Crewel (Crewel World #1) by Gennifer Albin

Title: Crewel

Author: Gennifer Albin

Series: 1st

Pages: 368

Published: October 16th 2012 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

ISBN: 9780374316419

Source: Publisher via Netgalley

Description: 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 Give This ...

 

I admit, I was really curious about this book.  It sounded like it might be different.  In the end I was extremely glad I read it because it was exactly what I hoped for.

We first meet Adelice after she knows she has failed her Spinster testing.  Something that the entire "country" requires every girl who comes of age to go through.  Adelice's parents have been working with her from the moment she first displayed the talent to work on hiding it.  Or course Adelice is special, and a moment comes that she just can't help herself.  When she's trust into her new world she realizes that not everyone has the same abilities that she does.  It turns out that what she can do it pretty rare and everybody wants control of her.  But what makes the story interesting is that Adelice doesn't fully understand what she's capable of.  And she definitely doesn't understand the world of the Spinsters.  She doesn't know who to trust and what to believe.  

I found this world completely fascinating.  At first the book had a alternate universe feel to it.  And why it may fit into that category, its also dystopian in a way.  I was surprised and how that distinction came about because I completely was not expecting it.  I enjoyed the hierarchy withing the Coventry.  It seems the more capable Spinster you are, the more you are rewarded.  It's not a talent you can learn per say, but it can be fine tuned.  The only real issue I had was the act of spinning itself.  It was a little confusing for me at first.  I was just having a hard time wrapping my mind how this worked.  Eventually it became a little clearer, and I realized that it really wasn't an important part of the story.

We are also gifted with the ever present love triangle.  It was almost a given for the moment they were both introduced that it would happen.  But I held out hope because the story focused way more on one than the other.  Plus, I just wasn't sure that one of them could be trusted.  There's a really interesting twist there too.  Could make for an interesting problem later.   Of course depending on if Adelice can stick to your choice....any bets?

The ending pulled me in to the point that I will be reading the next one.  Good thing I enjoyed the rest of the book as well!