My 2016 ALA Annual Conference in Photos

This past weekend, I had the amazing privilege of attending the ALA Annual Conference in Orlando, FL, along with my fellow Baby Librarian and Book Blogger, Erin (Check her out at her blog: Uniquely Geeky Girl)

So I had a TON of fun!  Being with librarians, who love books so much, is always a blast. Also, everyone is so polite and nice and organized (there was many a time when people just started forming lines because that's what you do, LOL).

And while I went to a few panels, I haunted that Exhibit Hall, met some awesome authors, schmoozed some publishers, and collected all the books!  Like...ALL the books people.

I captured some highlights in the snapshots below, but I was such a bad documenter because I didn't capture half of what I did!  But please enjoy what I have, and if you ever have a chance to go to ALA, take advantage!  It is so much fun!!!!!

The entrance up to the Exhibit Hall, my home away from home for four days!

I am all ready to defeat Day 1!  

Tried to keep it casual, but still nice because, boy, was it hot out!

Yes, that is my haul from Friday, Day 1.

Now the Exhibit Hall was only open from 5:30PM to 7:00PM, and just for full weekend attendees.

I got 34 books in a hour and a half!  CRAZY!

Day 2 here I come!!!!!

So excited to experience more of everything on Saturday!

Waiting for the Jay Asher signing!  We all received an ARC of his latest book, What Light.

Super excited to read that one!

ALA had gender neutral bathrooms.  

To achieve this, they put a curtain around the urinals to offer privacy.

While not a perfect fix, I've always though urinals needed more privacy anyway!

I got to meet Jesse Andrews!  

Sadly, I left my physical copy of The Haters in my hotel room, but he was signing book plates instead!

I loved Me, Earl, and the Dying Girl, and I can't wait to dive into The Haters!

Day 2 Haul!!!  That's 55 books....I got a lot of books!

Erin and I are all ready for Day 3!

We were waiting for the YALSA YA Author Coffee Klatch to start!

Speaking of the event, these are the authors we got to meet!

In order from top down, left to right: Jonathan Friesen, Laurie Halse Anderson (QUEEN), Jenny Han, Peter Brown Hoffmeister, Laura Ruby, Jordan Sonnenblick, Tim Federle, Morgan Matson, and Jonathan Auxier (not pictured: Terry Farish and C.M. Surrisi).

Look at that AMAZING tattoo, Laura Ruby got to commemorate Bone Gap!

If you haven't read that book yet, you really need to.  It is the 2016 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature winner.

So this picture has a story to it: "When Elizabeth was 14 yrs old, she was recommended a book from the Children's Librarian at Hudson Library. This book was titled Speak. 

Elizabeth scoffed at the recommendation because she liked to read adult books, none of that "kid" stuff. But the librarian was insistent, "You will find yourself in this book." (Elizabeth had been having a hard time and through the weeks of visits over the summer, the librarian had come to know about it). Elizabeth took the book, and started reading it that night. 

She finished it in one sitting. 

That book was written by the woman pictured here: Laurie Halse Anderson. She is the reason I love books and believe in books and treasure books the way I do. Speak was given to me at a time when I needed it (this also influenced me immensely--thank you Ms. Mary!!). 

Speak changed my life, and Laurie has continued to change my life with each book she writes. Then I actually got to meet her, and it was amazing. 

I got to meet my hero, and I cried. I cried for that young Elizabeth who was kind of lost and I cried for the help a simple book gave me and I cried because I don't know where I would be now if that didn't happen. 

So thank you, thank you, thank you Laurie for all the books you write; I'm sure I'm not the only one who's life you've changed."

Then of course, she actually commented when I posted to Instagram!!

I MEAN CAN YOU EVEN?!!!!!

Uh, Day 3's haul...that's 100 books.  

So if you're counting, I'm currently at 189.....

I feel both extremely repulsed and extremely elated.  It is weird.

This is how I started Day 4. So. Very. Tired.

I don't even have a photo from my haul, but I believe it was closer to what Friday's was.

I haven't counted the total yet...I'm still tired.

So that was my first ever ALA experience.  It was a freaking blast, and one trip I will treasure forever!  Authors/librarians/book bloggers/readers are such awesome, amazing, generous people (at least in my experience), and being able to be surrounded by those people for four days was just too good!

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Bookin' It Around the Web (5)

In Bookin' It Round the Web  I've found some interesting articles or fun posts that I've found while on my daily internet adventures.  Feel free to do this over on your blogs, and leave me links to any cool articles or posts in the comments!

