Kayla Elizabeth's Booklikes

Perfect Ruin

The Internment Chronicles #1

by Lauren DeStefano

Release: October 1st, 2013

356 pages - ARC

*Please note that I do my best NOT to spoil the book for readers, however there may be items in here that some may consider to be spoilers, so proceed with that in mind*

Review

First, let me say that you need to give Lauren DeStefano props for her uncanny ability to create amazingly original worlds that, right away, suck you in. I felt this way with her Chemical Garden trilogy (Wither, Fever, and Sever) and I certainly feel it again with the start of her Internment Chronicles. She has created this place called Internment, which is a city in the sky. Yes, a floating city in the sky. But really, the world is so much deeper than just the physical setting of a city in the sky. The meaning behind the city being in the sky brings about the idea of God (or Gods) and whether there is one (or more) that exist, which, in my opinion, is a pretty risky thing to tackle considering how touchy the subject is, so more props for Lauren DeStefano! I really appreciate when authors tackle such subjects and do it in a new way.

Going into the world, we are focusing on a fifteen-year-old girl named Morgan and her friend, Pen, as well as her betrothed, Basil. We have Morgan who is a daydreamer and occasionally she dreams of going over the edge and seeing what the ground is like below Internment, which is a BIG no-no not just in the eyes of society, but also with the law. There is no reason for people to want to leave Internment because it is a safe environment unlike the ground. The lure of the edge is still there, though, and people who do try to jump essentially end up going mad. Morgan knows this too well for her brother is a jumper. She vows to never be like him in that sense. The question here, though, is does she succeeded?

But, back to Internment. It turns out that Internment is not be the safe place everyone has thought it to be. A young girl, Daphne, who is around Morgan's age, is found dead on the train tracks and this girl's betrothed, Judas, is said to be her murderer. But something isn't sitting right with Morgan. She believes there is more to the story. This by itself would have felt a little flat to me, okay, this girl has a feeling, so what? HOWEVER, Lauren DeStefano added in this… surprise gift. At the beginning of each chapter there is a little blurb at the top, which is said to have been quoted from an essay by Daphne. Well, Morgan eventually gets to see this essay, as it is posted around town by a mystery person (I won't spoil it for you!), and based on its contents she believes that she is right in thinking that something isn't right with Daphne's murder. But let's focus on the essay itself. It essentially goes against Internment in the sense that it questions a lot of what Internment stands for and what everyone has been taught to believe. This was actually one of my favorite things about the novel- the getting the bits of the essay because it helps to world build without dragging the story out with added fluff, as I like to call it. Plus, too, despite Daphne being dead, we as readers have a connection with her and she becomes a prominent character without being alive (and without this being some sort of supernatural story). As I was reading, I found myself sort of rooting for Daphne in the sense that I wanted this essay that has been shared with me to be shared with the characters in the novel. I feel like her voice speaks VOLUMES and is an important (and special) element to the story.

What happens after Daphne's murder I will not share you with you guys because that would spoil the exciting roller coaster ride that DeStefano takes you on. I will say, though, that this roller coaster is worth getting on because there are a lot of twists and turns that I never saw coming. I can't tell you how many times I have read a book that gives such obvious foreshadowing and it drives me crazy because essentially it ruins the book. However, with Perfect Ruin the plot line isn't ruined by any obvious foreshadowing (yes, I did that on purpose)- you do get hints, I guess you could call them, but really you are left up to your own devices to guess what is to come and must continue to read.

Focusing on the characters: Morgan and her friend, Pen, were well rounded. I loved their dialogue, interactions with each other, as well as other characters. Morgan, as our main character, is definitely not a stagnant character. I loved seeing her change as a character based on everything that happens around her. Morgan's brother, Lex, was a pretty interesting character. When I first started reading the book, I didn't expect a lot to come out of his character aside from being the example that Morgan didn't want to follow, but I was very much surprised (in a good way) that he had this very large role. Basil, Morgan's betrothed, he is a great source of solace for Morgan. I would have liked to gotten to know Basil more, but I honestly don't think there was an opportunity in this novel to really dive into his character in great detail, other than what his relationship was with Morgan, but I do hope that we learn more about him in the upcoming books in this series. There are other key characters (which I don't want to share due to spoilers), but they are characters to look forward to.

I wish I could add in every little detail that I loved about the book and go more into the specifics of the book and the world, but my purpose here isn't to retell the story or spoil it… it is to make you decided whether or not you want to give the book a go. And if you are going to take my opinion, then I suggest picking this book up. I truly love this new piece by Lauren DeStefano. She has an exceptional writing style, a way with words (every time I pick up a book by her I am always in awe over how many beautifully written sentences there), and again, her world building is INCREDIBLE.

I can easily say that Perfect Ruin is a five out of five stars kind of book. Now, Perfect Ruin comes out Tuesday, October 1st, 2013, which is only a week away. That gives you plenty of time to preorder and/or save your pennies to get a copy. Trust me, despite being privileged with an ARC (thank you, Lauren DeStefano and Simon and Schuster), I am SO getting this book in a hardcover. Thank you guys for taking the time to read my review. I hope you find it to be helpful. I will see you guys with another post soon!

Find Lauren DeStefano Online

Official Site | Twitter | Instagram

(Note: If you are a lover of cats, Lauren's Instagram is something you MUST check out.)

Originally posted on Something-Beautiful.org