Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano

     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.

     Anyone willing to look back on my reviews of DeStefano's other novels knows that I wasn't particularly a "fan" of her stories, but I always appreciated her prose and style, so I was willing to give it another shot with this new story, especially with the idea of it taking place on a floating city, a la Castle in the Sky.


     I was delighted and enraptured almost immediately, and finished this first installation very quickly. This story gives the reader a wonderful and visual world to step into, with just enough similarities between our own world and customs so as not to lose the reader through extensive world-building. But it was different enough so that we always knew that we were not dealing with something we could handle "down here."

     I liked the main character/narrator of Morgan, and I struggled with her as she tried to appear normal, despite the reputation her brother's mistake landed her with. I didn't, however, really feel the isolation from the other students that the narrator describes. I can understand  how the other students her age might think that a "jumper's" thoughts would "infect" the whole family, but due to the fact that we don't get much insight into that time in Morgan's life, we don't really see or feel Morgan's issues.

      Two of my favorite characters were Lex, Morgan's blind, jumper brother, and Basil, Morgan's betrothed. I loved the complexity of Lex's character and his behaviors, but I wish we had gotten some more insight into how he had changed from his experience over the "edge."  And Basil is such a sweetheart, and loyal to a fault, but we don't get an real idea about why he loves Morgan so much, or why she finds it hard to admit as much back.

     With a character who's father is a part of the law enforcement of this fantastical world, I would have expected a more in-depth knowledge of the law system than what the narrator experienced. One of the opening sentences in the book says "On Internment, you can be anything you dream -a novelist or a singer, a florist or a factory worker", but the character never goes into that sort of process or what she would like to be, despite the fact that she does explain the marriage/betrothal process, as well as the process for requesting to have children. We know what many other different characters hope to have as their career, but I feel like knowing Morgan's wish and what she's good at would have helped the reader understand her a bit more. 

Things That I Liked:

1. Pen; definitely one of my favorite characters, she was complex and interesting, with some serious and interesting family issues, as well as an unwavering loyalty to her friends and her faith, even when they are opposing each other.
2. The subtle world-building.
3. The "jumper culture;" I thought the idea of jumping was really interesting, and I was intrigued by the idea of the rules forced upon those believed to be "high-risk."

Things That I Didn't Like:

1. The "religion;" it started out as an interesting undertone, but I  think it became too much of a main feature towards the end of the book. Just the totalitarian control of King Furlow and the fear of losing that control with the ability to leave for the ground would have been enough. I liked the idea of using this religion to add to the "freedom" of following the rules, but by the end, it got a little heavy for my taste.
2. The royal family was really really weird. I'm hoping they'll be explored more in the second installment (the princess, at least, since they're stuck with her, now).

Overall Impression:

      I really liked this book. I read through it in two days, and I enjoyed it the whole time. I thought the novelty of a story taking place on a floating city in the sky was very interesting and unique. I'm hoping for a bit more personal history for Morgan, Lex, and Basil in the second book, but otherwise, I think this was a solid start, much more satisfactory than the first Chemical Garden book left me. Basically, I'm really glad I gave DeStefano another chance.

The Blonde's Rating: 3.5/5

Goodreads Rating: 4/5

Amazon Buyer's Rating: 4.3/5

Thanks for reading,
The Blonde

The Chemical Garden Reviews:
Wither
Fever
Sever

Sever by Lauren DeStefano (Chemical Garden)

     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.

     The end of Fever prevented me the luxury of relaxing between reading it and this sequel. It's not too often that I read a series where the next book is available right away, so I took this opportunity and was soon back into Rhine's world, quickly reaching the conclusion to this trilogy.

     I have a lot of mixed feelings about this installment in the series. I feel like a majority of the front matter in this book was waiting around. Either they were waiting for Rhine to be released from the hospital, or Rhine was waiting for a good time to leave Reed's place, they're waiting for the opportunity to escape Vaughn, etc. 

     However when we weren't waiting for something to happen, SO MUCH was happening, and there was either a lot of action going on or there was a lot of information being fed to Rhine and the reader. So much information, in fact, that I think Rhine was kept a little too in-the-dark in the first two books, because the entire second half of the book is like an information overload. There's intel about Rhine's genetics, and her brother Rowen's actions in the last year, and Vaughn's true intentions with the twins (the sister wives, and Linden, and the maids, and pretty much anyone he could get his hands on). There was a shocking reveal 250 pages in that doesn't really get explained very well by the end of the book, and then there's suddenly a hostage situation. It was a lot to process very quickly.