• Oooooh, listen up!  Booktubers are pairing up with some of the hottest YA authors out there for a brand new anthology, called Because You Love to Hate Me, that will focus solely on villains!  Super excited to read this one!
  
  
• This list of 8 reasons why people buy books pretty much hits like all my reasons for buying books at one point or another within my life.
  
  
• Libraries are still an important part of the community, and in this growing digital age, here are some ways libraries are staying relevant and the go-to for all people.
  
  
• For all of us who weren't able to go to Yallwest, check out this photo wrap-up from Publishers Weekley.
  
  
• I am currently watching the documentary Twinsters on Freeform, and it is fascinating.  Very The Parent Trap-esque, two girls discover they are twins separated at birth.
  
  
• If you are a Beyoncé fan and you fell in love with Lemonade, then you have to check out the LibGuide so you can understand all the connections between the poetry, historical figures, and cultural references riddled throughout.  This elevates this masterpiece even more!
  
  
• The American Library Association just released their annual State of America's Libraries report.

Got any great links to share?

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Babbling About Books - A Little Reading Q&A for the New Year

First, I'd like to apologize; I know I've been in and out of things here on Eli to the nth, and I really don't have an excuse other than life happens. I've been clocking in the hours at my full-time job, so this volunteer and fun job got put on the back burner.

To start out I'm going to get back in the groove of thinking, writing, eating, breathing books with this really awesome survey I found at Eve's Fan Garden. I love doing these surveys, and I hope some of you do it too!  There will be reviews coming, so please bear with me; the content is coming again, I promise! :)

1. Favorite childhood book?

My favorite childhood book changes in the expanse of my childhood. When I was really little I loved Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd. I couldn't get enough of that book. My parents and I would spend an hour saying goodnight to everything in my room just like in the book. Then as I got older (5-7) I devoured The Berenstain Bears series by Stan and Jan Berenstain.  When my little brother was born, my parents got me The Berenstain Bears and the New Baby just so I could relate to what I was about to go through!  I had so many of them, and I still love them now!    

2. What are you reading right now?

I am currently reading: it changes constantly!  While 2015 was a sloooooow reading year for me, I still read all over the place genre-wise.  Of course, the books are 99.99% YA.  YA is bae.  But I am enjoying the hell out of the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas!  I don't know why I waited so long to devour these books!

3. What books do you have on request at the library?

Here's the thing about me and the library: I have a problem with returning my library books on time. After the 50th time of this happening I've put a personal band on myself. This is really funny considering I have a degree in Library and Information Sciences. I'm a librarian who can't even check out books from the library.

4. Bad book habit?

If I'm reading books I personally own, I have a tendency to write in them. This is an unfortunate habit left over from my undergraduate days as an English lit major. We have to explicate everything, so it is just automatic for me. If it's not my book then I have the bad habit of not returning them on time (I never want to let any books go!)

5. What do you currently have checked out at the library?

Nada (see #3)

6. Do you have an e-reader?

I use to have a Nook Color, but we all know what happened to that e-reader.  I much prefer a hardcopy anyway.  I love the smell, weight, and texture of a real book.  Nothing can replace it, even for convenience sake.

7. Do you prefer to read one book at a time, or several at once?

I read several books at once. This usually happens because if I get a new book I have to start reading it! Right now I'm reading six books, and starting three reviews. I also have like 100 books in my TBR list. It's a problem.

8. Have your reading habits changed since starting a blog?

My reading habits continually fluctuate, and I wouldn't say it's due to my blog.  I've always been a reader, but with college my reading became more discerning.  I read not only for pleasure now, but I also analyze books more closely.  But I suppose there is a change due to blogging, just because I don't always get to choose when I read certain books, especially if they are specifically for review purposes.

9. Least favorite book you read this year (so far)?

I'm going to go with 2015 since I've only read 3 book so far in 2016.  Out of all the books I read in 2015, I only had one Did Not Finish: One Thing Stolen by Beth Kephart.  The premise sounded intriguing, and I got the book for review, but I just could not get through it.  The style of writing was strange, and it was confusing right away.  I think that might have been the point, but I just could not get into it at all. 

10. Favorite book you’ve read this year?

Again, looking at 2015, hands down, no question about it, Uprooted by Naomi Novak was my FAVORITE BOOK! Maybe not even of the year, but Top Ten ever!  It was such an amazing book, full of intriguing characters, beautifully built settings, and a non-stop engaging plot.  If you like fantasy even a tiny bit, then you must get a copy of Uprooted!

