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Sep 14, 2016TEENREVIEWCREW rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
The White Rose is a pleasant sequel to The Jewel. My only concern with this book was its slow-pace during the first half, but the author still managed to squeeze some adventurous elements within this space. Nonetheless, important developments occur during this time period that shape the opinions the characters have of each other. The second half of the book is when the story picks up its pace. Meaningful insight is given on each of the characters and their back stories are revealed, which allows you to have a better understanding of their personalities. Also, a lot of new characters are added to the narrative and one thing is for sure: all of them are about to contribute to a revolutionary change. Now that Violet is free, she along with other girls who were in the same situation as her have discovered they have more power than they ever knew of. But what happens when one of her own is about to be sacrificed? That is the question I was left with as I flipped over the last page! Star Rating: 3/5 stars - @moonlite of the Teen Review Board of the Hamilton Public Library So I loved The Jewel, I loved how it was different and I loved Violet especially. Oh my, the cliffhanger at the end nearly broke me so I just had to get the second book of the series. The White Rose is okay, meager to say the least. I really liked the beginning because it was fast paced, but almost as soon as they arrive at The White Rose it was harder for me to keep reading. I like how Ewing touched on the life of all the levels, the Farm, the Smoke. I loved Ash, Raven and Violet’s journey to the White Rose. But after all this excitement and greatness we are met with just Violet, trying to understand her powers and her strength. I’m sorry to say it didn’t really interest me enough! Slowly Violet is starting to become very powerful and Lucien’s next plan is to collect surrogates from the North, South, East and West Gates to create a powerful army of magical surrogates. I definitely do think this should be read, but the first book was much better than the second. Rating 3/5 - @jewelreader of the Teen Review Board of the Hamilton Public Library The White Rose is the sequel to the jewel. I think that this book is an interesting read because of the characters. The main character is one of many surrogates for the Royalty. She herself is nervous to be surrogate but she doesn’t exactly hate the system. But many others do, and still others are in love with the idea and the life style. I think this shows that not everyone is opposed to a clearly flawed system and might even live it. This might imply some things about our world today. In the end, everyone is needed to start a revolution. Other than that, the book includes a male companion, and describes his life and how he got to be there. His story deals with self-harm, drug addiction, suicide and the stigma against sex workers. I love this character because for one it deals with these issues and the character isn’t female, breaking a stereotype. Although I love this book, it is definitely not one for a younger audience. It is not the best book I’ve ever read, but it is a very interesting concept. - @Grimm of the Teen Review Board at the Hamilton Public Library