Review: Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano

ISBN: 9781442480612
Release Date: October 1, 2013
Series: Internment Chronicles, #1
Page Count: 356 pages
Find it on Goodreads

     GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:

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.

     REVIEW:

I received this book as part of my birthday haul a few weeks ago. I had  been waiting for this book for months and was thrilled when I finally got it. The second I had a chance to read it, I made it happen. About 50 pages in and after realizing I wasn't captivated by the story quite yet, I set it down for a few days to finish up some other stuff and when I picked it back up, it hadn't been any more exciting than it had when I first picked it up. 

This book didn't call to me, but the world did. DeStefano's ability for world building is wonderful and she does a fantastic job of showing me exactly what Internment is all about. The premise for the book has so much potential yet I feel as though DeStefano only touched on some of it. I'm not going to lie, I was somewhat bored with this book. The pacing, while slow, seemed to flow okay, but the plot was almost nonexistent until the last 50 to 100 pages. Distefano spent most of her time building her world and probably setting up for the next two in the series. I have read her previous series, The Chemical Garden Trilogy, and it seemed to follow that same pattern. The first book in that series, Wither, was not very exciting and I didn't love it. The second book was okay, and the third was great.

Something else I like in this book other than the world building was that it does not follow the standard set of rules for romance in young adult novels. There is already a developing romance between Morgan and Basil because they have been betrothed since birth, but I loved them that much more for developing their already established romance rather than throwing in a love triangle or something to spice it up. Add in the fact that Lauren DeStefano's prose is beautiful and regardless of her plot, pacing, world building, or character development, she writes beautifully.

Speaking of character development though, I feel as though I didn't connect with Morgan even by the end of the book. I think I enjoyed Pen her best friend, and Basil much more. I even loved Lex and Alice. Wait, especially Lex and Alice. I'm hoping that I connect with Morgan a little bit more over the next two books, but that girl was lacking some serious character development. In her last series, DeStefano gave us a main character that I didn't necessarily connect with that much either, apparently it's a going trend. 

I've noticed that a lot of people who read this book said that the second half of the book was better than the first. I will admit that it was more exciting than the first half but the book took a turn that I was not expecting at all and I wasn't necessarily sure that I liked it. I surely was not expecting the book to end the way it did -  not that it ended badly - but it definitely was not what I was expecting. I do want to see what happens next and I want to know more about Internment. I hope DeStefano keeps her level of world building while picking it up in all the other areas.

Also, can I vent for a second? I absolutely hated the prince and princess. Not their actual characters, because you barely get to know them at all - but has anyone noticed how awful the dialogue is when the prince and princess are in the scene? It's so overly obvious and obnoxious, and I suppose maybe she wanted them to come off that way, but it didn't work. The scenes where the prince and princess were present and dominating the dialogue seemed almost like they were written by someone else because of how awful they were. For those of you who have read this book or anything by Lauren DeStefano, you know that her writing is not awful. But somehow these parts of the book just stuck out like a sore thumb... I don't know what she was thinking..

On another positive note though, can anyone else tell me if they get the tinglies when they look at the cover and the inside of the book? I marveled over it for quite a while... it is absolutely gorgeous!

     RATING: ★★★ 1/2
                                                   (3.5 stars)

All in all, I love DeStefano's idea for Internment and I'm so intrigued by the world- she has a talent for the intriguing and amazing. I just wish the plot was more exciting. The pacing, as with her previous novels, is slow. It works for some of them, and it almost worked for Perfect Ruin, but I hope she picks up the pace in the next one. I need some action and this series has so much potential for it.

Though I'm only rating this with 3 1/2 stars, I really did enjoy it and the world-building hooked me. I cant wait until the next one eventually comes out next year!

Have any of you read this one yet? What did you think? Do you agree or did you love everything about it (or hate everything about it)?

A.

