Author: Gennifer Albin
Edition: Hardcover
Published: October 16, 2012
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Pages: 368
Source: Bought from Fully Booked
Category: Dystopia, Fantasy, Romance
Trailer: Here.
Synopsis:
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.
I've been dying to get my hands on Crewel since forever. The cover is just so pretty that its draws you in. And after another forever of waiting, I finally got it and I am really hoping the novel would be worth the price I paid it for.
Adelice is forced to stay in Arras after her retrieval. Her parents trained her all her life to fail her test so that they would stay together. But Adelice made the slightest mistake and that cost her parent's lives. She's now forced to work as a Splinster and weave time. No one knew she could weave without loom but she's being watched by the Manipulation Services. And now she's torn between Jost and Erik and she needs to find a way to escape before they remove her ability or worst, rip her sister.
Crewel is one of my most anticipated titles in 2012 and basing on the reviews it got, it appears to be a very good dystopian novel. At first I thought it would just be any typical dystopian I've read but I was wrong. Crewel is set in a distant future on a very futuristic place called Arras where everything is controlled by a thread. During my first sixty pages, I constantly remember Angelina Jolie's movie, Wanted. In the novel, special Splinters are gathered and trained to weave time for Arras to work properly. They could rip a thread which means kill a person or they could create beautiful things with their abilities. The novel is very unique that I had issues grasping it at first because honestly, weaving time is not something I could immediately picture. As I go deep, weaving's significance is thoroughly explained and I was so surprised I didn't get bored. Albin created a world where magic is not needed but science stands out. The plot is more of a science fiction than dystopia because it only touches a little bit of the latter. I loved how Crewel transported me into a new universe where abilities could make one a major controller of life. The description of how Splinters are treated appears to me as if females are in control. Albin made me see that in the novel, there's women empowerment in between lines.
Adelice for some reason, annoyed me. I know it might be Albin's intention to write her that way to give life to her character, but her sarcasm and stubbornness are usually thwarting. Every bit of her decision only get her in trouble. And for a protagonist, I am not just accustomed to that. I also got annoyed of too much of Pryana's gullibility and Maela's corruption for power. But Cormac's character is perplexing. I am at war with myself because there's a huge part of who he is that I like most when he's supposed to be the villain. He exudes power and cruelty but in the novel, I was able to see even just a glimpse of his good side. Loricel and Enora took me by surprise. I was happy and sad all at the same time. And who would forget Erik's finesse and Jost's indifference? I love them both.
The romance portrayed in the novel didn't really work well for me. I am not a fan of love triangles but of course, there were exceptions in the past. Crewel's is very disorienting to be honest. I didn't really agree on it. And there were inconsistencies with the Guild's rules. And I am wishing that book two would be better.
Crewel isn't magical but it's phenomenal. It will test your ability to concentrate and will nudge your imagination to the core!
VERDICT:
"Take the happiness you can, even if it's only little." - Valery
The twist on Erin & Jost is what made it unique for me. It had your typical dystopian element but I love that monkey wrench she threw in their.love triangle.
ReplyDeleteat some point, I like how she handled it especially at the end. but most of the time, i felt like she's playing toying them. LOL
DeleteI started reading this book last year but then I stop since I find it quite dull. Maybe I'll get back to this book sometime this year.
ReplyDeleteFor me, its quite difficult to get the gist. It took me a while.
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