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My Blog Bestie (BFFBlogHop Stop + Giveaway)

I am so excited to be a part of the Blog Friends Forever Tour hosted by Fiction Fare and Swooney Boys Podcast.  These awesome four ladies put the word out there that they wanted to celebrate all of us book crazy nuts who blog, vlog, instagram, podcast, and just generally get excited about books!  I'm happy to help shine some light on this amazing and welcoming community that I have been a part of for the last almost 5 years (my blogoversary is November 29th)!

For this tour since it's Blog Friend themed, I thought what better way to celebrate but to talk about not only one of my blogger friends, but one of my real best friends!!!

This girl right here:

That's Erin, or better known on the 'net as Uniquely Geeky Girl.  I met her back during our Undergraduate program.  We were both Creative Writing majors, but we actually met in Spanish I.  She is so sweet and soft-spoken that at first I was like "I'm going to completely alienate this girl!" (It's because I'm pretty loud and opinionated).  But luckily, she didn't care and we struck up a friendship filled with Spanish tutoring (her helping me...I'm hopeless at Spanish) and mutual love of tuna with jalapeños (we hit up Subway every day after class...they started pur order when we walked in).

From that class on, we tried to make sure to have at least one class together; it helps when your majors are the same.  Then we found out we worked at the bookstore on campus together, so we were able to hang out even more.  And through all of these situations where we were together, we found that not only was writing a passion we shared but books, and more importantly Young Adult books, were totally our jam!!!!

By our senior year of UG I had already started my book blog.  At first it was an everything blog, but my second major (sadly of which Erin was not a part of) Education really jump started it with an assignment for one class where we had to "blog" about attending the NCTE Annual Convention.  So with that a gateway to book blogs opened up and off I went.

Meanwhile, Erin and I were talking all the time about books: which did we like, which we hated, which would make good movies and on and on and on.  And then the time came for graduation and the BIG QUESTION: What the heck are we going to do with our lives?!  That answer, luckily, came in the form of Graduate School and the Library and Information Sciences Master Program at our university.

Okay, so now HERE's where book blogging really starts up for both of us.  I'm still going strong with my little ole blog here, and Erin is embarking on a grand adventure of co-blogging with two of our friends over at Y.A. Book Addicts.  As some of you who also co-blog may know that can come with blessings and curses.  But they do still post over there, and now that all three are in a more stable place with their adult lives (ahhhhh adulthood is sooooo much fun), hopefully that blog will be getting some good ole TLC!

But during that time, Erin and I were also on our grand journey through the world of library science!  We got to attend YALSA's Young Adult Services Symposium, which was so very cool!

In St. Louis, MO at YALSA Symposium

We're just the cutest, right?  I think this is an event which really kind of hit home for both of us that YA literature was our passion, and we want to be involved with it in any way, shape, or form.

So on top of Y.A. Book Addicts, Erin also has a personal book/pop culture blog over at Uniquely Geeky Girl.  I think she is doing a really great job of infusing the blog with all of her multiple geeky interests (superheroes, vampires, hobbitsies, all kinds of things) and so I really want you to check her out!!  She is working on still building this particular blog up, but she does some really fun features, like Top Ten Tuesdays, Waiting on Wednesdays, and Fanart Friday (which I believe is her own invention).  She also highlights the books and comics (we're both huge comic nerds) that are newly released each month and which she is excited about.

So this is my Blog Bestie, who also happens to be my Real Bestie.  I think the best friends are the ones you share interests with, and Erin is just the girl I want to geek out over books!  And now that you've read this looooooong diatribe (hey, cut me some slack, I love the girl!) keep moving down to find not just one but TWO giveaways for you to enter!!!!

STOPS ON THE HOP

For some extra fun and to hop around to some of the other blogs participating, check out my fellow day posters below!

ReadWriteLove28 – Favorite Newbies 

Once Upon A Twilight – Top Bookstagrammers

Rattle the Pages – Top 10 Book Bloggers

GIVEAWAY TIME!!!!!!

First up is MY giveaway in order to celebrate my awesome bestie and to thank all of you for stopping by my stop on the blog hop!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Second up is the HOP WIDE giveaway!  A bunch of us chipped in to bring you all an amazing prize opportunity!  So check it out!!

