The Essence

The Essence by Kimberly Derting
3.5/5 stars
Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2013
343 pages
YA Dystopia
Sequel to The Pledge

*Spoilers for The Pledge because they're necessary but no spoilers for The Essence*

Source: Library

When I read the first book in the series, The Pledge, I found it to be a fast moving plot-driven story that kept me breathless turning pages. So even though the characters weren't very substantial to me, I still wanted to check out this second book. I'm definitely bummed it has taken so long to arrive but I'm glad I checked it out.

After overthrowing Queen Sabara, Charlaina has assumed her rightful place as Queen of Ludania and has been implementing big changes, trying to unite everyone as one people, in one class, under one language. But not all are pleased about this change. Adding to Charlie's troubles are the fact that Sabara's essence is still contained within her and is pulling her in many different directions as well as a traitor, betraying all that Charlie has worked for.

I thought the plot was a little less engaging this time as frequently is the case. Fighting for freedom and liberty is usually more fun to read about than building a stable kingdom based on those principles. The weirdest part to me is how Charlie's closest friends are now her advisers despite only being around sixteen (or that was my impression of their age). Are there no adults who fought and would be appropriate? Also as I mentioned, there is a traitor who I kind of picked out (yay me!)

The most interesting part to me was seeing Charlie trying to interact with other queens to prepare her kingdom to resume its place with allies trading. She's a lady who prefers trousers but is forced into a dress to learn etiquette. Second most intriguing was Charlie's battle against the essence of Sabara. Her voice is represented in italics and she is absolutely devious, still intent on gaining a body, whether Charlie's or maybe someone else's. We also learn more about her back story and just about how long she's been around. These elements helped push me through some of the duller parts.

Overall: A sequel worth checking out if you liked the first.

Other Opinions:
Books Live Forever
In Between
Mundie Moms
Rainy Day Ramblings

The Pledge

The Pledge by Kimberly Derting
Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2011
321 pages
YA; Dystopia
3/5 stars

Source: Received an e-ARC through Simon & Schuster's GalleyGrab program.

After seeing the buzz in the blogosphere and having enjoyed Derting's The Body Finder, I was thrilled to see this in the GalleyGrab newsletter and promptly downloaded it for my NookColor.

What I found was a fast-paced novel that found me frantically flipping through pages, dying to know what was coming next, trying to piece together the crumbs dropped by Derting about this unique fantastical dystopia. And yet the characters didn't burrow under my skin and capture my attention and affection as Katniss and crew did in the Hunger Games trilogy for example.

Charlie lives in a class-divided society, where everyone is divided by language. The upper-crust have their own distinct language, which only they can know and use. And yet Charlie, despite being in the low merchant class, can understand every language she hears. She must keep this secret for it might prove deadly if anyone learns of it. One night her best friend Brooklynn drags her to a club where she meets the mysterious Max and Xander, in separate encounters, and she overhears a language she has never heard before.

This leads to secrets uncovered, violence erupting, and rebellion ongoing in plot twists that kept me on the edge of my seat (although I did guess correctly at a few!) The action was pretty intense as Charlie must become more of a leader and learns shocking family secrets. And the ending is mostly great with an intriguing tease at what will come in book 2.

But the characters! I felt no connection with Charlie; she was just there. Her love interest is Max and I really disliked him, although on the surface there's nothing too bad about him. I would have to say that I enjoyed Brooklyn and Xander more; her for her lighthearted frivolity and Xander for his serious leadership and dedication.

The villain is the Queen, who rules over this country and who is grasping onto her life and power with every ounce of strength in addition to possessing tremendous magical powers that make facing her difficult. I actually found her more interesting than Charlie; what strength of will she had! And her sly plotting and knowledge! The little tidbits we received of her what were really grabbed my attention.

Overall: Read this for suspense and story, not for character development as the former is where its strengths lie.

The Body Finder

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting
HarperTeen, 2010
327 pages
YA; Paranormal
3.5/5 stars
First in series/trilogy?

Source: Library

Summary: It all started when Violet was eight and she discovered a dead body using her special power-she can sense the echoes of murdered bodies and the imprint on the killer.  Now that she's in high school, a murderer is terrifying her hometown and she may be the only one who can solve the case. Her best friend Jay has no intention of letting her go alone and losing her, raising a new wriggle in their long time friendship.

Thoughts: I was amused to note that almost all of my goodreads friends have either read this or want to read it; I didn't realize how popular it was around the blogosphere but it must have been when it first came out.

I want to divide my review in to two segments: the paranormal and the romantic. The former I liked, the latter I had some problems with.  There are other things I liked and didn't like but I want to just focus on the clash of genres.

The paranormal (and mystery too) aspects of this book were fantastic.  I really enjoyed the idea that Violet could somehow sense when a murdered body was in the vicinity as well as sense the imprint of that murder on the murderer's body. I was also proud of her for using her power even when it was hard for her or when her family/friends worried about her.  Of course she did some stupid things, such as go running with headphones on (not recommended even if a serial killer is not menacing your general area; perfectly fine if you're on a treadmill!) and she continually ignored her parents' desire to keep her safe.  She feels suffocated so she wants to be alone but being a young female alone is exactly the kind of girl the serial killer wants.  Maybe they were overprotective but she's their only child and I found it perfectly understandable.

I also really enjoyed the chapters told from the serial killer's perspective-they were terrifying but it was different.  Additionally, I don't remember ever reading his (not a spoiler-serial killers almost always seem to be male) name.  He's so average and able to blend in that a name is not required.

Then there was the romantic.  Violet all of a sudden has feelings for her best friend Jay; puberty has been very good for him and Violet is not the only girl to notice this.  I loved the scenes of Violet being jealous of the other girls throwing themselves at Jay-hilarious!

But then they got together and it moved in to romance novel territory.  Now I like romances (I've reviewed them on my site) but I thought it was a bit too steamy for YA although still technically clean and it was boring.  Basically all they did was make out once it happened.  I did like the way their romance started though-a real hero moment for Jay.

Overall: I would have preferred less of the romance and more focus on the paranormal which would probably mean a slightly shorter book.

Cover: I think it's a lovely cover-gorgeous blue against the black backdrop.