requires each class to have its own language that no one from another class can speak or learn. The penalty for breaking this law is death. But 17-year-old Charlaina has a dangerous secret: she is able to understand any language, regardless of whether or not she's ever heard it before. To escape from the strict rules and fear that govern her life, she and her friend Brooklyn spend many evenings in illegal, underground clubs where drugs and alcohol are plentiful. In one of these clubs, she meets two mysterious young men, Max and Xander. She is drawn to Max, and Xander intrigues her. Unbeknownst to her, both of them have need of her and her gift, and they will do anything to obtain it. Unfortunately, Charlaina is not a nuanced character, and it's hard to figure out exactly why Max (who is ultimately revealed to be someone quite special in Ludania's society) is attracted to her. The only real proactive move she makes is at the climax of the story when she insists upon a simplistic course of action that is so ridiculously reckless that it's laughable when the characters are surprised that it goes awry. Some plot twists are so completely out of the blue that they have a hey-wouldn't-it-be-neat-if... feel to them. Kudos to Derting for her clever premise, but the book as a whole doesn't stand up to close scrutiny.-Heather M. Campbell, formerly at Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, CO

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