     

Things That I Liked:

     I really liked Reed and his eccentricities. He was a really interesting character, and I'm almost sad that we only got to know him in this final installment.

     I liked the added layer of this world/disease that was brought about with Hawaii and all that entails.

     I was confused but delighted by Rhine's and Linden's obvious lingering feelings for each other, and I definitely felt Linden's heartache and hesitation to trust his former-favorite wife.

     I liked that Cecily finally decided to grow up.

     THE ROSE REVEAL. So shocking. So good.

Things That I Didn't Like:

     I was confused about the Hawaii-addition and if it was explained how that whole "situation" was possible, I think I missed it.

     I wish there was more Gabriel. Or at least more worry for Gabriel.

     I wanted Rowen's actions/thought process about his attacks/bombings/trusting-of-certain-people to be explained better. Again, if that did happen, I missed it.

     MORE MADAME (and Jared). Wanted it. Didn't get it.

Overall Impression:

     I was once again captivated by DeStefano's prose, and while I still believe that Fever is the better book in the trilogy, Sever does have a lot going on and a lot to love as a final book in a series. 

     I was a little "eh" about the ending, it seemed to come about a little too easily for me, then again I don't know how else I would have preferred it to go. Almost all of my questions were answered, and reading other reviews tells me that most everyone else who read the series had all of their questions answered to their satisfaction. 

     Overall for the series, this story presents a new and interesting concept, and it provided a really fascinating and complex social situation to work a story around. 

I will be waiting excitedly to get my hands on DeStefano's Internment Chronicles: Perfect Ruin book in October. For more information on that, please visit the book's GoodReads page.

Blonde's Rating: 3.5/5

Amazon's Rating: 4.3/5

GoodReads Rating: 3.9/5

Check out the reviews of the other books in the series, Fever and Wither.

Thanks!

The Blonde

Fever by Lauren DeStefano (Chemical Garden)

Book Review:
The Chemical Garden Series: Wither, Fever, and Sever
by Lauren DeStefano

Fever

     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 ran away from. Determined to get to Manhattan and find Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan, the two press forward, amid 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 twenty and men die at age twenty-five, 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.

     When I finished Wither, I didn't know if I was going to continue reading the Chemical Garden series, but i decided that the cover was interesting enough for me to pick it up, and I'm glad I did. I can honestly say that Fever is my favorite book in the trilogy.

     I feel like this book was more "alive" than the last one, and I think that had a lot to do with the constant moving from place to place, the impending danger of being found and caught, and the growing tension of Gabriel's and Rhine's respective illnesses.

     As in her last book, DeStefano has brilliant prose, very lyrical and enthralling. Fever has a lot more of the mystery who/what Rhine is in this dystopic world. The stakes rise as you realize with Rhine that she is slowly dying for seemingly no reason. The people Rhine and Gabriel meet on their way to New York are an enticing mix of good and insane, keeping you wondering when, or if, these two will ever be safe, or just able to get a single good night's un-drugged sleep. At first I was skeptical of the addiction of Maddie, the little malformed child from the carnival-themed scarlet district, but she turned out to be an unobtrusive addition, almost proving more perceptive and intelligent than Rhine, sometimes.

Things That I Liked:

     I really liked the parts of the book that occurred in the Madame's scarlet district. I think these scenes are the most colorful -haha- and the most energetic of the book. Madame is one of the more complex characters in this volume, and her energy is infused into her girls and her twisted carnival. The imagery of the district, as well, really pop compared to the other locations Rhine and Gabriel visit along the way to Manhattan.

     I liked the little mystery of Maddie, her picture book, her mother Lilac/Grace, and her grandmother. I thought it was an interesting twist to give the group something to keep moving for, and I'm glad that it gave them a place to rest for a little while.

     The scenes in the basement after Rhine's brought back to the mansion; they are terribly vivid, and they make my skin crawl with the detail, but I love having a physical reaction to a description, because that's when you know you've got great writing.

Things I Didn't Like:

     I don't know if this first thing is something I didn't like or if I just didn't understand it, but the  part of the book when Rhine was caught up in the idea that she could be dead, or that she could have died a year ago, or any time in between then and now. I thought it was strange that she was wondering and marveling at this fact as she was slowly rotting away, and they didn't come to any sort of conclusive thoughts because -surprise! -she doesn't die at the end of this book.