Review: Sever by Lauren DeStefano

ISBN: 9781442409095
Release Date: February 12, 2013
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Series: The Chemical Garden Trilogy, #3
Page Count: 371 pages

     GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:

"With the clock ticking until the virus takes its toll, Rhine is desperate for answers. After enduring Vaughn’s worst, Rhine finds an unlikely ally in his brother, an eccentric inventor named Reed. She takes refuge in his dilapidated house, though the people she left behind refuse to stay in the past. While Gabriel haunts Rhine’s memories, Cecily is determined to be at Rhine’s side, even if Linden’s feelings are still caught between them.
Meanwhile, Rowan’s growing involvement in an underground resistance compels Rhine to reach him before he does something that cannot be undone. But what she discovers along the way has alarming implications for her future—and about the past her parents never had the chance to explain.

In this breathtaking conclusion to Lauren DeStefano’s Chemical Garden trilogy, everything Rhine knows to be true will be irrevocably shattered."

     REVIEW:

WHAT I LIKED:

• DeStefano's writing is beautiful, haunting, smooth... even when I read the first two books, which I didn't love, the prose just flowed so well, they were easy to get through.
• Team Linden! Even when Rhine finds her own freedom, their connection and chemistry just gets me every time. I love the relationship DeStefano created between them. It felt real.
• The slow, even, absolutely perfect pace. I don't usually like slow-paced books but this one moved so well and I didn't feel bored by any of it. The ending, rather than being anti-climactic, was so spectacularly right. I got real, honest and true closure from the way it ended and though I have my qualms with some of it, it was definitely the right choice.
• I was super shocked by how it ended also. The pace definitely had a little pick up in certain parts, and I like to say I can usually guess whats going to happen in a book, but this one left me completely at a loss. Definitely shocked by the sudden turn of events and though I wanted to cry and scream, I was still satisfied.
• This book was a shockingly true portrayal of what the world could be like. We all read dystopian novels with all sorts of crazy stuff and think, wow - that could happen! But this one blew me away. It was creepily believable and almost a warning to us now.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE:

• The book overall being very believable, some things were just not realistic enough for me. Maybe it was the way Rhine kind of just accepted some of the huge revelations without so much as a blink. She always was a little on the flat side.
• Rhine's relationship with Gabriel, kind of the opposite of Linden, in my opinion. Their relationship did not feel real at all. He was annoying in the first book, useless and delirious in the second, and almost non-existent in part of the third. I was just annoyed at the level DeStefano gave to their relationship when I feel as though it never had time to develop enough.
• This series has consistently made me feel depressed every time I read one of these books. I know that DeStefano's ability to show the horrible state of the country is a wonderful thing - I already mentioned how much I love her writing - but it is such a dark series, it almost a little too much for an emotional girl such as myself. I could've easily crawled into my bed with the blanket over my head and not come out for quite a while, after reading this book.

     RATING: ★★★★ (4 stars)

I think I should start by telling you how much I disliked the first book in this series, and how mediocre I found the second one to be. I chose to continue because I dont like to not finish a tolerable series if I know I can get through it. That's my job as a blogger, right? To read books that may not be that good, so you'll know if its something you might want to read? For me, things didn't get really good until the last quarter of the second book.

So with that being said, I loved this book. The writing was wonderful, as always. It was very slow-paced, in my opinion, but somehow, it worked for this novel. The characters all matured so much, there were some big revelations that I did not see coming, and the ending, though I wasn't thrilled by who Rhine ended up with, was the most satisfying ending to a dystopian novel that I've read, yet. The only thing that bothered me about this book was that some parts kind of didn't make sense, e.g. Linden and Cecily kept coming to visit Rhine at Reed's home, and at one point even stay there. There is no way the Vaughn I know should've let them take Rhine anywhere, based on how crazy he had been, let alone let Linden and Cecily not come home for days at a time. I know it was under the guise of Vaughn letting them have their way for a little while until they were ready to come back, but it didn't jive with me. Other than some small discrepancies that bugged me a little, this novel was almost-flawlessly written, perfectly paced, and left me feeling strangely bereft, yet with closure.

