Crewel: A Novel

I liked this series. Every though it was the 1st book, I don't think that it went by slowly at all.

It held my attention well enough. Honestly though parts of it felt forced. A world woven on top of earth and it is all basically a giant illusion/hallucination?! come on I've heard that before and it didn't sound good then either. I will just have to see if it improves with the rest of the series.

Very Good. I read the whole series in record time. Then I read it again. Fast paced, believable robust characters and a riveting plot drew me into Adelice's world. A world full of oppression, lies and death by the yank of a thread. One obstacle after another is thrown at the heroine and she rises to the occasion, sometimes in surprising ways. Adelice's interactions with her arch nemesis left me impatiently waiting for their next encounter. Twist at ending is a little heartbreaking if you catch what happened.

The Crewel series is a great addition to the ever-expanding world of YA Dystopian fiction. It was not at all what I expected, but I really enjoyed it. Fans of Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me and Lauren Oliver's Pandemonium will absolutely love Crewel.

Interesting concept, so-so execution.



If Adelice has the power to see the weave and manipulate it anytime, why didn't she just weave out Cormac or her other enemies? Is it because she doesn't want to kill? If so, this should have been more explicit in the book.

This was a really good book! I loved the whole weaving reality premise. I thought Adelice was a very mature protagonist and loved that she thought for herself but still listened to others. I wasn't too impressed with any of the guys in the book and thought it would have been better without them altogether. I did totally see one of the plot twists with the guys coming on. As for the ending, I didn't really see that. Can't wait to read book two and find out what happens with Adelice.

Crewel is based, loosely, on the Greek myth of the Moirai – the three sisters of fate who spin out the threads of all mortal lives on their wheels. In this dystopian world, girls with the ability to see the weave – the threads of life – are forced to become Spinsters and serve out their country, Arras. Although largely imaginative in its use of the Greek mythology and blending it with a dystopian society, the book falls flat on its characterisation and the relationships it portrays.The creativity of the author is evident in the world she has created. The way the Spinsters control their world is amazing, and I loved the scenes where they use the looms to change the world. I also liked Adelice’s unique powers and how they tied into the story. The way this world fits in with the one we live in now is also fascinating, I think it is a very imaginative setting and I am eager to learn more about it in future books. Arras is, however, is meant to be a scary place – transgressions are punished ripping out your thread from the weave: one simply ceases to exist. Our main character doesn’t suffer for her many transgressions, however, and so, despite being flippant, rude and bordering on treasonous behaviour multiple times in the story, Adelice is only imprisoned, while other characters are killed for much less. It feels wrong, and is at odds with the repeated warnings about Arras being a dangerous place.Adelice and I do not get along. Despite her sheltered life, segregated from men and taught to be obedient, she emerges from her first bout of imprisonment and immediately feels stirrings of desire for her escort. In fact, every single man she meets falls for her (I have no idea why), and soon she is fending off the attention of two guys she likes, and a man more than twice her age. Surely, having been segregated from boys all her life, Adelice would initially react with a mistrust, or even fear, of men but she’s flirting like the best of them in no time at all. In her world, women must always be perfectly put together and look beautiful, but Adelice eschews anything feminine. I’m tired of this trope in YA – there is nothing wrong with liking feminine things, and in this case, her hatred of the feminine isn’t well grounded enough for me to believe it. She remembers her mother dressing nicely, putting on makeup and doing her hair with fondness, so it makes no sense that she hates it so much.I noticed that for a majority of the book Adelice is a passive force in the book. She’s snarky and, in a foolhardy move, talks back to people who have the power to kill her, but never really does anything. Everything happens to her: she’s taken on tour, made to give speeches, trained in her powers. Even in her romantic ventures, it’s the men kissing her, asking her to dance, sneaking off with her. When she does finally take control, things go surprisingly well for her, and I was disappointed that she didn’t come across any major hurdles in executing her grand plan.Despite the largely stagnant nature of the plot for the first half of the book, there are some engaging moments, and the book really shines when the author describes the absolute control the Guild exercise over Arras and the horrors that the word experienced in the past. Another great aspect of the book is the character Enora, Adelice’s mentor, who in may ways is the most developed and interesting character in the book. These things, and the way the book has ended have piqued my curiosity, and I will be reading the next one in the series.While Crewel is a solid novel, and should be commended on its creativity, it fell flat for me, and definitely didn’t live up to the hype. Although undoubtably impressive in some aspects, I think it’s a really interesting premise that was brought down by many of its characters and their relationships.A copy of this book was provided by the publisher for review.You can read more of my reviews at Speculating on SpecFic.

