Review: Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano

Perfect Ruin

Author: Lauren DeStefano
Series: The Internment Chronicles #1
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Genre: YA Science Fiction
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 1, 2013
Source: Personal Library, Bought
Rating: 3 Stars
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Synopsis from Goodreads:

On Internment, the floating island in the clouds where 16-year-old Morgan Stockhour lives, getting too close to the edge can lead to madness. Even though Morgan's older brother, Lex, was a Jumper, Morgan vows never to end up like him. She tries her best not to mind that her life is orderly and boring, and if she ever wonders about the ground, and why it is forbidden, she takes solace in best friend Pen and her betrothed, Basil.

Then a murder, the first in a generation, rocks the city. With whispers swirling and fear on the wind, Morgan can no longer stop herself from investigating, especially when she meets Judas. He is the boy being blamed for the murder — betrothed to the victim — but Morgan is convinced of his innocence. Secrets lay at the heart of Internment, but nothing can prepare Morgan for what she will find — or who she will lose.

My Review:

I really enjoyed Lauren DeStefano’s Chemical Garden series so I was super excited for this new series, especially when I purchased it for $1.99 for my Kindle! Plus it sounded absolutely amazing. A floating city in the sky? Yes please! As I started reading, I was immediately blown away by Lauren DeStefano’s writing. The prose in this novel is simply stunning. I highlighted so many different places in this book. Absolutely gorgeous. The writing completely swept me away. The only book I’ve ever read with more beautiful prose than this is the Shatter Me series by Tahereh Mafi.

This book is about a young girl, Morgan, living on Internment, a city floating in the sky. No one leaves Internment. If you try to jump, a massive wind will throw you back into the city. If you’re lucky, you’ll live. But even if you do, you will have some kind of permanent damage. Morgan thinks too much about the ground. It’s a dangerous thing to think about and Morgan hides this piece of her so her parents don’t worry. Internment is a peaceful, utopian society, until a murder rocks the city, throwing the people into chaos and fear.

The main character, Morgan, was okay. She seemed pretty angsty to me at times which really annoyed me, but I did like that she was constantly questioning things. That she was constantly dreaming. Everyone else seemed to be just going through the motions of life. Morgan was the only one who was wondering when they were going to wake up and start living.

The other characters were okay. None of them really stood out to me except maybe Lex, Morgan’s older brother. He was a jumper and as a result, was blind. His writing was super interesting and just his character as a whole. He had a dark personality that I wanted to know more about.

At one point while I was reading, I updated my Goodreads status and said how great the world-building was. But then immediately after writing that, the world-building just kind of dropped off and I ended up having lots of unanswered questions. I really wanted to know how the city picked who was betrothed to whom among other things. There were also some interesting elixirs and pharmaceuticals, but we never really find out what their purposes are although my guess is that they have a calming effect on the mind, kind of like the drug used in Across the Universe by Beth Revis. So anyway, I have a lot of unanswered questions and with the way it ended, I’m not sure how we are going to get the answers in the next book.

I also felt like not too much happened throughout the book. Like this was just one long introduction to the next book. But at the same time, I was still entertained and it definitely kept me turning the pages. So although this book was flawed, I will definitely be checking out the rest of the series. This was a beautifully written, highly original story that I want to know more about. I did like her Chemical Garden series better, but this was a solid start to a new series. I have a feeling that the series is only going to get better. If you’re looking for something different or want to read a book with some seriously beautiful prose I would definitely recommend this one. Happy reading all! 

Have you read this one? What did you think of the writing? Did you also feel like not much happened? How did you feel about Morgan?