Book Review: Crewel

Goodreads summary:

Enter a tangled world of secrets and intrigue where a girl is in charge of other’s destinies, but not her own.

Sixteen-year-old Adelice Lewys has always been special. When her parents discover her gift—the ability to weave the very fabric of reality—they train her to hide it. For good reason, they don’t want her to become a Spinster — one of the elite, beautiful, and deadly women who determine what people eat, where they live, how many children they have, and even when they die.

Thrust into the opulent Western Coventry, Adelice will be tried, tested and tempted as she navigates the deadly politics at play behind its walls. Now caught in a web of lies and forbidden romance, she must unravel the sinister truth behind her own unspeakable power. Her world is hanging by a thread, and Adelice, alone, can decide to save it — or destroy it.

My review:

Oh yes, this book was GOOD. 

The YA publishing world needs more dystopians like this.  I honestly thought I was done with the dystopian genre; I haven't been that crazy about some of the dystopians that have released lately.  But Crewel blew all my expectations away.

It's so creative.  It is unlike any dystopian I've ever read.  Sure, there's a couple similarities to other dystopians - for example, at the beginning, the society seems a lot like the standard dystopian society in many young adult books.  But slowly, as we delve deeper into the world, we find out just how stunning, unique, and scary it really is.

One thing I love is that there is absolutely no info-dumping.  Albin doesn't even introduce us to the world at the beginning; we are thrust right into the action and learn more about the way the world is set up as the story continues.  I like this method.  It made the dystopian world seem a lot more realistic and it always left me curious to know more.

The characters all stand out in their own way.  The main character, Adelice, is spunky and a touch rebellious, I couldn't help liking how she never gave up.  Her little sister is so sweet - I liked Adelice's family from the very beginning.  All the other characters that Adelice meets as she trains to be a Spinster are unique and compelling.

There is a love triangle, and while I don't particularly love it, I do like that Albin never lets the romance overshadow the main story.  There's less romance than I expected, but I suspect there will be more in the sequel.  And oh my word...that twist at the very end...let's just say I'm dying for the sequel!

And the world-building - I have to say it again, this book is just SO refreshingly creative!  The concepts and ideas that the author has come up with are so brilliant.  Before I read this, I saw many reviewers saying how creative Crewel was, and I thought, "Surely it can't be that creative and different from all the other dystopians," but I was so wrong.  Even if you're tired of dystopians like me, Crewel is definitely a dystopian worth reading.

My only complaint, besides the fact that I wasn't crazy about the love triangle, is that the pacing seems a bit slow at times.  Not noticeably so, and it's not a huge deal either; it's just that the book has its slower moments and isn't full of action.  Still, it's so creative and full of unexpected twists.  I would definitely recommend Crewel if you're looking for a fresh, unusual read!

My rating:  9 out of 10 (4.5 stars)

~ The Bookworm