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/a6ca59ee278/

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Bookin' It Round the Web (4)

Everything about books intrigues me.  Because of this I'm subscribed to couple magazines, like American Libraries and the Chronicle of Higher Education, as well as a frequent troller of EW's Shelf Life, Publishers Weekly, NPR Books, and The New York Times Book section.   

That's why Bookin' It Round the Web was born!  Below are links to some interesting articles or some fun graphics that I've found while on my daily internet adventures.  Feel free to do this over on your blogs, and leave me links to any cool articles or posts in the comments!

•  Tahereh Mafi gives the scoop on Unravel Me, the second book in her Shatter Me trilogy!
• Neil Gaiman speaks with NPR's Steve Inskeep about his favorite television and movies.
• We all have that awkward moment when the book you're reading makes you burst into tears; well here's some advice on how to handle certain levels of crying in public.
• Newsflash: libraries weren't always free.  Here's a concise overview about this unimaginable history.
• Hollywood Crush has the cover reveal of The Shadowhunter's Codex up for us all to adore.
• Didn't get to go to ALA Midwinter (me either), but we can enjoy elementary school librarian Travis Jonker's Instagram journey.  I love pictures of conferences; it helps me believe I was there!
• If you love fairytale retellings as much as I do, you'll want to check out this list of must read books by librarian Joy Fleishhacker.
• Want to start a book club?  Wallace Yovetich has some essential tips to help that happen!
• Speaking of book clubs, check out this list of great fantasy books from School Library Journal; maybe pick one up for your next read!
• Have you checked out some of the YA lists YALSA has put out for 2013? If not, go already: 2013 Best Fiction for Young Adults, 2013 Great Graphic Novels for Teens, 2013 Quick Picks for Reluctant YA Readers, 2013 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults, 2013 Fabulous Films for Young Adults,  & 2013 Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults.

Got any great links to share?

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Bookin' It Round the Web (3)

Everything about books intrigues me.  Because of this I'm subscribed to couple magazines, like American Libraries and the Chronicle of Higher Education, as well as a frequent troller of EW's Shelf Life, Publishers Weekly, NPR Books, and The New York Times Book section.   

That's why Bookin' It Round the Web was born!  Below are links to some interesting articles or some fun graphics that I've found while on my daily internet adventures.  Feel free to do this over on your blogs, and leave me links to any cool articles or your posts in the comments!

• An Epic Reads user, EpicGirl, has created an amazing map of "The United States of YA" highlighting books from each state, so you can read your way across America!
  
  
• EW has an awesome interview with Chris Colfer, and a clip from his new YA book, Struck By Lightning.
  
  
• Here's an New York Times blog post about how people view reading and "guilty pleasure" books.
  
  
• Remember Barbar, King of the Elephants? Well if not, you soon will be as the 80th anniversary of the beloved children's series comes around with a huge promotional push.
  
  
• Author Jacqueline Kelly, author of The Evolution of Calpurnia Tate, is writing a sequel to The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame titled Return to the Willows.
  
  
• Love it or hate it, Twilight made a lasting impact on the YA lit world.
  
  
• The Hub has a great article about impersonation in YA lit, including a nice book list.
  
  
• Check out this lovely interview of one of my FAVORITE authors, Ellen Wittlinger!!
  
  
• What does the Penguin-Random merger mean for the economy? The New York Times looks back to the turn of the century for some insight.

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Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs (Review)

Title: Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs

Author(s): Ron Koertge

Edition: Hardcover, 176 pages

Publisher: Candlewick Press
Publication Date: March 9, 2010

Source: New Tampa Library

Buy: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

The Summary

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Fielding his social life is a bigger challenge for Kevin than hitting a fastball in Ron Koertge’s funny, insightful sequel to SHAKESPEARE BATS CLEANUP.

Fourteen-year-old Kevin Boland has a passion for playing baseball, a knack for writing poetry — and a cute girlfriend named Mira who’s not much interested in either. But then, Kevin doesn’t exactly share Mira’s newfound fervor for all things green. So when Kevin signs up for open mike night at Bungalow Books and meets Amy, a girl who knows a sonnet from a sestina and can match his emails verse for verse, things start to get sticky. Should he stay with Mira? Or risk spoiling his friendship with Amy by asking her out? Ron Koertge, master of snappy dialogue and a deft poet, offers a fast-paced, sympathetic story that interweaves two narrative voices with humor and warmth.

