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Perfect Ruin (The Internment Chronicles Book 1) Kindle Edition
Morgan Stockhour knows getting too close to the edge of Internment, the floating city and her home, can lead to madness. Even though her older brother, Lex, was a Jumper, Morgan vows never to end up like him. There’s too much for her on Internment: her parents, best friend Pen, and her betrothed, Basil. Her life is ordinary and safe, even if she sometimes does wonder about the ground and why it’s forbidden.
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 once she meets Judas. Betrothed to the victim, Judas is being blamed for the murder, 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 whom she will lose.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherSimon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
- Publication dateOctober 1, 2013
- Grade level7 and up
- File size2336 KB
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* A "concoction of tension and love with a cliff-hanger ending." (School Library Journal, starred review)
"Definite excitment...." (The Bulletin)
About the Author
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Product details
- ASIN : B00BOUNF6Q
- Publisher : Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (October 1, 2013)
- Publication date : October 1, 2013
- Language : English
- File size : 2336 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Not Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 368 pages
- Best Sellers Rank: #901,621 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
Lauren Destefano earned her BA in English with a Concentration in Creative Writing from Albertus Magnus College in Connecticut in 2007. This is her first novel.
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It is interesting that there is another common element between the two series and that is the idea of arranged marriage. In her other series, marriage was bought and paid for and was in the polygamous way with the intent to repopulate the dying human world. In Perfect Ruin, it is about the creation of an almost utopian world, creating matches based not on love but on compatibility. But as it happens in many utopian societies, not everything is as perfect as it may seem.
The characters in this book are all very different. One of my favorites was Amy, the younger sister of a murdered girl. Although she was not a main character, I loved her strong, independent, somewhat rebellious personality. The main character, Morgan, was a restless spirit and I could identify with her. She tended to question things that perhaps she shouldn't have in her world, preferring to think for herself. But that got her into trouble, too.
There is a lot of mystery and intrigue in this book, a lot of questions. There are times when it had a bit of a "conspiracy theory" feeling to it, but not in a crazy, unbelievable way. Instead, it added to the suspense and anticipation of it all. There is definitely a cliffhanger at the end, but it wasn't the usual "life or death" kind, but the kind that leaves you wondering what is going to happen next!
Things to love about Perfect Ruin...
--The mythology of the world. It is a dystopian/utopian blend, with a fascinating premise.
--The suspense and anticipation. I loved the twists and turns and the way things changed on the drop of a dime.
My recommendation: Fantastic start to a great new series. Fans of The Chemical Gardens will love this book, too!
I'm always on the lookout for unique story lines, especially in the dystopian genre. I love reading about new worlds that authors have created, so of course I gravitated right to Perfect Ruin. I was not the biggest fan of Lauren DeStefano's Chemical Garden trilogy, but I really, really enjoyed this first installment in the Internment Chronicles.
1. Internment is a huge chunk of Earth that has been RIPPED out of the ground and placed in the sky by the Sky God. Because the island is so small, people have to apply to have babies, and are exterminated when they reach a specific age in order to keep the population under control. Babies are betrothed before they are born. There's a strong wind just off the edge of the island that keeps people from jumping off. People who venture there anyway go insane, and are labeled as Jumpers who have to go to therapy and take medication. Morgan's brother, Lex, is a Jumper. Thus, the entire family is watched for signs of rebellion. If that's not a crazy unique and exciting sounding story, I'm not sure what is.
2. Even crazier, people are turning up dead on this happy little island in the sky. The first one is a girl who was murdered and left on the train tracks. The entire population is now in this constant state of paranoia, not to mention they are under even more surveillance by their oppressive king. Everyone knows everything, but only a couple people know the truth.
3. I really love this cast of characters. Morgan is not content with her small life. She knows the world has more to offer her than the rock she's living on. She begins questioning everything especially after she comes across Judas, the boy who has been accused of murdering the girl on the train tracks (his betrothed), and is convinced he's innocent. She also comes upon the mysterious sister of the murdered girl, and begins to learn things that make her question her life even more. She confides in her brother and tries to convince herself that she will not end up a Jumper like he is. She also holds on tight to her betrothed, Basil, who is so caring and understanding with her. We also meet Morgan's best friend, Pen, who is outwardly reluctant to be with her betrothed, but secretly adores him. All these characters are strong, dynamic, and unique.
4. I loved learning about the inner workings of this city. There are so many laws and cultural elements. I can't wait to read more about these people.
5. There are some really amazing twists and events that had my jaw dropping. The story is go, go, go, and I did not want to put it down. And the cliffhanger!!!!!!!!!! Oh man. I can't even handle it.
6. Lauren's writing and worldbuilding skills have improved so much! I was completely invested in this story and these characters. I loved her descriptions and her writing style.
7. As is typical with the first book in a trilogy, Perfect Ruin brought up a lot of questions. There is so much going on here, with so many layers of secrets that I'm still not sure I know what's going on. I actually really loved that. I'm usually a control freak when it comes to books. I want to know everything all at once. With Perfect Ruin, I was left in the dark a lot. It's perfect for the story, though. I felt just like the characters did, I learned with them, and I really could picture myself living in their world.
I feel like this review is really unorganized and pointless, but there's so much I just don't want to say for fear of spoiling things! I went into Perfect Ruin knowing only two things: it's about an island in the sky, and there's murder going on. That was it. And I think because I knew so little, I loved it so much more. Bottom line, I'm a new fan of Lauren DeStefano. She has created an amazing story that had me gasping for air and wishing for more. I can't believe I have to wait a million years to find out what happens next! Definitely read this book.
Lauren DeStefano has a way with words. I was immediately swept up into this new world, and new characters. I always thought the language of her Chemical Garden series was lovely, but this was even better. There were several instances where I actually teared up just from how beautiful her writing was; how perfect a sentence or paragraph was.
I tried to read it slow, to savor the story, but I fell into a "one more chapter...okay, really one more chapter..." vicious cycle. I didn't want it to end. I got to the last sentence and turned the page wishing Book 2 was suddenly there.
Morgan is a wonderful main character. I love her thoughts. And though everyone seems to love Pen the most (which I do like her, don't get me wrong), it's Lex who interests me the most. Basil seems too perfect, but I think it's merely because we see him through Morgan's eyes, and she sees him as perfect and strong and always there for her. Judas and Amy are fascinating characters as well. They both interest me in different ways.
The setup of using Daphne's essay at the beginning of each chapter was very well done, and each snippet was perfect.
Have I said that I loved this yet? LOVE!
Lauren has slayed me yet again with her gorgeous writing.
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Firstly, I must say that the setting is really wonderful, it's so clever how the people of Internment use different words to we do when it comes to objects and I found the religious element to be quite interesting but I wish there was more depth to that aspect.
The writing style in this novel felt poetic at times and was a joy to read through. This book's ending was also good and I can't wait for the sequel!
My only problem is that I felt that some of the characters lacked depth but hopefully they get more development in the next instalment.
I'd definitely recommend this book to all fans of dystopian and/or young adult fiction.