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We all know that underneath even the most seemingly perfect utopia lies a hidden dystopia. At the very least, it is a false utopia. Lauren DeStefano starts her utopian series, The Internment Chronicles, with a Perfect Ruin.
In Morgan's world on Internment, marriages are arranged, people listen to the will of the king, and no one gets too close to the edge. Attempting to go over the edge of Internment can result in death, if you are lucky. Jumpers who survived are scarred physically and emotionally from their attempts to leave Internment. Internment is a city high in the sky where the citizens aren't allowed to see the ground. Saved by the Gods in the sky, before Morgan's generation, Internment was created as an act of mercy. Now they must abide by the rules of Internment to keep life sustained and happy. That includes accepting your betrothal the king arranges, only having children when your number in the queue is called, and accepting all decisions by the government without complaint. This sounds easy enough, but there are always exceptions to the rules, like Morgan's sister-in-law Alice who accidentally got pregnant out of turn and was forced to lose the pregnancy. Or Morgan's brother Lex who tried to jump and suffers the consequences. Or Morgan's friend Pen who finds her betrothed completely insufferable. But Morgan is happy with her betrothal, and she never thought to question the decisions of the king, until she meets a murderer.
Crime is unheard of on Internment, but when a young girl is murdered, her betrothed is blamed. Morgan's father, a patrolman, claims they have apprehended the boy, but Morgan has seen him around the city, hiding from everyone. Weirder still, she finds him with Amy, the dead girl's sister. Why would a little girl be hiding with and protecting the man who murdered her sister? Convinced the boy, Judas, is innocent, she hides her encounters with him carefully, even from Basil, her betrothed. Morgan becomes the object of concern to the king's people, but she is careful to keep the secrets of her family. But in a city the size of Internment, it isn't easy to keep secrets. Or is it?
I struggled with DeStefano's Wither series, so I was skeptical going into this story. I loved Wither, but then the series took a nosedive after the first book. When I started Perfect Ruin, I have to admit it felt a little slow and confusing at first. It is hard to weave a utopia, which we all know is bound to be flawed in the end, but you still want to it appear to be perfect on the surface. Lois Lowry did this effortlessly in The Giver, and honestly, DeStefano did a pretty good job too, but it felt a little forced at times. Not quite effortless. But not a bad attempt either! So while the story was a little slow at first, it quickly picked up and by the end, I was devouring the story. My biggest concern, however, is that The Internment Chronicles will follow the same Wither path and lose steam after a pretty good first book. Hopefully this series will benefit from the experience DeStefano gained from her first series.
The concept of Internment was really fascinating, but there are some holes in its existence that I assume further books will clear up. I loved the utopian angle which was bound to have flaws, but still wasn't a full-fledged dystopia. It will rustle up some great conversations about what the "perfect society" really is. While Morgan wasn't an overtly strong female lead, she also didn't drink the king's Kool-Aid, so to speak. She was happy with her betrothal, but she saw the flaws in the system first hand. In our society, we have a knee-jerk, gut reaction against imposed life-altering decisions, like arranged marriage, so it was an interesting twist to see happy betrothals (Morgan and Basil) and marriages (Lex and Alice) come out of those arrangements. It was an interesting twist on something you won't expect to approve of. The beauty of this story for students is that it is a relatively clean story that can be read in book groups, individually, in class, etc. The story can be complex at times, so it is probably best for a student who can unravel the multiple layers of the society DeStefano created. And I desperately hope that amazing, passionate momentum from the end of the story continues into the sequel!
When you have lost everything, is there anything left to keep you on the right path? For Waverly, Seth, and Kieran, life on the ships headed to a new planet has been nothing short of devastating. But it doesn't end there. In Amy Kathleen Ryan's conclusion to the Skychasers series, she gives us Flame, which you are sure to burn right through.
As Waverly and the other girls approach New Horizon, Anne Mather's ship, they leave the blown up bits of their ship, the Empyrean, behind them. People have died, their home is destroyed, and they are forced into the home of their enemy, a woman who had no qualms about drugging the Empyrean girls and harvesting their eggs to repopulate New Horizon. Living with them is deplorable, but it is the only option. They aren't even sure who made it onto the ship and who is lost forever thanks to the New Horizon terrorists who planted the bomb. While the people of New Horizons welcome them with open arms, it is hard to forget what happened to them on that ship, and who was responsible for it.