Great ending to an OK series for Lauren DeStefano, but I am looking forward to reading her next series, the Internment Chronicles. Have any of you read this book/series? Did you enjoy the first two more than I did? How did you feel about the series as a whole? I'd love to hear what you think!

A.

Review: Fever by Lauren DeStefano

ISBN: 9781442409088
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: February 2012
Series: Chemical Garden Trilogy #2
Page count: 341 pages

BN.COM SYNOPSIS:

"Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but they’re still in danger. Outside, they find a world even more disquieting than the one they left behind. Determined to get to Manhattan and to find Rhine’s twin brother Rowan, the two press forward, amidst threats of being captured again . . . or worse.

The road they are on is long and perilous—and in a world where young women only live to age 20 and men die at age 25, time is precious. In this sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price—now that she has more to lose than ever."

 IN-DEPTH REVIEW:

Well... where the heck to I start? I picked up this book a long time after reading Wither, so I didnt remember all of the little details from it. I do recall being a little bored but I did still enjoy the story enough. I didnt have this blog back then, but I would say I would've given it somewhere in the 3-4 star range.
** If you havent read Wither, I would recommend reading it first or reading someone else's review on it before you read this review. Also, please be advised there may be some little tiny spoilers for Fever in this review, if you havent read it already**

I was already pissed off that Rhine had run off with Gabriel at the end of Wither. I was not a fan of Gabriel. I felt like Rhine liked him because he was nice to her and they could relate in their imprisonment, whereas she could not relate with Linden (except much later she realizes he's a prisoner of his own sort and she COULD relate to him, but that is besides the point). I was sort of rooting for Linden from the middle of Wither and either way, I was never rooting for Gabriel. Especially in this second installment, when I felt the entire time that Gabriel was a shallow idiot who resented Rhine for bringing him to freedom, just because the world wasnt beautiful or easy. 

So anyhow, they're running away from the mansion, which is totally fine, because Rhine obv wants to be reunited with her brother, but then not FIVE MINUTES after they get out of whatever body of water they sailed over and swam through, did they make stupid decisions and were thwarted by a mad woman running a CARNIVAL OF PROSTITUES!! Okay, I'm sorry, some people were excited by the carnival aspect, but I was genuinely annoyed and kind of creeped out by the whole weird thing. The carnival part of the story was so slow for me, I just didnt get it, I hated Rhine and Gabriel while they were there and I just wanted it to be over! I actually felt like I connected more with Jared and Lilac in the carnival more than I did with the main characters!!!

Like I said, I found the first half of the book incredibly slow and boring for me, but I was pleasantly surprised by the turn of events and pick up in the pace as they began getting ready to escape the carnival.

I know it almost sounds crazy, but this book was a little TOO dark for me. I mean, its dystopian, so what do I expect, right? But still - look at Cinder - hysterically funny while still being dark and dystopian-y. I couldnt even connect with Rhine and Gabriel's relationship the way I at least was able to with the other darker dystopian I've read, Pandemonium.

Another problem I had was how GROSS this novel was. I guess its a testament to DeStefano's writing that she can literally make me sick to my stomach with her descriptions of rats and eating old moldy food and what not. I literally found myself skipping brief descriptive portions like these because I thought I was going to puke. So, yay DeStefano, but eh... my stomach is too weak.

On that note - DeStefano is an amazing writer. Her prose.... wow. Just... wow. By the latter third of the book, when she was detailing Rhine's trips in and out of consciousness... it was just beautiful. Dark... and crazy.... but beautiful.

Okay, I ramble. My bad. Anyhow, by the second half of the book, I was much more interested and things were moving slightly faster. I wasnt totally sold on it, because the main characters did nothing for me and the plot hadnt been very great so far.

