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September 1, 2014/in Fiction 14+ Secondary/Adult /by Angie Hill
BfK Rating:
BfK 208 September 2014
Reviewer: Ferelith Hordon
ISBN: 978-1406347494
Price: £8.99
Publisher: Walker Books Ltd
Genre: Fiction
Age Range: 14+ Secondary/Adult
Length: 368pp
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The Jewel

Author: Amy Ewing

Chosen to become a surrogate – one of the girls destined to bear a child for the royals to ensure the survival of that class, Violet is facing a life of unimaginable luxury. Or that is the story. But Violet is not sure – her status though privileged is that of a slave surrounded by secrets. It is a world of deceit, politics and danger. She must escape, but how?

Set in a dystopian imagined world in which the Royals – the founding families – live in the centre of a walled city; a bubble of luxury and a hotbed of intrigue. Inbreeding prevents them having children, they have to resort to surrogates. It is a clever idea and neatly handled. The structure of the imagined society follows well-established patterns while Violet is the traditional free spirited heroine determined to escape. Inevitably this will have a cost. Readers will have to wait until the next volume to learn how devastating this will be. Yes, it is the first in a trilogy and ends on a real cliff-hanger.  It will certainly catch the attention of teen readers – especially girls – Violet is an attractive character, the plot intriguing. However, I found the author’s decision to present her tale both as first person and in the present tense a barrier to my willingness to succumb to the storytelling; others may find this style less irritating.

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http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/bfklogo.png 0 0 Angie Hill http://booksforkeeps.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/bfklogo.png Angie Hill2014-09-01 01:00:412021-10-08 13:34:39The Jewel

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