The Pledge

The Pledge by Kimberly Derting. Published by Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2011.

Charlaina (Charlie) and her sister Angelina have secrets. Angelina can heal people. Charlie can understand any language, even if she has never heard it before. The two sisters are unique and have to hide their abilities. Life in Ludania is complicated because there are rigid societal class distinctions. Class determines everything- clothes worn, jobs, behavior and even language spoken. Charlie must hide her lingual abilities because it is against the law to speak anything other than the language of her class. Infractions are punishable by death.

Ludania is under attack. Rebels are determined to overthrow the queen and put an end to her brutal laws. She is getting old and won’t live much longer unless she can find a suitable (female) heir. Then she may be able to take over another body and continue ruling. But there aren’t any female heirs because earlier conflicts resulted in the death of the ruling class family.

Charlie goes to a club with her friend Brooklyn. They meet some interesting men at the club. Xander is associated with the club and he seems to be willing to help Charlie but he may be involved in illegal activities. Another new acquaintance named Max is speaking a language Charlie has never heard spoken before. Max seems to have a lot of freedom and he keeps turning up in unexpected places.

When Charlie’s city is attacked, her parents tell her she and her sister must flee the city and avoid any soldiers. Charlie can tell by their behavior they are hiding something from her but she has to protect herself and Angelina.

The stakes are too high for Charlie to get involved with whatever Alex and Xander are doing. But some things may be out of her control.

This dystopian novel has lots of interesting themes and action and will be popular with teens in grades 8 and up.   

Visit Kimberly Derting's website

The Sweetness of Salt

The Sweetness of Salt by Cecilia Galante. Published by Bloomsbury, 2011.

Class Valedictorian Julia is approaching her summer with mixed feelings. She has an internship lined up at the courthouse, a pre-law scholarship for a great college and everything seems to be coming together. So why isn’t she excited?

Family arguments always ensue whenever her sister Sophie comes for a visit. Graduation day is the usual anticipated disaster and by the end of the day Sophie has fled back to her home in Vermont, but not before she dropped a few bombshells. For one thing, she is opening a bakery, giving her car to Julia and invited her to come for a visit. And if that didn’t cause enough chaos, Sophie yells about an awful family secret.

Julia has a crush on next neighbor Milo but realizes her feelings aren’t reciprocated. Timing seems perfect for a visit to Sophie. Of course, Julia’s parents don’t agree, but Julia knows they aren’t telling her the truth. Sophie has volatile relationships with her entire family, so Julia knows this is going to be a challenging visit. In fact, it is going to change her life.

This realistic fiction is recommended for grades 8 and up. 

Visit author Cecilia Galante's website