But then the unthinkable happens... Housemaster Vaughn... Okay I wont say it so this review wont be completely spoiled. Anyhow, after we reach this point in the story, I'm drawn back in. Soon returns the whole cast of the polygamous marriage crew and attendants and I'm back in the game!!

Somehow, I'm still rooting for Linden, and somehow I still hate Cecily. Little bi.... Okay, I'm sorry, I'll stop. Anyway, Rhine and Linden FINALLY come alive for me after a book and three quarters and I was so mad because I was determined not to like this book!! But I think I went into this with the preconceived notion that I didnt like it because I didnt love Wither and I would have rather been reading Requiem but it wasnt out yet. So in all fairness, I hadnt given it a chance. I still didnt love it, but DeStefano TOTALLY redeemed herself and her characters at the end of this book.

SUMMARY OF MY THOUGHTS:

Somehow, the ending redeemed the whole thing for me, and I cant wait to pick up Sever. The writing was absolutely beautiful, the plot was slow moving at first and a little better towards the end, and the characters (until the last 10 pages) were stagnant and boring - almost borderline annoying - for me. I did like this book, however, there were many things about it that I did not like.I would recommend this to anyone who has read Wither already, or those of you who can stand a not so great book to get to something better because something tells me that Sever is going to deliver.

RATING: ★★★ 1/2

I've given this one a total rating of 3 1/2 stars. If I was breaking it down (just to give you a better idea), the first half of this book would get a 2 star rating at best, and the second half would get a 3 1/2, then the last 15-20 pages would get a solid 5, because the book finally came alive here. So with that being said, on average, we fall back to 3 1/2. Also, I did like this book, but I didnt love it. It somehow didnt seem like it deserved a 4 but I didnt want to go as low as a 3.

Have any of you read this one yet? If you have - Do you agree or disagree with the points I made?  If you havent - do you think you will be picking this one up any time soon?

Cant wait to hear what you think!

A.

Review: Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

ISBN: 9780061978067
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books
Publication date: February 28th 2012
Series: Delirium #2
Page count: 375 pages

GOODREADS SYNOPSIS:

"After falling in love, Lena and Alex flee their oppressive society where love is outlawed and everyone must receive the "cure" - an operation that makes them immune to the delirium of love - but Lena alone manages to find her way to a community of resistance fighters. Although she is bereft without the boy she loves, her struggles seem to be leading her toward a new love."

IN-DEPTH REVIEW:

**May contain some small spoilers**
When I started reading this book, the first thing I thought was - "I don't remember anything from Delirium." I was so annoyed, and afraid I wouldnt enjoy Pandemonium because of it. I was three chapters in and I was praying I'd have an a-ha! moment. Thankfully I did, when 1. I read some reviews on Delirium to refresh my memory and 2. I realized the chapters were titled "then" and "now" and didnt have to keep muddling through, hoping for the best. I could finally keep up!

I actually for once don't have much to say about a book. It was so much better than the first in the series. Delirium was so boring for me. I thought Lena fell flat, I thought her love with Alex fell even flatter. I didnt believe any of the story or connect with any of the characters.

THANK GOD Pandemonium was not like that. Lena evolved in the second installment and quickly. In the first few chapters of "then", when she was still just over the border into the Wilds, she was still very flat for me. I couldnt connect with her emotions, but once she began growing stronger, accepting her grief as a part of her and moving on, I felt like I could relate to her better.

I dont know - maybe it was just me but I was even more interested in the world in Pandemonium, in the plot and storyline. I always found the whole premise intriguing, but when I read Delirium I was so disappointed with where Oliver took it. Now I'm happy with Pandemonium and where she took it, and Oliver has redeemed herself for me.

The story progressed quickly, and I felt every single one of Lena's emotions. It annoyed me a little that Julian was so... I don't know. Weak, maybe? I guess I just dislike weak characters. But what would a book be if every character was strong and independent?

