Book Review: Rook - Sharon Cameron

Title: Rook
Author: Sharon Cameron
Pub Date: April 28th, 2015
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Page Count: 464

History has a way of repeating itself. In the Sunken City that was once Paris, all who oppose the new revolution are being put to the blade. Except for those who disappear from their prison cells, a red-tipped rook feather left in their place. Is the mysterious Red Rook a savior of the innocent or a criminal?

Meanwhile, across the sea in the Commonwealth, Sophia Bellamy’s arranged marriage to the wealthy René Hasard is the last chance to save her family from ruin. But when the search for the Red Rook comes straight to her doorstep, Sophia discovers that her fiancé is not all he seems. Which is only fair, because neither is she.

As the Red Rook grows bolder and the stakes grow higher, Sophia and René find themselves locked in a tantalizing game of cat and mouse.

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Un roman que j'adore! Il y a d'action, d'amour et je m'identifier avec la personnage principal. Aussi, j'aime que je peux comprendre les mots en français en ce. - Nova @ Out of Time

Considering this story is set in a dystopian France, I figured I'd write my blurb in French [I didn't Google translate.] I finished Grade 9 French [which is technically grade 5 because we start at grade 4] Sorry French speakers, I'm still learning so if I majorly screwed up, please correct me.
To those who don't speak French, I'd love to know what you THINK the blurb says [don't google translate it!]

Anyway, the first thing I want to bring up is how I've always noticed that in dystopian novels, it's mainly about the US. For example, Divergent is set in Chicago and you can't help but wonder, "where is the rest of the world?" And this happens with a lot of dystopians so I admire and appreciate Sharon Cameron for writing about a different setting.
France is one of my favorite settings. I'm in love with the language and the culture and one day, I hope to go there. So this book held my attention in terms of worldbuilding. I thought it was so fascinating how there was a "Sunken City" and how people resorted into using such methods like the Guillotine. By the way, this novel made me realize how scary that device really is.

We figure out who the Rook is very quickly. I wasn't really sure what to expect about this novel but it certainly isn't a mystery. Even though the book is written in 3rd person, we're pretty deep into Sophia, the main character's head. In fact, there isn't much suspense in this book until a while later. What I could never really predict was Rene.

Sophia is to be married to Rene Hasard [yes, there's an acute accent on the second e but I can't be bothered to look it up and insert it each time I use Rene's name.] and she assumes him to be another dumb Parisian Upperclassman. So imagine her surprise when he counters everything she says. In my mind, it reminded me so much of Arin and Kestrel's relationship from The Winner's Curse. The only thing that was different is that Rene is the one of the most charming bastards I've ever met and would give all the other bad boys a run for their money. That's right, fall hard for this silver-tongued, swoon-inducing character. He's intelligent, strategic but still has enough flaws and emotions to make him human. And once Sophia and Rene come to terms that the other is not what they expected, that's where the real thing happens because as a team, they're a force to be reckoned with.

And I love that.

The only thing that really bothered me was the pacing. A lot of this novel was description and building. It's almost five hundred pages and I have no idea what do with that info! I was skimming by 300 because I loved the story but it was moving so slowly, especially because the date of the big event seemed pretty imminent - it was more like a week than a year, so the pacing didn't make much sense.

Overall, this novel was awesome! I really enjoyed the plot and the writing too [especially the dialogue, hehe]. The only thing that lessened my enjoyment was how it got boring for a hundred pages or so. I felt like it could've been condensed but still, an amazing read and I really recommend it.

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Sharon Cameron was awarded the 2009 Sue Alexander Most Promising New Work Award by the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators for her debut novel, The Dark Unwinding. When not writing Sharon can be found thumbing dusty tomes, shooting her longbow, or indulging in her lifelong search for secret passages.