17 October, 2012

#BookReveiw :: Crewel (Crewel World #1) by Gennifer Albin

Incapable. Awkward. Artless.

That’s what the other girls whisper behind her back. But sixteen year-old Adelice Lewys has a secret: she wants to fail.
Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen as a Spinster is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to embroider the very fabric of life. But if controlling what people eat, where they live and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested.
Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and wove a moment at testing, and they’re coming for her—tonight.
Now she has one hour to eat her mom’s overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister’s academy gossip and laugh at her Dad’s stupid jokes. One hour to pretend everything’s okay. And one hour to escape.


Because once you become a Spinster, there’s no turning back.

 

Sixteen year old Adelice Lewys has been training with her parents and away from prying eyes for as long as she can remember. She has been training how to be awkward, clumsy and how to fail. 

The world of Arras is very different from ours. In this world people’s lives are made and broken ‘literally’ like threads. Where should you live, how much food should you have, how many children can you have and what occupation can you adopt – everything is decided by the ‘Spinsters’ who dedicate their lives to weaving the world of Arras. But these spinsters are controlled by the Guild. People of Arras have long forgotten their history and have settled into the lives of rules set by the guild. But Adelice’s parents have different thoughts – ones that would not be tolerated by the guild. Hence, they prepare Adelice to fail the test. But, at a moment of weakness, Adelice slips and weaves. She is selected as a spinster and taken away from her family. What awaits her then? Read the book to find out.

First and foremost, this is a dystopian world like no other that I have read. It is truly unique. The idea of a world where lives can be woven into and removed with a simple thread – is amazing. Gennifer Albin has truly and wonderfully created a new world for her readers. The beginning of the story was a bit slow, but then this is a world no one has heard of before. It is not a tale of Vampires, Werewolves or Mermaids, that the author could have easily summarized her version of the theories on these creatures. Instead she has had to build a world from the scratch. So, I guess that it was essential for her to give the story a slow start so as to give us enough information.

Okay, like 90% of the cases are with me, I did not like Adelice much. She is a bit slow to understand things and really irritating at times with all her ‘talks with herself’, which mostly amounts to nothing as she eventually ends up doing exactly the opposite of what she decides. She does manage to react quickly in the climax of the book – when it mattered the most. So, I guess that makes up a bit – but not completely for me. As always, I loved the supporting characters much more. I loved Maela and Jost. It is so not their fault that Adelice refused to take their advice. I do not know whether to love or hate Cormac yet. Whether you love him or hate him – you’ll have to admit that the man knows how make his presence felt.

Like most modern YA Novels, the language of the book is simple and easy to follow. There’s a love triangle, mystery revolving Adelice’s family, action and drama. There’s everything that one could ask for and they are topped up by an amazing twist/revelation at the end! I am only deducting the one star because I did not like Adelice much – but then it is my personal choice – you might like her! 

I would certainly recommend this book to all dystopian lovers. It’s a world like never before.







5 comments:

  1. Sounds great!
    I saw it in Netgalley, but didn't really cought my eye... the way you describe it feels like it's an interesting reading, so I'm taking note and expecting to read it soon.
    I love distopic novels, and now I need to know this awesome world :)
    Thanks for the review!

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  2. I'm really excited for this one and I'm glad you gave it 4 hearts. Although you didn't like the protagonist and I'm sure I won't like her that much either, I'm very excited to read the book. Thanks for the review! :)

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  3. Really good review! So want to read this one!

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  4. Love the world in this one. It was really interesting. Great review :)

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  5. One that has been on my Wishlist for awhile now

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