I read this book a while ago. A local Indie bookstore had a book signing for this debut author, Gennifer Albin. Some of you might have heard about her book, CREWEL. It’s been talked about a lot because she’s a debut but got a major offer for her trilogy. This book was an amazing read and remarkable when you consider it’s a debut book. It is instantly interesting and the stakes are so high it’s hard to put the book down. Really, really hard. But at the same time I couldn’t keep reading it. I was so, so, so not looking forward to being done with it. So it took me a couple of days to finish it. I just… knew that once I was done I’d have to wait for the second book! And at the book signing Mrs. Albin mentioned she was still working on the second book so… ugh. It’ll be agonizing to wait…The main character, Adelice, is stellar. She’s funny, prideful, and all around likeable. The writing is great and the romance — though subtle, which is what I like — is just so heart-tugging. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time I was reading it. One surprise followed another, I barely ever could really guess what was going to happen next.And then the way it ended…? Wow. Simply wow. I cannot wait for the second one. I really can’t. It’s going to be so painful to have to wait…Mrs. Albin was extremely nice, too, and it was so nice to hear how well a debut author in the YA market could do. She’s the exception, but her book is amazing. It’s so original. It’s been spun as Mad Man meets the Hunger Games. Though I don’t see it like that. It’s just so different.I predict this will be the next big thing in the YA market. If it’s not, then there’s something wrong with the world.More of my reviews can be found on my site Young Adult Book Reviews & More.

Originally reviewed on A Reader of Fictions.

Crewel has a beautiful cover and a unique plot line, but I did not connect with it emotionally at all. The romance aspects particularly lost me. For other readers, I am sure this will be a great read, particularly those who read for world building over character.

The very best part of Crewel is, without a doubt, the world building. Adelice lives in Arras, a mysterious fantasy land. The Guild runs Arras in conjunction with Spinsters, so named because they are not allowed to wed. At 16, girls are tested to see if they have the skills to become a Spinster, a weaver of the threads that compose Arras, the tapestry of life. Those that are chosen never get to go home again. Those that aren't have two years to wed and begin their adult lives.

The concept of a woven world really kind of blew my mind. Really, it's a lot like the internet in that, on the surface, I get it, but the more I think about it the less I understand. The descriptions of the weaving and the threads are lovely, as is Albin's writing. Towards the end, I had some suspension of disbelief issues, but I still would rate this as one of the most unique worlds I've encountered.

So far as dystopian-ness goes, Crewel certainly qualifies. Arras is one hell of a creepy place. For one thing, there's the whole forcing women to do certain things: become a Spinster, wed, and all sorts of other misogynistic rules. Women always seem to get the short end of the stick in dystopias; I should go read Herland or Nomansland. Even more than the dystopians aspects to the daily life, the government, both the Guild side and the Spinster side is seriously suspect. Both seem far to apt to make people disappear, if you get my drift.

Despite all of that being seriously cool, I just did not care. Adelice (what kind of name is that anyway) really doesn't seem to have that much of a personality. We start with the dramatic removal of her to be a Spinster, no visions of her on a normal day. All I really feel like I know about her is that a) she's a skilled weaver b) she loves her family and c) she likes boys. None of this really let me know anything about who she is. What I do pick up from that last one really doesn't make me think kindly of her either.

The worst aspect of the book, imo, is the love triangle. Of course, love triangles are dangerous, because, when done wrong, they make the reader want to *headdesk* all over the place. Well, this one did not work for me, probably partially because I really didn't care if the heroine found happiness. Not only that, but I don't have much more interest in either of the guys involved in the triangle. I suspect that I'm supposed to ship her with Jost (these names!), and he is the 'better' guy, but meh. Erik (what did he do to get a normal name?) probably would be my choice if I had to pick one, just because he seems like the underdog. The moment I entirely gave up on this was this: at the end of one chapter, Adelice makes out with one of the guys, then, in the next chapter, she finds out the other guy had a romantic past and got jealous. *throws up hands* And, of course, anytime she seems close to making a decision, based on syrupy protestations of needing to be with one of the guys, she'll suddenly start thinking maybe she's not so sure.

The most interesting characters were not the main ones. Loricel is my personal favorite. She's clever, kooky and has shades of grey to her personality. Maela and Cormac make stellar villains, of different kinds and powers. I definitely want to throw both of them across Arras. Cormac seriously creeps the hell out of me, which is a good sign in a villain.

Crewel was not the book for me, and I don't plan to continue with this series, unless I see reviews that convince me otherwise by other people who felt meh about this one. Will you like it? Maybe. If you read more for world building than for characters, you could potentially love Crewel.

Full review to come at Southern Bred, Southern Read!

This was by far one of the most confusing YA books that I have ever read. The story line between the characters is fine--typical YA stuff. The actual plot involves time weaving, altering illusions, real v. not real, and a whole lot of crazy mind Fs. It took me about four days to get through the book (which is pretty slow, for me), because I kept having to go back and reread to figure out WTF was going on. Overall, I really enjoyed it. I love reading books that have time travelling or altering time as a major theme, so even though this was super complicated, it was still fascinating to read. The ending of the book is crazy, and I can’t imagine how the rest of the series is going to go. I mean seriously, bombs start dropping everywhere and plot twists everywhere!

