"The White Rose" Blooms With Thought Provoking Social Commentary And Action Packed Adventure

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Title:  The White Rose
(The Lone City #2)
Author:  Amy Ewing
Format:  ERC
Length:  320 pages
Publisher:  HarperTEEN
Date of Publication:  October 6th, 2015
 Rating:  5 Stars
    
Violet is on the run. After the Duchess of the Lake catches Violet with Ash, the hired companion at the Palace of the Lake, Violet has no choice but to escape the Jewel or face certain death. So along with Ash and her best friend, Raven, Violet runs away from her unbearable life of servitude.

But no one said leaving the Jewel would be easy. As they make their way through the circles of the Lone City, Regimentals track their every move, and the trio barely manages to make it out unscathed and into the safe haven they were promised—a mysterious house in the Farm.

But there’s a rebellion brewing, and Violet has found herself in the middle of it. Alongside a new ally, Violet discovers her Auguries are much more powerful than she ever imagined. But is she strong enough to rise up against the Jewel and everything she has ever known?

The White Rose is a raw, captivating sequel to The Jewel that fans won’t be able to put down until the final shocking moments.

There comes a time in the life of every reviewer when the stars align, and we are gifted with a story that manages to entertain, provoke, and enthrall simultaneously.  Such is the case with THE WHITE ROSE.

 My Thoughts
All of the characters that we were introduced to in THE JEWEL, become real in startling an unexpected ways, as readers are brought into their worlds both individually and collectively.
Because this story deals for the most part with Violet and company's escape from THE JEWEL, readers are brought face to face with the harsh realities of how people other than Violet, have been effected by the tyranny of the upper classes
.
The most startling of these revelations,  and the one that I am proudest to see, has to be that of Ash.
To have the struggles that the male "companions" of the ruling classes face exposed in such a way is both heartbreaking and wonderful.
When Ash's story is then joined with that of Lucien, as well as those  of other wronged male characters; the impact upon the reader is nothing less than mind-blowing.
 
The pacing of this book is breakneck from page one.  There is never a lull in the action or drama. Even so, the story's plot remains completely intact, twisting and turning, but never straying from its compulsively readable course.

The the intricacies in world building are only made apparent as an experience of the character.   Mostly through travel near the first crescendo of the plot.  This is where readers are made to understand the scope of the story that they are being presented with.
No descriptive stone is left unturned as we are ushered through the differing layers of this microcosm.  Each as different from the other as night is from day.
As if all that has come before is not enough, there is also a great empowerment story being told here. One that is laced with magic...no less!  This is the part where the girls get to shine.
Violet, Sienna, Raven, and others really start to show what they are made of toward book's end.
In short...
This book is one unlike any other, and I loved it from cover to cover. 


About Amy
Amy EwingAmy Ewing is the young adult author of The Jewel, the first in a trilogy from HarperTeen, coming out September 2014.

She grew up in a small town outside Boston, where her librarian mother instilled a deep love of reading at a young age. Amy moved to New York City in 2000 to study theater at New York University. Unfortunately, her acting career didn’t quite pan out. She worked in restaurants, as an administrative assistant, a nanny, and a sales representative for a wine distributor before the lack of creativity in her life drove her to begin writing.

Amy received her MFA in Creative Writing for Children from The New School, where she was lucky enough to meet a fabulous community of YA writers who keep her sane on a daily basis. She lives in Harlem, where she spends her days writing, eating cheese, and occasionally binge watching The Vampire Diaries.

  

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