The Jewel

June 16, 2014
First-time author Ewing adds to a genre saturated with stories of poor, beautiful girls forced to live among the upper class. Sixteen-year-old Violet Lasting is from the direst sector of the Lone City. It’s an island run by powerful royals who can no longer bear their own children and must hire surrogates, like Violet, with unique powers called auguries. In an annual auction, Violet is sold to the powerful Duchess of the Lake, who parades her around in fine dresses, but demands that Violet deliver a perfect daughter quickly. As Violet begins to realize the dangerous political machinations at play, the plot becomes further complicated as she falls for an off-limits guy. The idea of forced reproductive slavery provides an attention-grabbing hook, but thin worldbuilding and some narrative missteps (at least four chapters end with Violet falling into darkness after being drugged, and there are unfortunate references to characters’ almond-shaped eyes or skin “the color of dark brewed coffee”) don’t help the story stand out from the pack. Ages 14–up. Agent: Charlie Olsen, Inkwell Management.

Starred review from September 1, 2014
Grades 9-12 *Starred Review* Violet, forced to leave her home in the Marsh to become a surrogate, will no longer be known by her name once she is purchased at auction. She'll be known as 197, the property of the Duchess of Lake, for whom she will bear a child. Her life will go from humble to opulent, but it will no longer be her own. Debut author Ewing gets inspiration from Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale (1985), but she does a delicious job of putting her twist on the surrogacy premise. Violet, who tells her own story, is by turns frightened by her fate yet bold in her choices. Her strength as a character is matched by that of the determined Duchess of Lake, who is carefully layered. Readers get a true sense of not just the social hierarchy but also the effect it has on the citizenry, from highest to lowest, through Ewing's excellent world building. This spills over into skillful descriptions that bring teens right into the Jewel, the center city where the royalty live, with each glorious gown, ornate adornment, and delicious morsel of food lovingly evoked. While Violet's forbidden romance is not the dominant story line, it intrigues. Still, the males look like they'll play more of a role in the next book, which readers will want ASAP.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-Violet lives in a city divided into five concentric circles; with the poorest in the farthest outlining ring (The Marsh) and the wealthiest (The Jewel) at the center. The women of the Jewel are unable to produce healthy babies, so every year girls from the Marsh are tested and purchased to become surrogates; surrogates who demonstrate skills and are able to control the way the baby looks and special talents the child might have. Violet was tested at age 12 and taken from her family to be trained and sold after her 18th birthday. The Jewel is not what Violet was expecting; it is full of wealth and splendor, but the lies, mind games, and viciousness undercut its beauty. In this corrupt circle, Violet falls in love with an escort who has been hired to teach Violet's mistress' niece how to be a woman; a love that is ill-fated. Ewing writes a fast-paced story that takes readers into the inner workings of a society that is obsessed with power and perfection. Fans of Lauren DeStefano's "The Chemical Garden" trilogy (S. & S.) will enjoy this YA debut.-Lisa Nabel, Dayton Metro Library, OH

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2014
Rescued from poverty in order to help royalty, Violet Lasting grows to hate her gilded cage in this dystopian debut.Taken from her family in the Marsh-the farthest circle and lowest class of the Lone City-Violet has spent the last four years in the holding facility of Southgate. Not a criminal but a surrogate, Violet was born with a certain gene and the special power of Augury (transformative magic) and will help a royal woman...by bearing her child. The Duchess of the Lake buys Violet at Auction and begins to pamper and punish her, eager to implant a child that will win the ruling Electress and Exetor's favor. Beautiful, purple-eyed and slightly rebellious, Violet balks at the idea of being a walking womb for a rich woman, but she cannot think of a way out. Mysterious beautician Lucien takes Violet as his symbol for a brewing rebellion and offers an escape, even as Violet falls for Ash, the hired companion for the Duchess's niece. Ewing's opener bears obvious similarities to The Hunger Games and The Handmaid's Tale as well as countless other dystopian novels, with predictable rebellion and romance elements. Still, it offers a well-built world, an appealing heroine and an unusual blend of magic and science. Expect sequels.Fans not yet sated by the dystopian glut may enjoy this decently wrought, derivative mashup. (Dystopian fantasy. 14 & up)

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