I really enjoyed the main character, Adelice. She has been a people pleaser her whole life up until The Guild comes in and destroys her life and everything she has ever known. She has a lot of self-loathing moments, but I feel they are warranted. I mean, the chick literally loses her entire family. Cut her some slack! I do love that she channels her anger into sarcasm and sass. She mouths off to everyone (and gets her butt handed to her SO many times because of it), and despite some really nasty consequences she stays true to herself. I wish she had more motivation to come up with a plan towards the end of the book instead of just being like “Oh snap I wish I had a plan this sucks” and just going with the flow. I feel like everything could have gone a lot smoother than it did.

The love triangle (not even sure to call it that) was pretty bizarre. She has the hots for Erik first, but she knows this is the worst idea because of his relationship with Maela. Adelice is already Public Enemy #1 because of her smart mouth and her skill, so she definitely doesn’t need to be screwing around with Erik to attract attention to herself. Luckily, it was short lived (though I feel like it is going to pop back up later in the series...YOU KNOW HE IS). Jost seems perfect. I mean, he is rugged yet sweet and caring. He doesn’t take Adelice’s crap, but he still puts up with her. Then he drops the bomb about his past. Her reaction is exactly what I would expect from a sixteen year old girl, so I wasn’t surprised and was glad that the author didn’t try to make Adelice older than she really is. Anyway, Adelice knows that even her relationship with Just is bad news because of the target on her back. It sucks, but c’mon chick, you know you are never going to be able to have a real relationship with anyone (except maybe Cormac… vom) while you’re under The Guild’s thumb.

Even the allies that Adelice try to make end up having targets on them as well. She develops some (short lived, in many cases) friendships in Pryana, Enora, and Loricel. I mean, let’s be real though, Adelice isn’t a great friend. She is pretty invested in herself and getting her sister back. She doesn’t even see the warning signs coming when something really tragic happens to one of her “friends.” It sucks, but luckily for her she still has her two dudes stuck to her side (so much for girl power) to fight her battles.

I would recommend this book if you are a fan of Altered, The Selection, or really any other dystopian novel where the main girl has some sort of special ability and has it out for the government. It is a really interesting read, despite being pretty confusing at points and some really dull (lack of) character and relationship development. All of this is why I toggle between a 3.5 and 4 star rating, but I will lean more toward the 4 because I really did enjoy the book overall.

4/5 stars

I originally reviewed this with Christina on The Book Hookup

**I was provided a copy of this title from the publishers via Net Galley. However, that did not influence the review in any way.

♥ The General Storyline/Plot:

So freaking cool! This is a dystopian story full of magic, so it seemed like anything was possible. The setting was a place called Arras, a society woven out of threads by Spinsters and Crewelers. The government controls every aspect of people’s lives, even the ones who are doing the weaving. This is the story of Adelice, who we find out straight away has natural “talent”, and her journey as she is taken from her family and forced to deal with her gift.

♥ The Characters:

I loved the heroine. She lived a boring life with her parents and sister, but when she was forced into the towers she really stepped up to task and became a kick ass heroine. I loved her. I loved her snark. I loved her heart.

The dudes:

Cormac: I LOVED him!!! That is all. Now, before you freak out about the age difference, he has not really aged because of magical age patches, so he was not that much older than Adelice. I actually think he is the one she could have chemistry with. He is confident and powerful. Oh, and a manwhore to boot. FTW.
Jost: Meh, no romantic feelings about him at all. He was like a brother.
Erik: I could see Adelice teaming up with him. While she was never sure of his intentions I was pretty sure he was always on her side.

♥ Gripes:

I needed more romance. There were just no sparks.

♥ Verdict:

Fantastic read. If you love being transported to a whole new world, this is the book for you. The second book has a different setting and I can’t wait to see what Ms. Albin has in store for us.

The world Gennifer Albin creates in Crewel is a complex one. Arras is ruled by the Guild, which is run by men; but the world itself is controlled and held together by Spinsters - women who, quite literally, weave the world. The world is so intricate that it takes the entire novel to completely understand the kind of world that Adelice, the protagonist, lives in.

Adelice is gifted with seeing the raw weave of the world she lives in and has the rare talent of manipulating the weave without a loom. Her parents, recognizing this talent tried to teach her to hide it, but failed to tell their daughter why they wanted her to hide it in the first place which leads to her being chosen as a Spinster in the beginning of the story.

