Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Review of Crewel by Jennifer Albin


3.0 out of 5 stars - Dystopian world of time weavers

This is the story of a girl who is basically kidnapped and taken to a fortress where she is to be trained as a "Spinster" -- one who weaves strands of time and life together to create and maintain the new civilization in a future version of Earth. These women are controlled by men who dictate where they work, how they live, and keep them imprisoned away from their previous lives, friends, and families


I read this book because I was scheduled to attend a YA workshop that featured the author as the guest speaker. I wanted to listen to what she had to say about her book (typical teen fare with the requisite love triangle that is soooooo old and actually ruined the story) before I wrote the review. Although the ending is a total cliffhanger, I don't feel very compelled to see what happens next nor do I care what happens to the characters. None of whom I identified with or liked. There are some interesting themes and topics covered that make the book one for more mature teens.

The author said that she was inspired to write the book because she fell into an obsession over the painting by Remedios Varo : Embroidering the Earth's Mantle. The picture is quite interesting and I can see how she imagined the world of Arras and the concept of weavers or "Spinsters" from that work of art.


The book reminded me of Lois Lowry's series that include THE GIVER and GATHERING BLUE. The author said she had not read either. It is the first in a trilogy.


DC

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

The novel sounds interesting. When I read that she is being trained to weave strands of time and life together, the first thing that came to mind was that she is becoming one of the Fates from Greek mythology, who control each person's life with a thread.
I would have liked for a more descriptive summary of the book but I still might read it.