She was deeply devoted to saving her sister and making sure she was ok. The one part I did enjoy was Charlie's relationship with her sister. She simply 'intrigued him', whatever that means. It was never clear why Max was so infatuated with her. I also never felt the connection between her and Max - the love interest. She didn't have any distinct traits or strengths.

I didn't feel any of this with Charlie, the protagonist in The Pledge. Feel their emotions, understand their decisions and connect with their personalities. I feel the need to be able to relate to the characters. Unfortunately, I found myself unable to connect to the characters nor was I very invested in the story.Īs a reader, I'm very character oriented. I was first attracted to this book by it's intriguing premise and original setting. 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. 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. and her secret is almost exposed.Ĭharlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before. 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. 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 smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak.

The Offering by Kimberly Derting