The White Rose

Gr 9 Up—The sequel to The Jewel (HarperCollins, 2014) picks up within hours of the first volume's end. Violet and Ash's love affair has been discovered by the Duchess of the Lake. In order to save Ash and to survive, Violet must trust The Black Key, a secret society bent upon the destruction of the royals in the Jewel. Violet escapes from the Jewel circle to the Farm circle, along the way learning that surrogates are not the only ones who are being used by the royals: boys are forced to be companions for the wealthy, girls are being kidnapped into slavery, servants are killed on a whim, boys are being conscripted into military service, and children are dying from disease. This realization makes the protagonist determined to end the reign of the royals and discover the true meaning behind the Auguries, the powers that the royals find so desirable in their surrogates. What Violet learns about those powers will change the future of the city. This work has its own fast-paced plot and doesn't just bridge the first book to the third. Questions are answered from the first installment in this tale, backstory and history are provided for better understanding of the workings of the Lone City, and a surprise twist will make readers anxious for the next series entry.