(Goodreads)

My Opinion

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Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs was another book I picked up for my LIS class this semester.  I didn't realize it at the time, but it is a sequel to one of Ron Koertge's earlier books, Shakespeare Bats Cleanup.  But, luckily, it isn't necessary to read one before the other as Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs reads very fluidly as a stand-alone book.

The first thing you need to know is that the story is written in verse, meaning it's all in poetry.  While that's not a problem for me, some people might be turned away.  However, to that I say nay!  Koertge writes beautifully realistic poetry, allowing both pros and newbies to poetry be able to understand and follow the plot.  What's even better is the different styles of poetry he uses!  There is free verse and sonnet and a bunch of others.  This is great for kids who may be struggling with poetry in school as the poetry forms are explained very clearly.

The fact that Kevin, or better known as Shakespeare (he is dubbed that in the first book by his team mates), plays baseball and writes poetry.  This is such a great thing, as it shows boys that it's okay to like writing and poetry, but still play sports.  The juxtaposition of ball play and word play is perfect within the book, and helps bring emotions across.

The predicament Kevin finds himself in is one I'm sure many teens, boys and girls alike, find themselves in: liking two people at the same time.  Who do you choose: the girl who is in love with you, or the girl who is in love with your poetry?  Kevin has to figure that out, and the journey is definitely difficult.  On top of that, he has to deal with his Dad starting to date again after the passing of Kevin's Mom.  All of this is funneled into Kevin's poetry.

Overall, Shakespeare Makes the Playoffs is a fun, quick, coming-of-age story which would appeal to middle school students and younger teenagers, both male and female alike.

Extras

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Interview with Ron Koertge

Final Rating

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Book Cover: 4/5
Book Title: 4/5
Plot: 8/10
Characters: 9/10
Writing: 9/10
Ending: 9.5/10
Overall: 43.5/50: B+

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Hey Guys, I've "Gone Reading"

I don't know if you've heard about this awesome site, but I just love it!  GoneReading is an amazing company that has great gifts for book lovers. They have bookends, t-shirts, journals, and everything in between.  There's great things for young book lovers as well!

If you buy their merchandise, not only do you get some great gifts from the site, but you're helping to make a difference in the world!  GoneReading donates 100% of their after-tax profits to provide new funding for libraries and reading-centered non-profits!  How amazing is that?

I've been browsing the site, and collected some of my favorite things!

• Peace, Love, Books Poster - I want this poster so very much!  I'll probably frame it, because it is so nice!  
• Eat. Sleep. Read. Bookmark - What book lover doesn't feel this way?
• My Wizard Can Beat Up Your Vampire Bookmark - Done and done, because what world would Edward Cullen beat Harry Potter?
• Owl Print Bookplate - This combines two of my favorite things: books and owls!
• Penguin T-Shirt - Another awesome item that combines two of my favorite things: books and penguins!
• "Books I've Read" Journal - Perfect for keeping track of my books that I can tote around with me

There's other awesome things on the site, and they keep adding items all the time!  And as a gift to my readers, GoneReading was kind enough to give my readers 25% off on their purchases!

Just enter the code ELISQUARED25 at check out and you'll get 25% off of everything except book ends!  The code is good until April 23!

I hope you all check out GoneReading and enjoy anything you buy!  Remember you're not only getting awesome bookish gifts for yourselves but you're helping to keep libraries and reading centers alive!

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Wither (Review)

Title: Wither 

Author(s): Lauren DeStefano
Edition: Hardcover, 358 pages

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Publication Date: March 22, 2011

Source: Borrowed from library

Buy: Amazon, Barnes & Noble

The Summary

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By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children.

When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life.

But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement. Her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next, and Rhine is desperate to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive. Will Rhine be able to escape–before her time runs out?

(Goodreads)

My Opinion
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I am so slow on the bandwagon sometimes!  Wither has been on my To Be Read list since it came out this spring, but I just got to it now.  First let me tell you, if you're in the same situation drop whatever book you're reading and pick Wither up now!!  It was fantastic.  I loved the mix of the horrible and beautiful, the realistic and the fantasy.  It was a great dystopian that didn't need to involve killing zombies or surviving in the middle of nowhere (not that I don't LOVE those dystopians).

Lauren DeStefano hooked me in chapter one with one of the most chilling parts of the whole book.  I mean, there are so many creepy parts throughout, but this was the worst for me because it was executed with a simple sentence.  That's what I loved the most about the book.  DeStefano writes beautifully, which juxtaposes just right with the violence and terror that is underlying everything in the novel.  There was never a part which I felt was dull or extraneous; all the chapters told me something new about the plot, pushing the story along.