There is extensive world building in Crewel; a very ambitious attempt. However, to convey the inner workings of the world, Albin had to make Adelice ignorant of the world she grew up in. At first, I was able to accept this, but it struck me as very odd that her parents trained her for years to hide her gift, but did not educate her on the reasons. The more Adelice’s character was revealed the more unbelievable this became. She is a very headstrong protagonist, willful and curious, but she shows none of this towards her parents and blindly accepts their attempts to hide her gift. Given her character, I would assume that she would want to know why her parents did not want her to become a Spinster - the only women who are respected and honoured in their society. The reason they gave her - being taken away from home - seemed very flat.

This isn’t to say that I didn’t enjoy her as a main character. I enjoyed her spunk and all the times she stood against the society, I just wished that she wasn’t so ignorant of the world she lived in or the potential of her talent. Of course, without her ignorance the world building would have been an extremely difficult task.

It took almost the entire story to set the world and its history, and even after the end there were still some question as to what exactly Arras was and how large it was. Even so, there was enough there to keep me reading.

If there was one downfall to the story it would be the love triangle. I’m not saying this only because I think most love triangles in YA novels are unbelievable; the main reason for this was that the two love interests could have been one person and nothing would have been lost in the story.

I’m definitely interested to see where Gennifer takes this world and its characters and am looking forward to reading more in the second installment.

[Review of ARC from BEA]

I won a copy of this book in a Shelf Awareness giveaway what seems like a very, very long time ago. I saw so many people reading it an I wanted to see what it was all about, so I had entered. And it has sat on my shelf ever since. So when it came time to choose my books for Bout of Books and the Book BFFs group decided to set group goals, I felt it fitting to choose this as my "procrastinated read."

I have very mixed feelings about the book. The concept seemed interesting enough, and something still tugs at my memory relating back to mythology. But I just can't place it.

I did have a chuckle at the women who did the weaving being called Spinsters, and that they were women who could never marry, et cetera. The irony of the choice of words amused me greatly.

But to me it felt as though there was something missing from the story. While I didn't dislike it, per se, I didn't really love it either. There was no real action to the story until toward the very end, and then the story ends and you are left wondering what is happening. I will likely read the sequel when it comes out in October if my library has it, but I am not sure if I will rush out to buy it, like I had hoped I would feel like doing.

It is not that often that I feel ambiguous about a book, and it makes me a little sad, but there it is.

The characters were moderately interesting, at least some of them, but others really just irked and annoyed me. The story itself, while well written, just felt flat and like it was missing something vitally important. It was just an okay read for me.

AUTHOR: ALBIN, GenniferTITLE: CrewelDATE READ: 01/05/15RATING: 4/BGENRE/PUB DATE/PUBLISHER/# OF PGS YA/2012/Farrar Straus Giroux/357 pgs SERIES/STAND-ALONE: #1 Crewel WorldTIME/PLACE: Future/Arras (world created beyond earth)CHARACTERS: Adelice, Jost, EricFIRST LINES: I can count the days until summer draws to a close and autumn seeps into the leaves, painting them ginger & scarlet. COMMENTS: Arras is a controlled world where everything is pre-determined: what you eat, where you live, how many children you have and when you will die. Any deviance will cause a re-mapping or removal. This world is all about control and The Manipulation Services consists of spinsters who work the looms that control the fabric of the inhabitants lives. There are certain young women that are gifted and chosen for this life as a spinster. Adelice is born into a family that knows her gift goes beyond someone who can work the loom and has extra special gifts that allow her to weave w/o artifice and no loom is required. Her parents try to protect her from being called as a spinster but they are thwarted and Adelice is taken. Most young women that try to run from the spinsters are removed but Adelice's gifts are too precious to waste, especially since the current creweler had been renewed many times and is ready for the end, Adelice seems to the her replacement. Adelice is forcibly removed from her family and believes are parents are gone but finds out her sister has been re-mapped. She no longer recognizes Adelice since she has new memories and a new family. Adelice is too independent to accept this new life that she has entered and joins forces w/ 2 young men Eric and Jost. She is not sure how or where but her plan is leave Arras and begin to live somewhere else -- Most of the inhabitants of Arras think this is the only world left that Earth had been destroyed years ago. It is not enough to just flee but to save her friends and family as well … so will have to read the next book to find out what progress is made since Book One ends just as they are touching down on earth.

I am surprised by how much I loved this book. My expectations were not set too high, although they weren’t set too low either. I skimmed over a few reviews and decided to give it a go (it helped that I caught it so cheap on Book Outlet). And let it be known, I hate that I didn’t discover and read this book much sooner than I did. I’ve really been missing out on a lot of good books like Crewel, apparently. I don’t find too many series that I actually like enough to follow. Sure, I’ll read the first book of a series and maybe like it, but more often than not I usually move on and just not bother picking up the second or third book. BUT, a really big but, I’m thrilled with Crewel and am currently, desperately glancing at the second book as I type. My curiosity has been caught. Crewel is no simple tale. It’s so different, in the good way. There are the usual things, of course, like the sorta love triangle, guy-in-love-with-practically-a-stranger-mc, and the ‘specialness’ of Adelice. I could overlook them because the actual story is front and center, most importantly interesting and fresh. I can’t do this book justice, but I can’t seem to write a clear review when I really like a book. So if you haven’t read Crewel, consider adding it to your to-read list.

