Crewel

Gr 7–9—Adelice has the gift: a tremendous talent to see and weave the threads that hold the world of Arras together. And so her parents train her…to be clumsy and awkward, hiding her talent, so she will not be among the chosen, taken away to live forever unmarried, a Spinster. Adelice quickly experiences the title's play on words, for the Guild oversees an often cruel world, where men rule, girls are expected to honor purity standards, and Manipulation Services snips out and reweaves deviant "threads" to maintain order. Renewal patches maintain youth for the rich, and weather, farm crops, and population are all controlled by the Spinsters, who weave and tear out as assigned. Arras is an interesting world, where every part of life can be manipulated upon a loom. Those with the gift to see the threads are required to clean, strengthen, patch, or rip out, directly affecting human life. The book sometimes reads like a Hunger Games wanna-be, with food rationing, a sweet younger sister, transport to a special enclave surrounded by eccentric, hypercontrolling adults, and aestheticians who groom an average girl into a beauty. Spinsters are served by male valets, and Adelice finds herself in a romantic triangle. When she realizes the enormity of her talent, as well as the limits to her life if she remains a Spinster in Arras, she weaves her own creation into the tapestry. Readers will have to wait for the next installment to see how that works out. Consider for purchase in libraries where dystopian romance is popular.—Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX