Perfect Ruin

Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano

The Skinny: 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. – From Goodreads

BFF?: I’m not really sure where to put Morgan. On the one hand, I liked her. On the other, she was nothing super memorable. But, let’s talk about the good: Morgan deals with quite a lot throughout the book and I love her inner turmoil over becoming like her brother, wanting to be “normal,” and wanting more out of her life. I love that she discovers these little ways of “rebelling” against the system and how she wars with the fear of being discovered. Her best friend Pen tells her that she’s a diplomat, which I loved about her. She gets faced with several situations where she almost becomes manipulative in a diplomatic way – I’m not sure how to describe it, but it’s interesting seeing how she reacts to situations that others might crack under. All that being said, Morgan wasn’t memorable. She was pretty naive the majority of the book and her hesitancy became sort of yawn-inducing. However… I do feel that once we get further into this series she will really surprise us. I’m looking forward to it.

Readability: This was a pretty easy read. Nothing was really difficult. Like all of DeStefano’s books though, it was completely imaginative. The best part of this for me was the world building, the descriptions of it were breath taking! I also really enjoyed Morgan’s voice.

Crush Level: 8
I feel like this book is a love triangle book, but it’s like the love triangle that wasn’t. Morgan is betrothed to Basil and it is totally the cutest, most wonderful relationship ever. Like I totally fell for him, but it was more like watching these two adorable people being in love as their relationship developed from a sweet crush to totally perfect. But then we’re introduced to another character and it almost gets presented as he’s going to tempt Morgan from this perfect guy – think Xander and Ky from Matched. But then nothing really happens and he’s not around a lot. We get more kissy times with Basil, but there’s still this looming fear in the back of my head that Morgan and Judas (yes, this is the guy’s name) will fall for each other. Lauren DeStefano… if you’re listening… please don’t do this! Or, if you must, please have Basil fall in love with a girl named Candice.

Bonus Points
Floating City

This is one of the coolest settings I’ve ever read. What makes it so awesome isn’t just the fact that it’s this world that floats above what I assume is Earth, but that there’s this religious reasoning behind it. While it’s similar to a normal city, the idea that you’re basically in space and looking down at Earth is awesome.

Arranged Marriage

You might wonder why this is a bonus point. I’m sure you’re thinking how awful it would be to have someone picked out for you from birth that you HAVE to marry, no questions asked. However, when you’re my age and unmarried, the idea starts to look a whole lot more appealing!

Secret Rebellion

C’mon… it wouldn’t be a dystopian without this! What I like about it though is that it’s not your typical rebellion though. dun dun dunnnnnnnn!

Commencement Speech: I really loved the Chemical Garden series so I was excited about seeing something new for DeStefano. After reading this one though I will, hands down, read whatever she writes. I think it’s hard when new authors have series that are SO GOOD and then they do something else because you aren’t sure just how it will go. Will it be as good as their first series? Will this one be a total bomb? What if I don’t like it?! Well… rest assured… DeStefano’s new series is just as good and imaginative as her first!

Yearbook Quote: “Now that we’ve had that first kiss, the tension is severed. He can kiss me a thousand times. Ten thousand.”

“Is this what love means? That the rules aren’t the reason you stay together?”

(there are SO MANY good quotes from this book!)

Superlatives – Most likely to make you wish your parents would take the hint and find you a husband so you can start making babies before the warranty runs out on your baby-making parts

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