I felt SO MUCH more in tune with Lena and Julian's love story, of their tentative reachings-out to each other, etc. Even when Lena didnt want to love him because of Alex, she knew she did and eventually stopped fighting it.

I know many people have been talking about the ending. Unfortunately, I knew what was coming because I had read some reviews containing spoilers, so I wasnt exactly surprised. I was a little surprised at how it happened, and that it happened in the LAST PARAGRAPH OF THE BOOK!! And I desperately want to get my hands on Requiem to find out what the hell happens, but all I can say in this regard is that I am 100% team Julian. That is all.

Oh, a few stray thoughts - to those readers who say Lauren Oliver's writing is awful... What?! She writes beautifully, regardless if Delirium was slow. Slow or not - she's still a great writer.

Also, I'm very intrigued by the way Oliver addresses homosexuality in the story. I love that Lena's take on her friends' relationship is one of tolerance, and that it doesnt focus on their differences. It is ironic though that it still exists in the world that Oliver has created, and gives me little hope for the real world's future of tolerance. I mean the book doesnt tell the future, but thats the whole point of dystopia isnt it? This is where the world is headed if we cant get back on track.

One last stray, this book is slightly reminiscent of one of my favorite books ever, The Giver by Lois Lowry. In the world Lowry creates, feelings, colors, seasons, pain, differentiation, it all doesnt exist, so in my mind it is an extreme version of the Delirium story, where Oliver focuses on love being the root of all evil, not knowledge of feelings and the world in general, but I still see similarities. The spark of this thought process was when I realized that Oliver uses "the procedure" to administer the "cure" and Lowry uses pills to stop the "stirrings" and pretty much turn people into robots - or better yet, ZOMBIES! Like Lena calls the cureds.

Oh and might I add, there was virtually nothing about this book I didnt like.

SUMMARY OF MY THOUGHTS:

I enjoyed this book very much. I love Oliver's writing, and the plot moves much quicker in this book than it did in Delirium. I liked Lena's new love interest and the progression of their love story, and I connected very much with all of characters, especially, finally, with Lena.


RATING: ★★★★

You may be wondering why I loved this so much and only gave it four stars. First, I'd like to say it really should be a 4 1/2 stars but.... I dont know how to make half a star (if anyone has any idea let me know!) so there you go. But the reason this doesnt make five is probably my own fault, because I already knew the ending of the book, so there was no jaw-dropping holy sh*t moment for me. It may be a little unfair because the book didnt do that, I did, but it is what it is. I did like this book a lot, cant wait for Requiem in 12 days, and I recommend this to you YA lovers who havent read this one yet!

For those of you who have read it - what did you think? Do you agree or disagree with the points I made?

A.

Waiting on Wednesday & WWW Wednesday

 

It's Waiting on Wednesday, hosted by Breaking the Spine!

 

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted [at Breaking the Spine], that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating."

This week's upcoming release is Sever by Lauren DeStefano!

Release date: February 12, 2013

 

From B&N:

Time is running out for Rhine in this conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Chemical Garden Trilogy.

With the clock ticking until the virus takes its toll, Rhine is desperate for answers. After enduring Vaughn’s worst, Rhine finds an unlikely ally in his brother, an eccentric inventor named Reed. She takes refuge in his dilapidated house, though the people she left behind refuse to stay in the past. While Gabriel haunts Rhine’s memories, Cecily is determined to be at Rhine’s side, even if Linden’s feelings are still caught between them.

Meanwhile, Rowan’s growing involvement in an underground resistance compels Rhine to reach him before he does something that cannot be undone. But what she discovers along the way has alarming implications for her future—and about the past her parents never had the chance to explain.

In this breathtaking conclusion to Lauren DeStefano’s Chemical Garden trilogy, everything Rhine knows to be true will be irrevocably shattered.

 

I cant wait for this one! I havent read Fever yet but it's sitting on my shelf calling to me. It'll be one of the next I read I'm sure.

 

Whats your waiting on pick!?