Rhine is one of the strongest protagonists I've read in a long time.  I never doubted her decisions or that she would make what she wanted happen.  I believed in her, rooted for her, screamed with her, just as if I was right along side of her.  I also really loved her sister wives, Cecily, Jenna, and for a short time, Rose.  Each girl showed a different facet of feelings towards their predicament.  And each sister wife showed what Rhine could become if she either gave in or gave up.  The sister wives were an interesting aspect of the novel as well.  I love that a part of our world which is hidden away or looked down on has become common practice in the light of extinction.

World building was another thing DeStefano had done pat.  It was just that far from what we knew that it made it dystopic without being completely alien.  It shows that these types of novels don't have to change the society completely to make a dystopian work.  It also makes it a lot scarier to think about that this is a possibility.  The explanation DeStefano gives to how this society evolved is so simple, and that is why the solution to solve the problem turns out to be so horrific.  The result of this "sickness" is hundreds of orphans dying, young girls being plucked from the streets and impregnated, and everyone except first generations are trapped in the endless cycle of life and death in their 20s.

Wither is one book I could not put down, and read it in 2 hours.  I can't wait to read Fever, the second book in The Chemical Garden series, which is sitting on my bookshelf waiting for me.  Overall, it is an amazing dystopia filled with violence and romance, and the pursuit of freedom.  Not to be missed, you should pick it up immediately!

Extras

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Book Trailer for Wither

Final Rating

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Book Cover: 5/5

Book Title: 4/5

Plot: 9/10

Characters: 10/10

Writing: 10/10

Ending: 8.5/10

Overall: 46.5/50: A-

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The Pledge (Review)

Title: The Pledge

Author(s): Kimberly Derting
Edition: Hardcover, 323 pages

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry

Publication Date: November 15, 2011

Source: Borrowed from library

Buy: Amazon, Barnes & Noble

The Summary

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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.

(Goodreads)

My Opinion
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Kimberly Derting has another fantastic book with The Pledge.  A mix of fantasy and dystopia, the real drive of the story is the mystery behind the protagonist, Charlie.  I really loved the book: the characters, the plot, and especially the cover (it's gorgeous).  This is one of my favorite books of 2011!

Right away the reader is dropped into a world both familiar and foreign.  Living in a kingdom made up of separate classes, Charlie is a part of the Vendor class, working at her parents' restaurant after school; a school that is only for Vendor kids.  Because she is part of this class she can only speak Parshon, Vendor tongue, and Englaise, the universal tongue in the country.  This distinction is important because if Charlie were to look at a higher class person speaking their language, she would be sentenced to death.  For Charlie this is extra hard because she has a special ability: she is able to understand all spoken and written languages.  When you find that out, the book really starts going!  This ability puts Charlie in danger and at so many points in the book you gasp for her.

As the protagonist, Charlie is written really strongly, and just one of the characters that I loved (my next two favorites are Max and her sister, Angelina).  Of course I felt each of the characters were so important to the story.  Derting writes each character in a way that each of them is important to the plot, and you can't really get rid of any of them without changing the story.  This is something I really appreciate in books; I hate when there are superflous characters that have no point to them.

Of course, while the characters were great, the plot was fantastic!.  As I said earlier, the world we visit feels like our America or England, but then there is always something off that reminds you you're in a dystopian world.  Besides the world building, the twists Derting throws every chapter really moves along the book.  Each chapter held something new and kept me interested throughout the book.

The writing is great as well.  The main chapters are told from Charlie's point of view, but occasionally Derting will switch to another character's point of view.  This works well to learn the motivation of some characters without there being "telling".  These sections are often more lyrical in the writing then the main chapters, which I liked a lot.

Overall, Derting did a wonderful job captivating my attention and making me care about the characters in just 323 pages.  The Pledge, much like her Body Finder series, is the 1st book in the series, which I for one am super excited about because she definitely left me wanting more!  I would recommend this to fans of Whiter, Matched, and Across the Universe.  Check out Kimberly Derting's The Pledge; you won't be disappointed!

Extras

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Kimberly Derting talks about THE PLEDGE

Final Rating

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Book Cover: 5/5

Book Title: 4.5/5

Plot: 9/10

Characters: 10/10

Writing: 9.5/10

Ending: 9/10

Overall: 47/50: A

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