There were only a very few parts that I actually enjoyed of this book the others parts I was so confused and understood nothing. The wold building with all the weave technology was frustrating just never explained in a way that I could follow. The ending however left me with hope that we have perhaps "left" that confusion behind so I plan to go to the next book and we shall see.

Not horrible, but not spectacular either. Maybe its just a little too abstract for me.

Wow, what an extraordinary read! This is totally one of those books you will never will be able to put down! Okay, I thought this would be an easy review to write since I loved it so much. Right now thats working against me because all I want to do is gush over Crewel. Crewel= Masterpiece

The characters are memorable and real. Jost, Adelice, Eric, and other characters, I swear, broke into my room last night. They talked to me and I saw them clear as day. (Maybe I am exaggerating a bit.) But, my point is, the characters were so vivid! Characters always make or break a book for me, and these wonderful characters got a big O on the "Make the reader care" O.W.Ls. My heart ached for each of them and everything they had to go through.

The world in Crewel was...well... utterly breathtaking. One of those settings that transport you to wherever the main character is. Albin is a author to envy for her amazing skills. Also, as you learn about the Spinsters and how they are controlled, you get mad. Scarily (and embarrassingly) mad for the world being total fiction.

The reader can tell the author put a lot of thought into this book. The ideas are complete and unique. Crewel was so not hastily thrown together. Everything needed is included, and in wonderful ways that suck you into the story.

This is now one of my favorite Dystopians. I am not always a big fan of the genre, but this one was 100% amazing. It is not a carbon copy of Hunger Games, or even Matched. Thank you Albin! Crewel stands out. Definitely.

Overall, I loveloveloved Crewel. I recommend this to readers looking for beautiful writing, vivid characters, and original ideas.

5/5 bookcases

Side note- Weaving time? Pulled off wonderfully!

I’m terrible with books sometimes: I’ve fallen in love with some pretty obscure titles (one of my favorite books is The Basic Eight by Daniel Handler; please tell me if you know it), but sometimes I don’t hear of popular ones until they’re everywhere. And, as sheepish as I am to admit it, I hadn’t heard of Crewel before when I won a copy in a giveaway hosted by A.T. O’Connor on her blog, Whispering Minds. As soon as I saw the cover, though, I had a feeling I was going to like this one. I get like that with covers sometimes. It’s like love at first sight. (Of course, there are times when my first impression is terribly, terribly wrong, but usually I’m pretty good about it.)Here’s my only real complaint about Crewel: the description doesn’t give the book justice. It makes it sound like the entire story revolves around the last hour that Adelice has before the Guild comes to get her, and there’s so much more than that. (Also, it makes it sound like she actually escapes, so I was bewildered when the Guild swoops in and completely upends her life.)Other than that, no complaints, really. I couldn’t stop reading this book. The idea of a world where environment and events are part of a carefully woven tapestry was new and interesting. (Well, new if you don’t think about the Fates. But this interpretation still struck me as pretty fresh.) The world of Spinsters (girls selected for their above-average ability to work the looms and weave — quite literally — the fabric of society) is one of glamour, as long as you don’t think too hard about what it is they’re doing…especially when it comes time to rip a thread. (Or, in not-so-subtle terms, end a life.) The amount of power held by these women is envious to some and terrifying to others, and I enjoyed watching the power plays in action. Like so many recent YA titles, there’s a love triangle, but it’s not terribly distracting. The world is well crafted and well explained, and I really enjoyed reading this.All in all: Worth reading, particularly if you enjoy dystopian novels. However, I recently finished Altered, book two in the series, and I don’t think it held up to the promise of Crewel. So if you’re looking for a consistently strong series, maybe search elsewhere. (Altered isn’t bad, just…it didn’t excite me the way the first installment did.)

I know we all have a bit of dystopia-fatigue at this point and Crewel does follow some stereotypical plot points - its contents include a love triangle and a teen girl forced into saving the world by changing it. However, Crewel is full of intricate story threads (pun intended) and some genuinely awesome plot-twist surprises. Not since "The Handmaid's Tale" have I been so disgusted and challenged by a dystopian society. Crewel is a feminist allegory which takes place in a world where women are the talent and the pawns in a patriarchal oligarchy. This enthralling dystopian series is epic in depth without becoming so heavy that it is no longer enjoyable. If you love Teen lit with a bit of romance and adventure and a lot of brains, I highly recommend giving this series a go.

