The Pledge By: Kimberly Derting

In the violent country of Ludania, the classes are strictly divided by the language they speak. The smallest transgression, like looking a member of a higher class in the eye while they are speaking their native tongue, results in immediate execution. Seventeen-year-old Charlaina has always been able to understand the languages of all classes, and she's spent her life trying to hide her secret. The only place she can really be free is the drug-fueled underground clubs where people go to shake off the oppressive rules of the world they live in. It's there that she meets a beautiful and mysterious boy named Max who speaks a language she's never heard before . . . and her secret is almost exposed.

Charlie is intensely attracted to Max, even though she can't be sure where his real loyalties lie. As the emergency drills give way to real crisis and the violence escalates, it becomes clear that Charlie is the key to something much bigger: her country's only chance for freedom from the terrible power of a deadly regime.

Wow, another great book!!  So far 2012 looks very promising for my read books. 

The land Charlie lives in has been split up into a class system.  Each of the classes can only understand one main language and the language of their social class (eg. Merchant/Vendor, Cabinet, Servant).  Charlie is unlike everyone in that she can understand and speak all of the languages.  She has always tried to keep this secret to herself and her family because if it was found out that she can understand above her class she can be executed.

Trouble surrounds the town and are getting more and more violent with the rebels encroaching closer to the city limits.  Emergency drills are becoming more common and Charlie is told by her parents to take care of her sister and no matter what, don't let people know who you are.

Charlie officially meets Max at an underground club in the City were the social rules aren't enforced.  She is able to talk to anyone there and not worry about being executed.  While at the club she finds out that Max and his two friends are speaking a language she has never heard before but she can understand them.  This makes Charlie very nervous and she doesn't know what to think.  She also meets another mysterious man at the same club named Xander.  He is very kind to her and makes her feel safe but there is something between him and Max.  Violence escalates in the City and she is forced to go to an underground safe area and both boys collide in her world.  They no something about Charlie that even she doesn't understand.

Charlie is a fun character.  She is born into the Vendor/Merchant class and her parents own and operate a restaurant near the City Square.  She is very sure of herself and finds it hard to look away or at the floor when around people of higher social classes.  She has two friends that have been her best friends since she was a child and they are very much a large part of her life. 

This story helps break social classes and shows that people of all levels in life can be friends and work together.  I liked that Charlie was true to herself and she didn't bow down to others even though it could kill her in a heartbeat.

This is a great story and I encourage everyone to read it.