Perfect Ruin - Lauren Destefano

Pages: 352

Published:October 3rd 2013 by HarperVoyager

Genre: Y.A/ Dystopian

Format: Hardback

Acquired: My own collection

Date Finished: 1st December 2013

Synopsis:

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.

Quick thoughts: Riveting, phenomenal a must have read

Perfect Ruin has to be one of my favourite books of 2013. I had heard little about it, but enough to grab my attention and I could not stop thinking about it until I purchased it. Despite my growing half read book pile I took it with me on a trip away from home [ at one of the most pivotal points in my life] and read it constantly while I was away. I could not dare to finish it. I procrastinated for days and weeks because it was so good I did not want it to end and have to wait till the next book to come out, but alas I completed it and already I want to read it again. This is one of those few books I would happily give everyone a copy of if I could afford it and I can only hope that Lauren's Chemical Garden Trilogy is this good because she is one of my new favourite authors.

Why you might ask?

I would be happy to tell you to go find out for yourself because words cannot escape me, but I wanted to express some of my favourite reasons why I loved this book in hope that it will intrigue you enough to go out and pick it up for yourself.

First and foremost is Lauren's world building. To take me away so deeply that sometimes I forgot that I was reading is a wondrous experience. Lauren has set up a unique and fantastical world that I cannot wait to go back to time and time again. A world in the sky where it is lethal for people to cross the edge, although some people have made it close enough to know what affect it has. A utopian society that under the surface is slowly falling apart, becoming damaged, ugly and destructive.

Then there are the themes, one of the strongest being religion. Much like the many of our own we have on earth, Lauren explored the concept of religion and God beautifully in such a way that it left me as a reader questioning my own. A reality slowly slipping away, peeling back the layers of something deadly and so provokingly explored that I sometimes was at loss for words. The meaning of family, dedication, love, humanity, freedom, creativity. In a world where you can be anything, do anything so long as you abide by the rules and mythology seeping through generations to the present.

Characters who reach inside you and become your friends, family and enemies and despite the anger and frustration I felt at times I still cared enough about all of them. In their own unique ways they bring so much to the table and offer such exquisite insight into their personalities and their part in Interment. My favourite had to be Basil, but I also loved Pen and her creative nature and Lex who really made me teary and reminiscent of what it is like to have such tragedy in the family and to live with the things that others have done. I could go on forever about the characters alone, but meet them. Love them and despise them. Go on this journey with them.

Language so poetic and description painted so vividly that you are immediately swept away. While it touches your every emotion. I had my post it notes out and there were so many passages that had me smiling, laughing, crying, bitter – as they say “I went through all the feels” and it made me want to keep reading onwards even beyond the last page.

Then the ending, oh the ending that made me scream, but also left me feeling beyond excited for the next book to come out. A cliff hanger yes, but could I ever stop at book one. Hell no, I need it now. I will be anticipating it in 2014 and I believe the in between novella comes out after my birthday. Yeah that will be in my birthday box for sure. Overall it is a memorable, provoking and promising start to the series. I highly recommend you read it.