Definitely picked up towards the end. Will be reading the next book now that I've gotten interested in what is going on. At first I wasn't sure I could finish it since other things were keeping me occupied.

There has been a famine of originality in mainstream YA for a while now. Paranormal romance has long lost its sheen, the dystopian craze never entirely took off and, as I discussed in my previous Book Lantern post, the assembly line of contemporary romance is on the rise. The glimmers of hope must be accepted with open arms, and, despite not entirely succeeding in its aims, “Crewel” has ambition to spare.

The appeal in “Crewel” lies in its concept – a world where reality is woven by a group of elite women known as spinsters, who have control over everything but are controlled themselves by a patriarchal system. There’s absolutely no reasons why the genres should remain separate and “Crewel” has elements of science-fiction, fantasy, dystopia and a touch of Greek tragedy, with the obligatory YA romance (a love triangle – is there any other kind?). There are parts that really work, and the book is bursting with ideas and often intricate explanations of how this world functions, but it takes far too long to really get going. The book opens with an incredibly clunky info-dump where the catalyst of the story – Adelice revealing her weaving talents – is barely mentioned before the story moves onto her family. I understand the need to quickly establish the heroine’s love and closeness to her family, since they’re largely absent throughout the novel and act as her main motivation, but the pages of exposition dragged down any momentum. The same happens with the explanations of the weave. The prose is pretty inconsistent but when it’s on form, it’s very beautiful, particularly when describing the weave. In sheer visual terms, this would make a gorgeous film (my choice for director – Guillermo del Toro).

I was disappointed that the book contained several examples of casual women shaming, particularly in regards to the two female antagonists, because “Crewel” has some interesting gender themes throughout. Patriarchy is a common feature in dystopian fiction, notably in Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale”, because it’s a terrifying and not infeasible concept to imagine a world where women are controlled entirely by men. In Adelice’s world, only women can work the weave, and society is focused heavily on the family unit, complete with passive women. As the story is told from Adelice’s point-of-view, we witness her very judgemental moments, particularly towards the other spinsters. For some reason, make-up and fancy clothing are judged very harshly, as are the women who choose to wear a lot of it. The faux-opposition of traditional femininity from a heroine who herself fit that mould felt very hollow and misjudged, especially since the book dedicates a lot of time to beauty preparation, balls and the like. At one point, Adelice smugly declares that she wants to tell one of the male characters (who all became indistinguishable from one another about half-way through) that “unlike the other simpering idiots here I’ve actually read a book or two in my life”. She’s incredibly judgemental of the other young women who aspire to be spinsters, forgetting that they’ve been raised to aspire to this aim. At times, I was greatly confused by Adelice’s actions, and by others reactions to her. She seemed special for the sake of being special.

The supporting cast don’t fare much better, particularly the three main male characters, all of whom are romantically interested in Adelice in some form. I genuinely couldn’t tell who was who at several points throughout the novel. Their backstories, motivations and even their appearances (all charming and handsome, of course) were rather derivative, and I didn’t care about any of them, to be honest. Once again, we have a case of a love triangle where the outcome is painfully predictable. It’s not so much a love triangle as a romance with a third wheel for decorative purposes, and I couldn’t think of any reasons as to why all these men would be so enamoured with Adelice. The female characters fare a little better, if only because they’re given a little more to do. They also seem surprisingly lacking in motivation.

The final quarter of the book really saves it. The pace picks up dramatically, the action goes into full force, and the author puts her all into the unfolding of the world. Adelice comes into her own, which really improves the novel, but also highlights the weaknesses of the novel’s opening. I also seriously appreciated reading a dystopian-type novel that actually contained some LGBTQ representation, however fleeting it was. All too often, such novels just don’t even acknowledge the existence of LGBTQ people and their place in the society depicted, so props to Albin for practicing what all too many YA authors only preach.

There are a lot of questions that “Crewel” leaves unanswered, common for the first book in an intended series, but luckily the novel ends with a bang that left me hopeful for a strong sequel. The reader’s desire to read more will really depend on their reaction to the rest of the novel. For me, the huge scope of the novel does leave me intrigued, and the final 25% of the story worked enough for me to want more. However, the big issue with “Crewel” is that it doesn’t really know what it wants to be, and how to do so. There’s so much creativity and so many ideas screaming for attention in “Crewel”, and one can’t help but admire the ambition, but it’s weighed down by a lot of inconveniences, contradictions and derivative elements. However, in the grand scheme of modern YA dystopia, it’s up there as one of the more intriguing.

2.5/5.