     Cecily's overall uselessness when she knew Rhine was back "home."

     The fact that Rhine didn't show Gabriel how grateful she was to have him with her, or even tell him. She thinks it a lot, but never lets him know, even when, at a few points, they're both pretty much dying.

Overall Impression:

     I really liked this sequel to the first book, and it leaves you on a note that's impossible to not follow-up on with the third and final installment. There are so many missing pieces of the genetic puzzle that is the living, breathing Rhine that you can't help but long to know why Vaughn is so invested in her and why her brother Rowan is being such a douchebag.

Blonde's Rating: 4/5

Amazon Rating: 4.3/5

Goodreads Rating: 3.9/5

Stay tuned to find out what The Blonde says about Fever's sequel, Sever, and check out Wither's review here.

Thanks!

The Blonde

Wither by Lauren DeStefano (Chemical Garden)

Book Review:
The Chemical Garden Series: Wither, Fever, and Sever
by Lauren DeStefano

Wither

     By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males born with a lifespan of 25 years, and females a lifespan of 20 years--leaving the world in a state of panic. Geneticists seek a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children.

     When Rhine is sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Yet her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement; her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next; and Rhine has no way to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive.

     Together with one of Linden's servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. But in a world that continues to spiral into anarchy, is there any hope for freedom?

     I picked up a copy of Wither about a year ago and didn't get the chance to start reading it until this winter, which was conveniently around the time that the final book in the trilogy was released, allowing me the ability to zip through each of them with just the time between deliveries to wait for the next one.

     At first I wasn't sure how I felt about Wither. I understood that the prose was superb, magnetic, and lyrical; it was impossible to put down. But a part of me thought that the content of the story was (at first) was a lot of the same: rhine is angry that she's trapped, rhine hates linden and is scared of vaughn, gabriel is really cool, rhine misses her brother, oh well maybe linden isn't so bad, cecily is annoying, rhine is angry she's trapped, blah blah. At first it just seemed like an endless cycle of the same thing over and over again. 

     However, going back and rereading the book after completing the third one allowed me see the smallest details that DeStefano worked into this first volume. The smallest mentions in the first book turned up as huge pieces to a complicated puzzle in the last one, and tension grows with the simplest of phrases.

     

Things That I Liked:

     I actually liked that Rhine's feelings for Linden and her new "home" changed and morphed as the book developed. I think that it's important to show that this character isn't a pillar of self-righteousness, and that she can enjoy her surroundings. I think that it's an important detail that more than once she was so caught up in her sister wives and marriage that escaping for her brother would fade into the back of her mind. 

     I like that Rhine isn't a helpless heroine; while she has her moments of being shocked into immobility, that ultimately she is a character of action.

     I like Gabriel and his friendship with Rhine. I also like that, though Linden is clearly enamored with Rhine, he doesn't know how to get to know her, or understand that she had a life before she came to the mansion. Gabriel does understand that, despite living and working in the mansion for nearly half his life. 

     

Things I Didn't Like:

     I didn't like being left in the dark constantly about what Vaughn was thinking/up to down in his funky basement, or the fact that Linden didn't seemed concerned at all that his father disappears into the basement for long hours and doesn't question what he's doing down there.

     I didn't care for Jenna's occasional I'm-smarter-than-you attitude that she would get, but she was my favorite character after Gabriel and I was upset when she dies later in the story.

     I occasionally got very frustrated with Rhine for not confiding in Linden about her life; he is clearly uneducated about the world outside his lifestyle, and I think he would have understood that Rhine was desperate to find her brother and he would have loved her enough to let her go.

     I also got very frustrated with her constantly flip-flopping feelings for Linden/Gabriel. Make up your mind, honey, and stick to it.

Overall Impression:

     Overall, this book wasn't my favorite in the series, but it is a decent hook to get you to read the second one. It leaves you on a satisfactory cliff; I could have been perfectly satisfied having simply read this first book and put the series away. The ending is wrapped up very neatly and, though it clearly hints that there could be more to this story, it closes in a way that the reader would be happy with an ambiguous, imagine-for-yourself ending.

Blonde's Rating: 3.5/5

Amazon Rating: 4.2/5

Goodreads Rating: 3.88/5

Stay tuned to find out what The Blonde says about Wither's sequels, Fever and Sever!

Thanks!

The Blonde