11 October, 2012

Review: Crewel by Gennifer Albin


Series: Crewel World #1
Genre: Dystopian, Fantasy
Format: e-galley provided by publisher
Published: October 16, 2012 (US), October 18, 2012 (UK)
Publisher: Faber & Faber
My Rating: 5/5 Stars

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. - Summary from Goodreads

In a world run by Spinsters who maintain the very fabric of society, every girl dreams of being one. Every girl except Adelice. She knows that they are not what they seem. Her world falls apart when she realizes that she cannot escape her fate with them. This book will fly by you with a fiery heroine and a seriously jawdropping world. 

Right away, I knew that the plot and worldbuilding were the center of this book and the characters came second. However, as I read on, I was pleasantly surprised by the quiet complexity of the supporting characters. Adelice meets two guys, Jost, the quiet worker in the walls of the Spinsters, and Erik, the manipulative assistant of a powerful Spinster. Yes, you guessed it, there is a love triangle. I wasn’t in love with the romantic aspect of this book, but I was glad to discover there was something more to these two characters.

What did grip me in this book was the society itself and Adelice’s scheming to escape them. This society is downright appalling in a really good way. To keep the peace, they go to extreme measures rivaling the monstrosity of the society in The Giver. I was bowled over by Gennifer Albin’s worldbuilding. I wish I had thought of this world myself!

Based on the worldbuilding alone, this book is the best dystopian release of 2012. Not everyone will fall in love with it, but I think those who do will fall hard. I am so eagerly waiting the second book. The ending of Crewel took my breath away and I have to know what happens next! I recommend this book if you are obsessed with the worldbuilding in dystopian books and often find yourself underwhelmed with it. Go read this book!

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