Seth managed to get on the ship undetected, but quickly, the authorities on New Horizon were notified of his existence. They don't know where he is, but they know they don't want him roaming around on his own. Waverly can't let go of what they did to her, and seeing her mother, whose mind has obviously been tampered with, makes her resentment grow into an unmanageable beast. When she is approached by a group of insurgents who wish to take down Anne Mather, she finds herself embroiled in a treasonous plan that could easily destroy her. Kieran, kind, trustworthy Kieran, is the most misunderstood and underestimated kid on the ship. Anne believes she can use him to win the faith of the entire ship, but what she doesn't realize is that Kieran may be the strongest of all of them. Never underestimate a boy who was born to lead.
Well, Ryan certainly knew where she wanted to go with this story, and she went there, all right! While the beginning of the series trifled with a love triangle, the end of the series was nothing short of world-making. Ryan took her young, naive characters and forced them to grow up, and grow up quickly. They were teenagers, but in these circumstances, they were the most responsible and humane of any people on those ships. It was a beautiful transformation to witness, and I whole-heartedly enjoyed it. I also really loved the conflict between these teens and the adults around them. Most of my young adult readers know what it feels like to not be taken seriously because of their age. They fall victim to mall curfews, decisions made about them, not with them, and they struggle to find their place in a world that expects them to act like adults while treating them like young children. It is a difficult point of their lives when their identities are being shaped, and Ryan's characters are a quintessential example of those circumstances. I think my students would find a lot of themselves in this story, even if it is a dystopic space opera!
This is a fabulous series for any teen, male or female. I think the subject matter is appropriate for younger readers with stronger language skills as well. It is an excellent story with characters you wish you knew in real life. As with any ending, you have a way you hope it ends. I think we all have a little disappointment with series conclusions, not because they didn't end well, but because we are sad to see them go, and I feel just that for this final book. The ending was perfect, in my opinion, but I wish it didn't have to end here. I won't ruin the ending, but when you get there, you will agree with me that you want to see more of these characters. The ending was beautiful, but it isn't done for me. I want more!
As you look up at the stars, you can imagine a world where any universe is at your fingertips. Imagine if those universes really could be at your fingertips with the mere thrust of hyperdrive. In These Broken Stars, by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner, the worlds, planets, and universes collide when two star-crossed lovers fall from space.
Lilac LaRoux's father is the richest man in the universe. To say she is untouchable isn't an understatement. Her father would make any man who dared to look at her too long, ultimately disappear. Tarver Merendsen may be a decorated war hero, but he wasn't born among these people, and they don't hesitate to let him know. He is on the luxury liner, but he doesn't belong there. When he bumps into Lilac, he is drawn to her. He doesn't know who she is, but she is still out of his league. She is equally as interested, but she will never risk putting another man on the wrong side of her father. Not after what happened to her childhood love.
When the ship starts to pull out of hyperspace, everyone is supposed to run for escape pods. Tarver tries to help people from being trampled, but in the rush, he and Lilac are swept the same way. They find an empty pod and manage to start disengage from the ship, although not all pods make it. In fact, they seem to be the only one that was able to actually disengage from the ship before it plummeted to the nearest planet. Lilac and Tarver have a bumpy landing, but at least they are alive. What they don't expect is a planet that seems to defy all logic. It appears to be terraformed, but there are creatures on the planet that wouldn't exist on a terraformed planet. If that isn't peculiar enough, Lilac keeps hearing voices in the wind. Tarver is convinced they are a result of her shock at the situation, but when they save them from certain death, he begins to realize there is something different about this planet. They had hoped to be rescued by Lilac's father soon, but will anyone find them before they find out the deep, dark secrets that lie in this planet?
This book has gotten a lot of hype and I can see why. It is like Titanic on a luxury spaceliner. And who didn't fall for the love story on Titanic, right?! Well, you will love Tarver and Lilac just as much as you loved Jack and Rose. In fact, this story was captivating. Not only the romantic spark between the two characters, but also the world they find themselves in. It is so unique and interesting, and I can't tell you how much I loved reading about it. I will say I preferred the first 2/3 of the book to the last 1/3, though. By the end it got really trippy and out there, and that is where the true science fiction came in. While this seemed at first like a simple space opera, there was a lot more to it by the end. The deep and confusing back story was interesting, but to be honest, I would have been just as happy following Tarver and Lilac around the planet! That isn't to say I didn't like that last 1/3, I just preferred the beginning of the story more.
This is a complex story with average to above average language but a clean story that would be appropriate for any age. Given the complexity of the story, I would save this for students of any age as long as they have strong reading and comprehension skills. A student with weaker skills might get lost in the latter portion of the book. I think my favorite part of the story has to be Lilac. Even though she could easily have been a useless, overprivileged brat, she surprised even Tarver when she bit her lip and muscled through the daunting task of surviving on an alien planet. It was an awesome portrayal of a female character, and I loved reading about her! I look forward to seeing where this series goes from here!