My gosh this book was amazing. I'm going to start off right away and say that if you haven't read this yet, go do it. But alas, I am quite glad I waited for a few days for my initial reactions to sink in and give me time to think. If I had written this review as soon as I'd finished, I'd have given it a 5/5 right away. (I would still give it that in terms of my own enjoyment of it, but critically it fell just a bit short.)The premise is completely new, and I love it. It's dystopian, which I'm usually really on the border about, but it's so well-written, and I think that even readers that don't like dystopian would have a big chance of enjoying this book. I think it's really the concept that originally drew me to the book.The pacing of the story was pretty quick, and I was glad that there wasn't really a lot of info-dumping. It moves fast enough that you're kept interested and sucked into the novel, especially towards the middle-ish, end-ish, though that isn't to say the beginning isn't. I don't want to say it's necessarily a quick read, but it's a book that I personally wanted to keep reading and not put down.What I think Gennifer did extremely well was world-building. You could imagine the strands of the weave. You could picture the metro stations. And again, there wasn't much info-dumping (more on this below). This kind of ties back to the premise thing above, but really, the world-building stuck out.But the thing I loved most about the book was that it was thought-provoking, at least for me. The thing is, a lot of people are criticizing the book for slut-shaming, sexism, etc, but that's kind of the point. Look, Gennifer minored (or was it double majored) in Gender/Women's Studies (I forget which). I think she'd know better than to do something like that unless it was intentional. And it was. What I found interesting was how, on the one hand, it shows how much our own society has moved forward and improved, but at the same time it shows how much further we have to go. This applies to sexism, homophobia, stereotypes, segregation, etc. While it contrasts our society in many ways, it also shows how there are so many similarities. So no, Gennifer isn't sexist; she did it on purpose, and I think she wanted to start a conversation about it.So, you might be thinking, if it's so awesome, why don't I just give it a 5/5 right away? Or what about the characters? Don't fret--here's your answer.Don't get me wrong, I loved the characters for the most part. I liked Adelice, Jost, Erik (to some extent), Valerie, Enora, and Loricel. I loved to hate Priyana, Cormac, the Guild, and Maela. But the thing is, those are pretty much all the characters. Sure, there's Amie and Adelice's parents and for a short time, other Eligibles, BUT THAT'S ABOUT IT. And the thing is, a lot of the characters lacked the depth that I look for, particularly Erik. I think we did get to know a lot about him, but there was always something missing. Enora, though one of my favorites, was also pretty flat (as well as Valerie). They were more like plot devices more than anything else. Enora provided much of the info-dump, and then her and Valerie, who was hardly involved beforehand, had a pivotal role towards the end but also in a more plot device-y type of way. Yes, Adelice and Jost, and arguably Priyana and Loricel, were well thought out and complex, but there was very little of that from everyone else (I was going to say possibly Cormac, but I'm not sure). It was enough for me to get through the book and not notice until I thought more in-depth about the novel, but it was there. (Also the love triangle thing is a bit iffy for me. I feel like she never even really knew Erik, so that felt so fake. I just don't like how it's done.)And lastly, the other thing was that I was left with so many unanswered questions at the end, and even while reading, there were many concepts I still couldn't grasp until the end. Those weren't huge bumps, but it did break up the reading a bit. So what were the parents involved with? Were there others involved? What exactly is the Guild? What exactly is remapping? etc, etc. Again, this didn't hinder the reading and didn't make the book any less enjoyable, but it was always in the back of my mind.All in all, I'd seriously recommend this!

Adelas has the ability to see and weave the threads of time, so she is taken into the guild of spinsters. Her talents are the greatest in generations, but there are various factions that would like to control her and maintain control of society.

Crewel had the potential to be THE dystopian fantasy of the year. I loved its premise – the idea of being able to weave matter into time was unique and completely fascinating. I loved the concept of Arras – where the world – both time and nature – were controlled by Spinsters and the endless possibilities of what their looms could do. I naturally had very high expectations with this book but somewhere this book failed to live up to it.

In all fairness, Crewel is not a bad book. I really liked Gennifer Albin’s brand of writing – the dialogues were not cheesy and Adelice’s sarcasm managed to crack me up almost always. But I felt the characters lacked enough characterization. If we take out the backdrop of the fantasy world, Crewel would read like every other YA book – a (whiny) female protagonist with powers nobody else has, villains zeroing in on her to exploit those powers, a tortured hero and of course, an awkward (and unnecessary) love triangle. Personally, I think the book would have fared better without a first person narrative – I wanted to know more about other characters, like Enora, Loriel, Valerie and Jost , rather than just Adelice.

As for the romance, I really liked that it was just a small (albeit important) part of a much bigger story. What I did not like was that the writer had to make it a love triangle. Honestly, the book would have read completely same even if we remove Erik – his character was as necessary as Rosalie’s M6 from Twilight (something pretty for everyone to fawn over). I totally adored Jost though (and no, that is not why I am being mean to Erik!) and he is easily my favorite character in the book so far.

Crewel is a really good beginning to a dystopian series but as a single book it ended up being just okay. I am really interested to see where Albin will take the story from here.

