Harlequin Teen (November 26, 2013)
ISBN: 0373210558
347 pages
Age 14+
Buy Here for $9.39
My Rating: 4/5
Summary from GoodReads: YOU CAN BE A VII. IF YOU GIVE UP EVERYTHING.
For Kitty Doe, it seems like an easy choice. She can either spend her life as a III in misery, looked down upon by the higher ranks and forced to leave the people she loves, or she can become a VII and join the most powerful family in the country.
If she says yes, Kitty will be Masked—surgically transformed into Lila Hart, the Prime Minister's niece, who died under mysterious circumstances. As a member of the Hart family, she will be famous. She will be adored. And for the first time, she will matter.
There's only one catch. She must also stop the rebellion that Lila secretly fostered, the same one that got her killed …and one Kitty believes in. Faced with threats, conspiracies and a life that's not her own, she must decide which path to choose—and learn how to become more than a pawn in a twisted game she's only beginning to understand.
Previously titled Masked.
The Verdict: I always enjoy reading other people's reviews of books after I have read them but before writing my own because it helps me really mull over my personal take on the story. This definitely proved to be the case with Pawn.
I know that several people had issues with believing Kitty's rationale at the beginning. But this wasn't all that hard for me. She is living in a world where here job assignment in Denver guarantees she will never see the people she loves in DC again. It's not like she can easily travel from one place to another like we can today. She would be confined to a limited radius. I currently live in a part of the US that because of the average economic level, most people have never traveled outside of a 60-mile radius. There are places in the here and now that this happens, so I can buy that in a Dystopian world, Kitty would feel trapped by her assigned lot in life.
So for me, this book snagged my attention immediately. I wanted to keep reading to find out what people would do and why.
One groan-worthy moment for me was when we are first introduced to the concept of Elsewhere. Since this is the same term The Giver uses, I figured it too referred to the Government's euthanasia program. In actuality it was far more horrible than I would have guessed.
This book takes the cake for most messed up government system ever! But it wasn't unbelievable to me. I could see people being so desperate and ignorant that the masses just go along with whatever will keep them alive one more day. When it comes to world-building, I find it more likely for a government system like this to take control long before a system like in Hunger Games. Especially when you consider that individual elements from the Hart's system of government have already been tried in not too distant human history.
I really enjoyed all the unexpected plot twists Pawn offered. This really helped keep the story moving and kept me guessing as to how things would end.
I also liked that an overt love triangle wasn't forced on us, although I found myself preferring the character of Knox far more than Benjy. Of all the characters, Benjy felt like the least developed and too perfect.
As regards the cover design, I really appreciated how every single aspect ties into some aspect or minor feature of the story. It proved to me that the designer actually did his homework and it was fun to come across the different pieces as I was reading :)
In the end, I really enjoyed Pawn and will be reading the next book(s) in the series :)
I received a free review copy of this book from the publishers via NetGalley but the opinions expressed here are my own.
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