Title: Perfect Ruin
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Series: The Internment Chronicles #1
Publication: October 3rd 2013 by HarperVoyager
Genre: Young Adult ~ Dystopia
Purchase: Amazon | B&N | TBD
Cover Rating: 5/5 (so pretty!)
Overall Rating: 5/5
From the New York Times bestselling author of The Chemical Garden trilogy: On the floating city of Internment, you can be anything you dream. Unless you approach the edge.
Morgan Stockhour knows getting too close to the edge of Internment, the floating city in the clouds where she lives, can lead to madness. Even though her older brother, Lex, was a Jumper, Morgan vows never to end up like him. If she ever wonders about the ground, and why it is forbidden, she takes solace in her best friend, Pen, and in Basil, the boy she’s engaged to marry.
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, he is the boy 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.
My Thoughts:
Being a huge fan of Lauren DeStefano and her Chemical Garden trilogy, I didn't know quite what to expect of Perfect Ruin. It could be either just as amazing or a huge disappointment. But, really... can Lauren write bad books? I think not. She's a brilliant writer. I absolutely loved Perfect Ruin. I loved every single beautifully written word of it.
Perfect Ruin introduces a whole new world to us. Internment, a floating city in the clouds, where people are betrothed before they are born, worship a sky god and sometimes get lured by the edge and jump from it. This world? It was nothing like I've ever seen before and I read my fair share of dystopian books.
We also get introduced to Morgan Stockhour who lives there. Her older brother, Lex, was a Jumper but even so she's always been fascinated with the edge of Interntment. Life seems to go on as always until the unthinkable happens. The first murder in a generation of a girl from her academy. This one event makes the city go into chaos. Fires happen, more deaths occur and before Morgan knows it she's in the middle of it all.
I really liked the main character, Morgan, though it took me a couple of chapter to really get a grasp on her. I found her a bit too naive in the beginning but as everything she knows started crumbling around her, the real her was starting to show. I loved it.
I also love her relationship with her betrothed, Basil. I liked how they were already together and even though their betrothal was set up for a long time, they do have great feelings for one another. Basil, as a character I also liked. I was very much impressed when he chose Morgan and left everything behind for her.
There were a lot of other very interesting characters. My favorite has to be Morgan's brother, Lex. I don't know if it's just me feeling this way but I felt very fascinated with him. I wanted to know more about his experience when he jumped off the edge. I also loved his wife, Alice. She was so sweet and caring for both him and Morgan. I felt absolutely awful when I read about what they made her do when she got pregnant. That was so sad to read.
Aside from Lex and Alice there was also Morgan's best friend Pen and her betrothed Thomas. I'm not so sure I like Pen. I mean, sometimes I liked her spirit, other times she kinda freaked me out. So, eh, I don't know. Thomas was a total different story. I really liked that guy. You can clearly see he adores Pen. I wish she'd treat him better though.
And less but not least there's Judas and Amy making an appearance. Both of them are intriguing in their own way. I won't say too much as to not spoiler the story but they were pretty awesome.
I didn't expect at all where this story was going. There were also some serious shocking twists. Where I was throwing my book away and trying to put distance between it and me. Seriously, I did this. But, oh, I love unexpectedness like this. It only makes me want to read faster.
As for world building and character building, it was perfect. Not that I would expect any less. I absolutely loved the scenes where Pen or Morgan would recall a story from the history book which had some remnants of stories even we know. Lauren DeStefano is a genius, people, and oh she can write such awfully gorgeous things!
The ending was pretty unexpected, too. I was so nervous for it and what was going to happen and I didn't see what did happen coming at all. And now I'm wondering how the story will continue. What will happen to them all? It just drives me nut!
Overall, Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano was a stunning and exquisite book. It's definitely a worthy successor to The Chemical Garden trilogy. Gorgeous writing, a brilliant story that's just screaming originality and astonishing twists that rocked this book. Just... wow!
“So many of the things I've wanted are the things I've been taught to fear.”
“He gathers me up and I'm weightless before he sets me on the railing. He's the only thing keeping me from falling back, out of the reach of daylight. I'm not afraid of falling. I don't fear the sky beyond the train tracks like I did before. I can go anywhere just so long as it's with him.”
“I wonder if the people of the ground ever feel that their children are too big for their world, too.”
“He knows that I'm not like the other girls--the normal ones--that a part of me is slipping off this floating city, and he doesn't care. He doesn't care.
Maybe we're both beyond saving.”
Lauren DeStefano was born in New Haven, Connecticut and has never traveled far from the east coast. She received a BA in English from Albertus Magnus College, and has been writing since childhood. She made her authorial debut by writing on the back of children's menus at restaurants and filling up the notepads in her mom's purse. Her very first manuscript was written on a yellow legal pad with red pen, and it was about a haunted shed that ate small children.
Now that she is all grown up (for the most part), she writes fiction for young adults. Her failed career aspirations include: world's worst receptionist, coffee house barista, sympathetic tax collector, and English tutor. When she isn't writing, she's screaming obscenities at her Nintendo DS, freaking her cats out with the laser pen, or rescuing thrift store finds and reconstructing them into killer new outfits.
