Crewel by Gennifer Albin

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Faber & Faber

Pages: 360pgs

The Story

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 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.

The Review

A big thanks to the publisher on netGalley for accepting my request in reading this book early!

Without a doubt CREWEL is one of the most creative books I've read so far this year. With the numbers rising in the YA dystopian genre it's very hard to find a title that offers something new, surprises me, and separates itself from the rest of the books in terms of its own imaginative world-building, but fortunately enough this book it did all of that and more. For me CREWEL was a clear standout with its complex concept, an interesting and feisty young heroine, and it also kept throwing twists around at every corner which is needless to say became a very enjoyable read!

Reminding me along the lines of Ally Condie's Matched and Lauren Oliver's Delirium series, CREWEL has a pretty similar society with their governments and cruel leaders who closely monitor its citizens at every turn that they make. Only in this particular world there is a strict system - a pool actually - where people known as Spinsters control peoples' marriages, put restrictions to how many children people shall have in their entire lives, choose jobs for what people should have and even make people forget who they are if they really have to . . . the possibilities of time and the human mind is endless. Then there enters a sixteen-year-old girl named Adelice who is chosen by her society to become a Spinster as she possesses an incredible ability of weaving time on an actual loom, and basically the story opens up her new life and her entire world as well which leads to new love, confronting dangers, and many other terrible things in her seemingly so-called 'perfect' society.

Adelice, our main heroine, was one of those characters that surprised me the most in the book. At the beginning when I had first met with her, I wasn't too sure whether I was going to like this girl or not. She just didn't seem like someone I could relate to . . . but I did. A lot actually. For someone who was so closed off from her dystopian world and someone who has to face so many tough situations being thrown at her constantly, just when you thought she would give up, she just ended up never backing down from a fight and continued to be herself at every possible moment. She never changed and even if she did for a moment or two, it was only for 'pretend' and to show others she was following the rules as she was supposed to, which I guess made me like her even more and more. She was cunning, creative and awe-inspiring. So way a go Adelice! I'm totally on your team right now!

As for the romance section of the book, this element alone was what I feared the most in this title since the blurb hinted at a possible love triangle occurring  Like I say in most reviews, I don't like love triangles anymore than you do (or maybe you love them), unless, of course, they are written well and serve some purpose to the main storyline. In CREWEL's case, the love triangle was pretty good and well written too. Sure I didn't exactly swoon like the good old days over the heroine's love interests, but I still thought the author did a splendid job in adding romance among the rest of this strict dystopian society and both boys in question were really interesting, cute and total sweethearts, but it didn't - in any way, shape or form - affect the course of the book, making me a really, really happy reader and I can't wait for you to meet them. You'll love them . . . I hope.

Overall, CREWEL is one of those books where you sit back, question and think about in depth, even after you finish reading the book. With the world-building being both very clever and unique, and with characters diverse and well-developed, I'm immensely satisfied with this book and so entertained by it too, leaving me wanting more and more from this new YA series! I mean seriously THAT ending . . . hot damn I want that sequel!

The Rating

4 1/2 / 5 stars