2.5/5 Stars

This ebook was provided to me by the publishers via NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.

Definitely an interesting start to a series with a unique premise/world with thought-out politics. I look forward to the next book.

The Crewel series is a great addition to the ever-expanding world of YA Dystopian fiction. It was not at all what I expected, but I really enjoyed it. Fans of Tahereh Mafi's Shatter Me and Lauren Oliver's Pandemonium will absolutely love Crewel.

Plot: 3 stars
Characters: 3 stars
Style: 3 stars
Pace: 3 stars

I wanted to like this one more than I actually did. On one hand, gorgeous cover, unique idea, and enough tension to keep me reading while walking around the house doing chores. On the other hand, the abrasiveness of the blatant sexism, the snarky talk but more passive acting main character, and rather flat characters and a plot that tended to whiplash around. I scrapped the difference on this one, but will likely pick up the sequel to see if it gets better.

I started this book on a recommendation from a friend. I have to say WOW! What a creative premise for a world and a series. The book is well-written. The world is well-conceived. The emotion, mystery, and page-turning action was all well done.

In CREWEL the author took a unique look at the myth of the three fates: Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. In Greek myth, Clotho spins the threads of life, Lachesis draws them out (creates the path), and Atropos cuts the thread(s)--ending a life. Albin's story imagines a world where, there is an entire class of women called the "spinsters" who work the threads of life on a loom. And, as with any large society, there is a hierarchy of talent, those who wish to get ahead by any means necessary, and those who use their power to control and punish.

Into this society comes the protagonist, sixteen year old Adelice, who is more gifted than any spinster in the story in more than one hundred years. Adelice is a "creweler." She can do all the things other spinsters can do at a higher craft level and, more importantly, she can see the entire fabric of life in relation to both space and time without the looms. This allows her to question the reality of her world and it gives her the power to both create and change her world as well as to destroy it.

Albin sets up the perfect YA Fantasy situation. A young girl with all the innocence and good intentions of a well-raised child is thrust into a world that contains evil and requires her to quickly understand her own abilities and to use them for the good of all. As with all teenagers, this is no easy task and many obstacles are placed in front of her to make it more difficult.

The only reason I didn't give this book 5 stars is because there was no ending. The ending was a cliff-hanger that has to be resolved in the next book. I'm fine for leaving hints about more to come, it's to be expected to draw me in to a series. However, a literal falling through the world cliffhanger is reminiscent of a comic book panel where someone pushes Batman off the building and he is literally falling and the comic says "Come back next week to see if he lives." This type of cliff hanger angers me. In spite of that, the book and writing were so good and the premise is so unique--never done before--that I will buy the next book just to experience a little more of this world and learn about Adelice's next steps as she will certainly try to make everything right for everybody.

***Review to be posted at Paranormal Haven in the upcoming week***

Crewel is one of those books that has a great premise and superb visual imagery. We meet Adelice as she’s living with her family and has been trying her hardest to conceal her abilities as a Spinster. Spinsters are individuals that have the ability to weave time with matter and are called upon by Arras’s Manipulation Services to work the looms and essentially decide how people live and die. On the day that Adelice is unable to keep her abilities a secret, she is whisked off by the Guild of the Twelve, to serve as a spinster, whether she wants to or not.

As she is being held captive and trained to work as a Spinster, Adelice encounters several people that will shape her very future as a Spinster. We’re introduced to Jost, the head valet who works for Guild Ambassador, Cormac Patton. There is also Erik, a guard who helped retrieve Adelice when she tried to flee from the Guild when they came for her earlier. This sets up to be what is one of the weakest parts of the whole book : a rather limp love triangle. I can see why Adelice is attracted to Jost. He challenges her preconceptions about what it means to be a spinster, whereas Erik comes across more as the eye candy who occasionally will flirt with Adelice. I’m not big on triangles, I think they’re a pretty contrived way to set up conflict within a book. Crewel already has enough going on, and the author does an excellent job of making various characters give Adelice different pieces of information about Arras and what her role will be in the future.

The world building is complex without being overwhelming and there were many ideas I found intriguing, such as the idea of being able to “cut strands” and subsequently killing innocent people, or weave people new identities and lives. Adelice is an impulsive heroine, but she’s good at keeping the information she’s gathered to herself. You truly get the sense that she loves her family and would do pretty much anything to keep them from harm. The villain of the piece, Ambassador Cormac Patton, comes across as creepy with an agenda he fully intends to have Adelice fulfill. That being said, his character has more depth to him than I expected.

Crewel has a very dystopian feel, but I would also stipulate that there are fantasy like elements within the story and it makes for a very enjoyable read. If you like fascinating world building, intrigue, with characters that have yet to reveal their true intentions, I can imagine that Crewel would most likely be a good book for you to pick up. I know I certainly enjoyed the book.