The Essence: A Pledge Novel (The Pledge Trilogy) - Hardcover

Derting, Kimberly

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1442445599 ISBN 13: 9781442445598

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2013

Synopsis

“Danger, dread, mystery, and romance” (Booklist) continue in the second book of The Pledge trilogy, as Charlie’s reign is under siege from the most unusual of enemies.

At the luminous conclusion of The Pledge, Charlaina defeated the tyrant Sabara and took her place as Queen of Ludania. But Charlie knows that Sabara has not disappeared: The evil queen’s Essence is fused to Charlie’s psyche, ready to arise at the first sign of weakness.

Charlie is not weak, but she’s being pushed to the brink. In addition to suppressing the ever-present influence of Sabara, she’s busy being queen—and battling a growing resistance determined to return Ludania to its discriminatory caste system. Charlie wants to be the same girl Max loves, who Brook trusts, but she’s Your Majesty now, and she feels torn in two.

As Charlie journeys to an annual summit to meet with leaders of nearby Queendoms—an event where her ability to understand all languages will be the utmost asset—she is faced with the ultimate betrayal. And the only person she can turn to for help is the evil soul residing within.

About this title

About the Author:

Kimberly Derting is the author of The Pledge series and the Body Finder series. She lives in Washington State. Visit her at KimberlyDerting.com.

From School Library Journal:

Gr 9 Up-Charlaina Hart, 17, is now the unlikely queen of Ludania, but the former evil queen Sabara is not gone. Her spirit, or essence, resides within Charlie. The new queen, while inexperienced and uncomfortable in her role, has been able to make some sweeping changes across the country, including eliminating the class system and uniting the land with one language. She still has much to learn and sets off to a conference where she will meet the queens of the surrounding nations. There, Sabara makes her sinister presence more and more clear. Her desires for immortal Niko cloud Charlie's feelings for Sabara's grandson, Max, creating a strange and extraneous kind of love triangle. Max, her love interest in The Pledge (S & S, 2011), gets little page space, except as a foil for Charlie/Sabara's feelings for Niko. While the majority of the story is told from Charlie's perspective, intermittent point-of-view changes make the narrative choppy. This, combined with an undeterminable setting and too many supernatural/fantasy elements thrown together, results in a book with no real sense of direction. Purchase where the first book has a following.-Mandy Laferriere, Fowler Middle School, Frisco, TXα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

About this edition

• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1442445599
• ISBN 13: 9781442445598
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352