The Jewel by Amy Ewing
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Described as “The Selection” meets “Handmaid’s Tale,” this dystopian fantasy was a total page-turner and I am so excited it’s part of a trilogy that’s entirely published because now I know what I’m doing for the next several days!
Our setting for this novel is a central city known as The Jewel. It is a circle, and is surrounded by four additional circles, all separated by walls, less exclusive as they move away from the Jewel. The outer ring, the poorest and shabbiest, is known as The Marsh — but it has one claim to fame; it’s young women at age 12 are tested and some are discovered to have special powers, or augeries, that can manipulate the color, shape, and growth of things. These women are taken from their families to institutions where they are carefully instructed and controlled until their later teenage years, when they are auctioned off to the royal families of The Jewel to serve as surrogates.
Our heroine is Violet, otherwise known as Surrogate 197 of 200 — the highest numbers are the most talented, and Violet has a particular talent for making things grow. The story begins on the eve of the auction and follows her plunge into the spectacular, twisted, complex world of The Jewel, with it’s terrible traditions, secrets, and the relentless competition between The Jewel’s most important families for the greatest treasures of all: offspring.
Cue the chills and I’m sorry now if you, like me, are unable to put this down. So good!!
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