Crewel by Gennifer Albin Review

Title: Crewel
Author: Gennifer Albin
Publisher: FSG BYR
Publish Date: October 16, 2012
Genre: YA, Dystopian, Fantasy
Pages: 368
Source: Publisher

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.

Adelice lives a careful lie. She always had, and she's been taught that she will probably always need to. She must always fake ignorance, feign normalcy and, without a doubt, never use her powerful ability to weave, or create the fabric of reality. To do so, for many, would mean endless riches, power and wealth, but for Adelice, it means entrapment. She'll be destined forever to play the hand of a god - determining the future for all, but never having her family and those she loves for herself. But one simple slip-up sets forth a chain reaction that ignites Adelice's destiny and giving her a chance to either save or end the world as they know it.

Ok, first off...what a seriously cool concept! I mean, I'm sure that I've heard touches of this storyline in fairytales and whatnot, but wow. I really love the utter originality of the mere idea behind it. So, you can understand my apprehension to read the book. What if it didn't live up? Can you imagine the letdown? Gennifer Albin skillfully meshed together a whirlwind plot, lovable characters, a heroine worth believing in and, most of all, a beautiful combination of internal and external struggles. With a deft hand, Crewel sweeps you up in its pages, guaranteeing one heck of an adventure.

There was so much that went right with Crewel and, for the most part, I really loved this book. The storyline was fantastic. Each plot point was carefully developed, thought-out and led directly to the next piece. Foreshadowing was light, but just enough to keep me on my toes. Adelice was a great heroine, and I found it incredibly simple to become invested in her plight. She was strong and brave, and I never found her too be cloying or too much, if that makes sense. Likewise, the love interest, Jost, was sweet and simple, just whetting my appetite but never actually giving me exactly what I wanted. In a world of YA fiction where insta-love dominates, this was wholly refreshing. I will say, however, that I did have a bit of an issue with the world-building of Crewel. We're given immense details with the power-players in the book, such as the Spinsters, but I felt that sometimes the world, itself, played second-fiddle to the story, and I would have loved to see the backdrop of this eerie dystopia been pronounced and developed just a bit more.

Overall, however, I found Crewel to be an extremely engaging and unique read, despite its flaws. I love the concept, and the ending left me wanting more, so I'm definitely excited for the next installment in the series. I give it a 3.5 out of 5, and I highly recommend it to all fans of YA, especially those who enjoy dystopian and fantasy stories.

I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review. This, in no way, affected my opinion or review of this book.