Crewel World #1 Crewel

This has been one of the best weeks of my reading history i'm getting to read all sorts of amazing books....that literally needs you to be present in both body and mind to understand what it is about.....Crewel was one such book. Presenting Crewel World #1 Crewel by Gennifer Albin.

Here is the summary of the book:

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 a 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.

I am SPEECHLESS.....literally in awe of this book. This book....its much bigger than any other dystopia released to date. YOU ALL MARK MY WORDS....CREWEL WORLD is much more than the HUNGER GAMES EVER WAS....MARK MY WORDS ALL OF YOU!! (Also i read the Faber and Faber imprint of the book but i'm using the US cover because I like this one much better than that).

OK! You all saw me up there in the above paragraph....many of you are thinking I'm just exaggerating but i'm not.....it really is bigger, better and more dangerous than THG...Come on having the power to control time and matter, the ability to alter or raze entire space and time to put rebels to stop in an instant...that is much more dangerous than pitting children against each other in a murderous game.

Fascinatingly crafted and extremely fresh out of the box...this is the story of Aras, a world under the jurisdiction of the Guild. A ministry of sorts, the ruling party. Going so far as to rule over every aspects of life....over the seams of time. That is what the Coventry exists for. (GOD this is another book that is so good that i'm finding it very hard to review....but i'll try and hope you all are with me). The Coventry controls the fabrics of time and matter, a group of spinsters...working the looms, weaving the strands of time and matter around them. Everything in their hands, each life, each element....if they are commanded to remove something or someone....remove entire towns....all they need to do is to cut the string and it happens.....and there is no going back from there. The assailant (against the government) can make all the noises they want....but at the end they just stand by, unable to do anything.

This is the story of Adelice....chosen by the Guild during the testing period to serve Aras as a spinster at the Coventry but under the severe tutelage of her parents...she rebels from the start.....pushed into a world she barely understood, a dangerous world....at every turn facing for her instant death or the threat of losing her only family forces her to somewhat submit. The Spinsters, it seems are the actual rulers, wielding the power of time but Adelice soon understands that it is the deceptive and manipulative men, the Guild rulers who are the real threat. But Aras is built upon secrets, secrets that have the power to shake its foundation.....and as the noose tightens around Adelice to submit to the Guild fully, she must find her footing before she becomes the perfect marionette. Dancing to the wimp of the Guild and loose all she holds dear.

Again I say Gennifer Albin has left me speechless. The level of creativity, the perfectly astounding world building, the narrative and the idea to use Crewel work (a form of embroidery) as the way the spinsters control the elements around them. Now a story it seems is always incomplete without romance, but while a love triangle begins to form it takes a back seat and instead focuses on Adelice getting her baring. I definitely liked the evident growth of Adelice as a strong character throughout it all. At first she rebels.....that's all does but as the story progresses she learns the know-how of the world and turns out to be a decisive heroine worthy of consideration.

It is actually very interesting how the authors are constantly pushing the boundaries of this genre with their heightened imagination always coming out with such new and fresh ideas that have never been attempted before. Time and matter are the basic building blocks of life....control over them may well translate into it being the ultimate form of dystopia, no free will, never knowing what may happen to you the minute you start having conflicting thoughts. I absolutely loved it. While there is no news of the name of the next book.....but seeing the explosive ending of this book.....i'm definitely creweling with anticipation about what danger it would bring.....I definitely want to see this book made in a movie.

"Truly, bigger, better and much more dangerous  than the Hunger Games" 

Genre :      Young Adult, Sci-fi, Dystopia


Publisher: Faber and Faber


My Copy:  Publisher and Netgalley


Rate:              5/5 (It was Amazing)