The book The Pledge follows the life of Charlaina Hart aka Charlie who has the ability to understand all languages which is not limited to just auditory forms of communicate. However,this ability lands her in trouble,only to be quickly cleared up and lectured by her father. Thinking that her father needed some steam to blow off,Charlie decides to go to a club with her best friend - Brooklyn. There,she meets Max,who speaks a language she has never heard of before and who she falls for.
As the story progresses on,secrets and characters of all sorts begin to reveal themselves and Charlie soon learns the truth behind everything ranging from Max to her birth heritage and the fact that she is the country’s only hope to be freed of Queen Sabara’s rule.
The Pledge is a dystopian,romance novel which highlights the segregation of people within the community. Another thing to note: The book switches POVs from time to time,mainly among these three - Charlie,Max and The Queen. (Sometimes Xander too!)
From the very moment I read the first chapter,I knew that I wouldn’t be able to put it down. The book is really interesting,using literary devices such as foreshadowing,plot twist,cliffhanger etc. The book has a well-thought out development and the pace off the book was just right. The climax of the story kept me on the edge of my sit,it was really good,i especially enjoyed the part where Angelina is finally able to do something.
The characters were alright,but I must admit that I wasn’t all that crazy about Max even though most girls would. The only part I found him even worth drooling over was when he challenged Charlie,speaking in the Royal language to provoke her.
The book address several themes but the most prominent one would have to be the segregation of the people.By splitting and arranging the people into different classes,this creates a division among the people,where a thing such as unity isn’t even present. Also,this division lets other classes think they are more superior than the class below them,this results in a mentality whereby the more superior class are permitted to treat those lower than them less like human beings.
Another would be gender inequality. In this book,only females are allowed to rule the country as males are disregarded by the other Queens of the other countries.Also,females are the ones born with power whereas males are powerless thus their inability to rule as without power,the Queens of other kingdom will not trade with said kingdom. In a way,this book sort of illustrates the point that women are as capable as men are even in positions of authority and should not be belittled.
Parental love is the greatest. This is repeatedly emphasised throughout the entire book. Charlie parents having sacrificed so much just to protect her and her sister. Her father having to dirty his hands to protect her,both parents telling the two girls to take shelter will they stayed behind,to be so willingly and ready to sacrifice their lives when Charlie was being threatened to trade her lives for theirs.
Overall I would rate this book 4 out of 5, and it is definitely worth the time. The Pledge is a book not to be missed!
Here’s the list of books,in no particular order:
The Choice - Nicholas Sparks
The Pledge - Kimberly Derting
Die For Me - Amy Plum
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