Review: Good book
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 01 31, 2014
“Known” by Kristin Warner takes place in the near future.  The two-party system has been replaced by one party, known as the Diplomats.  They have a plan to take over the country slowly, making minor changes at first, stripping the people of their freedoms a little at a time.  But there are rebel forces at work, seeking evidence of their plan in an effort to stop the Diplomats and strip them of their power before it is too late.Lily is one of the rebels.  She works for one of the Diplomats as a maid, keeping her eyes and ears open for any information that will help the rebel cause.  Her boyfriend, Trevor, known as T, has been captured and is feared to be dead.  But Lily has a special intuitive connection to T.  She dreams that he is still alive, calling to her to rescue him.While Diplomat Johnson is away on vacation, an invitation to a ball at Diplomat Paxton’s house arrives.  She steals the invitation, borrows a gown from the Diplomat’s daughter, and sneaks into the ball.  Paxton has the information on where T is being held.  But before she can sneak out of his house, her cover is blown.“Known” captured my interest from the first few pages.  Written in first person, with a young spirit suited for the character, it shows the emotion, fear, and challenge that Lily faces as she tries to free her soul mate from the clutches of the enemy.  While the plan the Diplomats have for the country is not specifically stated, anyone who opposes the government’s control of any type of freedom will enjoy the basic plot and purpose of the story.The book is sweet and clean, without foul language, and limited to just kissing.  The Christian content is also mild; just a few prayers, and no preachy church scenes.  The violence is tastefully portrayed; enough to make the reader squirm, but not enough to make one sick.The dialogue tends to be stilted at times because the author doesn’t use the contractions that most people use in typical dialect (isn’t instead of is not).  The author also uses “dimple” as a verb, (I dimpled him.) but those are the only faults to the writing.  The country that this story takes place in isn’t stated, nor is the year, so if one imagines that the spies are like Sean Connery, then this may not be a bothersome detail.  Aside from that, the writing is descriptive, involving, well-paced and believable.