ARC Review: Perfect Ruin - Lauren DeStefano

Title: Perfect Ruin
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Pub Date: Oct 1st, 2013
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Page Count: 368

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.

Lauren DeStefano paints an intriguing world, an epic story and above all else, is one of the only authors that can create a story without a major use of romance. It’s nice to see that you don’t need to write a hot makeout session to become successful. – Musings of a Blogder

How do I say this in a way where I don’t give away too much? Hm... This book is AMAZEBALLS.

Certain peoples have told me that Lauren DeStefano is a terrible author and that she’s illiterate so I actually started reading this book with sheer caution. I didn’t want to be a disappointed fan of a book with a pretty cover and not so pretty insides. Needless to say, I loved this book and I wish I could tell those people who told me her writing sucks that I don’t agree with their opinion.

We open to a world called the Internment. This is basically a floating city in the sky. No, I’m not kidding. And people can actually approach the edge and jump off if they’re brave stupid enough. From reading a few chapters, you know that this is dystopian writing because of the “new world” type thing. I actually really liked the idea, but felt like it was really cliché and the visual I got in my head was kind of comical and not at all serious. The world building wasn’t too bad and I could actually get used to the way they did things, but at the same time, I wish it was a bit different.

Come on, the “evil government trying to control everything” idea is getting old. Hunger Games, Divergent, Matched, Delirium... This? I wish I could find a story that didn’t have an evil government and even though they may be kind of evil, I don’t think they really need a billion dystopians written about them. What I can give credit for though, is the fact that towards the ending, I had sympathy for the “king” even though he was the supposed bad guy.

So let’s meet the plot? We’ve got a girl whose brother was a jumper (tried to jump off the edge of the Internment.) She’s always felt like she needed more than what the Internment can give her, but at the same time, she’s fearing like she’ll become like her brother. When there’s a murder of a girl, everyone starts to get suspicious and it’s about how MC Morgan and company are trying to get off the Interment even though it’s “illegal”. Anyway, it had an epic “City of Ember” feel and I LOVE City of Ember. It’s really about escape from a place where there are limitations. You know the expression: “think bigger”? It’s a lot like that.

Morgan as an MC is actually someone I have mixed feelings about. I’m not sure I like her, but there’s nothing in specific that makes me dislike her. I think it’s really because of the way she acts. This book was written in 1^st person so I experienced her thoughts a lot. She seems like a genuine person who cares about people but I feel like she’s got this shyness/timid behaviour so she thinks so much she gets killed before doing something.

Completely unlike Morgan, we’ve got her best friend, Pen. I LOVE her so much. She’s very opinionated and she does things for the big picture, rather than thinking ahead. I don’t think i like that either, but it’s much easier to connect with. Pen is the kind of person who thinks the Internment is satisfying and enough for her, so I guess I’m a mix between Morgan AND Pen’s character.

In The Internment you’re “betrothed” to someone from before you’re born. Kind of like Matched, but you aren’t kept in the dark. All characters have a Betrothed and that added an element of romance into the story. What I really liked was that it isn’t a MAJOR element of the story. It just proves you don’t need two characters eating each other’s faces off to make the best sellers list. (She’s not on that list... YET, but you know what I mean...) Lauren wrote on twitter that side romance in a YA novel isn’t something she does. Slow claps for that.

After I finished, it was like the end of City of Ember. Very undecided and open to a lot of possibilities. I really want to read the second one, just to know what’s in store for Morgan and Company in the second installment! Yes.

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Lauren DeStefano (pronounced: de STEFF ano) graduated Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, CT in 2007. Her debut novel, WITHER, the first in The Chemical Garden Trilogy, published by Simon & Schuster BFYR, is out now.