Title: Terra
Author: Gretchen Powell
Series: Terrestrials #1
Publication: December 12th 2012 by Hopewell Media
Genre: Young Adult ~ Dystopia
Format: Paperback, 286 pages
Purchase: Amazon | B&N | Kobo
Cover Rating: 3/5
Overall Rating: 5/5
Review copy provided by author in exchange for an honest review.
A broken and desolate Earth. A young girl struggling to survive. A lost boy with a powerful secret.
A discovery that will change everything.
In the distant wake of a plague that has decimated the Earth's population, humanity is split in two: The rich and powerful live in skycities that float overhead, while those who remain on the ground have gathered in settlements strewn across a dying planet. Eighteen-year-old Terra Rhodon is a terrestrial--a denizen of the barren groundworld--who makes her living as a scav. Long abandoned by her father, her caregivers gone, Terra supports herself and her younger brother, Mica, by scouring the earth for discarded scraps and metals to recycle for profit. One day, while on a routine scavenging run, she discovers something that shocks her home settlement of Genesis X-16. When the value of her discovery is revealed, Terra's world is turned upside down.
Terra suddenly finds herself asking questions no one will answer. Her search for the truth leads her to Adam--a beguiling skydweller unlike any she has ever met. But Adam has secrets and a quest of his own, and with him by her side, the world Terra thought she knew begins to unravel. Soon her discoveries unearth a terrifying conspiracy that has the potential to shatter everything--a revelation that will test the bonds of loyalty, family, and love.
~My Thoughts:
Wow! Terra was such an awesome read! I was completely hooked by the story. It honestly took me by surprise how much I enjoyed this book. The reason for that mostly was that I've become a little bored and frustrated with the dystopian genre. Pretty much all books in this genre were starting to blend together for me. Same type of world, same type of herone, same type of controlling goverment. Blah, blah, blah. But thankfully Terra wasn't such a book. Yes, the same type of things that in a lot of dystopian novels feature also feature in Terra but unlike some other books, it was all wrapped up in a much better packing. A huge positive part for me was the writing. I love Gretchen Powell's style. Fast-paced, not lingering on unnecessary details and told in the point of view of such an interesting main character. Oh and the chapters weren't too long. That's always a plus for me. Really, what more could I want?
I liked the building of the world as well as Terra's character building. There weren't many overly details like you sometimes get with these type of books, like when the authors try to fit every single details and the past of said world in the first few chapters. Hallelujah! As for Terra, she was very easy to like. I loved the way she cared for her 13 y/o brother, Mica, even though she might not always have been there for him in the past. She has many flaws and knows it, but she tries to do her best. She has also a sense of humor that I appreciate and is strong. Terra's definitely one of the most intriguing new characters that I've read about lately. Mica is totally different from his sister, but it doesn't make me like him even less. He's pretty damn great actually and you can really see him grown through this book, you can especially tell in the end.
There were many other characters in this book. From Terra's fellow scavs to folks she talks to in daily life like Copp to evil goverment people. But I suppose the most important one aside from Terra herself and her brother is one that doesn't fit in her daily life and that was Adam. He comes from somewhere entirely else. As the love interest in this book he did pretty good. I wasn't totally swooning over him but I liked him. He had this whole mysterious vibe about him where you just know he's hiding something and not telling the whole truth. Though there was romance in the book, it didn't overshadow the story at all, which I think in this genre is a must. Go, Gretchen!
Like any great book it had its share of shocking events happening. I do love these twists that you don't see coming as long as they aren't too overly dramatic. And let me tell you that I totally hadn't seen this one thing coming that made this book not only a dystopian read but also kinda scifi. Score! It was all just super awesome, really. And also refreshing reading a book like this because it wasn't all too intense like I know other books in this genre can be. I really liked that.
All in all, Terra by Gretchen Powell turned out really great and unexpected. Definitely one of my favorite books of the year. I'm so glad I had a chance to read and review it.
Great characters? Check.
Well-written and intriguing? Check.
Just the right amount of romance? Check.
And an awesome plot with some unexpected twists? Check!
A deserved five stars for a fantastic book. I can't wait to read the sequel!
“Looks like sunsets are growing on you.”
Ten neatly coiffed female attendants stand against the walls, ready and waiting. Wearing starched yellow blouses with pink crossover ties neatly folded under the collar, they look as much a part of the ship’s decoration as the sparkling crystal chandeliers that hang overhead.
Half-Chinese and the daughter of a US diplomat, Gretchen Powell spent her childhood growing up in far-off places. She made it all the way to her mid-twenties whilst maintaining her deep-seated love for young adult novels, so she decided to write one of her own.
Her creative process involves copious amounts of Sour Patch Kids and sleeping fitfully. Her many interests include anything with polka dots, Harry Potter, and playing the ukulele.
When she isn't crafting devastated futuristic worlds and fiery heroines, Gretchen also writes a healthy living blog, entitled "Honey, I Shrunk the Gretchen!"
She lives in Northern Virginia with her two adorable miniature schnauzers. They wear many sweaters.
