Review PERFECT RUIN by LAUREN DeSTEFANO @LaurenDeStefano @SimonTeen @SimonPulse

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2013

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.

About the Author
Lauren DeStefano is the author of The Internment Chronicles and the New York Times bestselling Chemical Garden trilogy, which includes Wither, Fever, and Sever. She earned her BA in English with a concentration in creative writing from Albertus Magnus College in Connecticut. Visit her at LaurenDeStefano.com.


 Source:  Publisher
 My Thoughts Loved it


 Morgan lives above the earth on a floating island of land that was some how torn off and flung into space. This story is full of intrigue and mystery all built on a world similar to ours, but with striking differences. Things are very controlled on this sky island, everything to when you can have children to who that child will marry and if something happens to your mate, you are destined to be alone the rest of your life.

The only real element of freedom is choosing how you earn a living. A murder has recently occurred and the whole country is on lock down and the small amount of freedom the citizens have is restricted.  Morgan is intrigued and when she randomly meets the boy accused of the murder, she can't help  wonder if he really did it.  Especially when the murdered girl's sister plasters the revolutionary paper around the school.

Morgan's brother, Lex,  is a "jumper" one who has tried to fling himself off the side of the island but does not succeed. He is pretty damaged and now blind.  There is a group of revolutionaries that oppose the government's control and are trying to get off the island. Something that has been tried for generations. I really enjoyed this first installment of DeStefano's new trilogy and she builds in all of the societal issues that she used in the Chemical Garden but with a bit of Across the Universe worked in.  In some ways, this is a bit darker than that series.  It has a wonderful ending that will leave you hanging a bit.  Parents:  some language, forced drug use, and sexual situations.

I adore this cover -- it perfectly matches the mood of the book!

BookHounds Review SEVER by LAUREN DeSTEFANO @SimonTeen @LaurenDeStefano

Book Description

Release Date: February 12, 2013 | Series: Chemical Garden (Book 3)

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.

About the Author
Lauren DeStefano earned her BA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing from Albertus Magnus College in Connecticut in 2007. Visit her at LaurenDeStefano.com.

SOURCE: AROUND THE WORLD ARC TOURS

MY THOUGHTS

OMIGOSH -- PERFECT CONCLUSION

I tried to keep this spoiler free....

Ok, let's talk about that cover.  There are a thousand words in that cover.  There are so many details that make sense once you finish this book. Since those details are in view, I am going to talk about those rather than how this series ends.  First off, the apples in the lower part of the image:  Rhine finds that she can only eat them in her new location at Reed's home.  Reed is Linden's uncle and the complete opposite of Vaughn.  He is a mad inventor living off the grid and remembers the way the world used to be before the virus.  In Reed, Rhine find some comfort and he helps her even more than she realizes.  

Cecily and Linden join her with their son, Bowden there.  There are lots of secrets that Reed knows about Vaughn and gives hints to the group.  Then there is Rhine holding her ring.  Yep, she finally has the nerve to ask Linden to remove it, thereby annulling her marriage to him.  While she is relieved by this action, at times, she misses the closeness that she shared with him.  She also knows that this action will comfort Cecily and in turn makes Cecily a stronger person.   Rhine is not perfect and she knows it, everything she thinks is right turns out to be wrong but she still knows what is good and true to her. 

THAT is the story of life. There are so many gray areas that occurs in day to day life that you can't possibly imagine that something your parents do will have consequences beyond their lives that will impact your own life.  You hope that they choose wisely and if not you grow up to overcome their choices if you feel that they are wrong.  So the story ends, but not without Rhine questioning all of her choices, regretting some, rejoicing in others.  One hint: she does reunite with her brother, which I am still trying to figure out where he stands.  Hmm, maybe I need a story with Rowan's point of view?  Parents: I don't remember any steamy scenes or a lot of violence in this one.  This is just a fitting conclusion to the story.  

REVIEW: Fever by Lauren DeStefano @simonteen @LaurenDeStefano

Book Description

Series: The Chemical Garden Trilogy | Publication Date: February 21, 2012

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.

About the Author

Lauren DeStefano earned her BA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing from Albertus Magnus College in Connecticut in 2007. She is also the author of Wither. Visit her at LaurenDeStefano.com. 

Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers (February 21, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 144240907X
• ISBN-13: 978-1442409071

SOURCE:  AROUND THE WORLD ARC TOURS

MY THOUGHTS
ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT

Gabriel and Rhine have escaped the mansion only to find themselves in even greater danger and still within reach of Linden's father, the pair just don't realize how far his reach is.  Rhine thinks she has experienced everything that she needs in order to survive but her fight is only just beginning now that she has ended up in an even rougher scenario that involves prostitution and addiction to a heroin like substance.  Not that Rhine gets addicted, but Gabriel starts to show signs and she know they must escape the carnival like atmosphere that they have tumbled into where girls have relations with men for coins and drugs.  Most of them are already being taken over by the disease that haunts the young adults.

Even though Rhine feels she is deeply in love with Gabriel there are times when I doubt her true feelings for him when she puts on her act for the viewers in order to keep the place they have at the strange circus they have fallen into. Vaughn of course manages to track them down and plays on Rhine's good nature and her feelings for the other girls she left behind.  When she finally is reunited with Linden she is taken back to the mansion where she finds Cecily who has plenty of information for her.

This installment of the Wither series is amazingly fast paced and will have you running while the pair try to make it to Manhattan and discover clues about what is actually happening outside their cloistered existence there.  There are some strange twist and turns that will probably shock you a bit but by the end, you will be dying to read the next one which will probably be in another year.  Sigh.  It is going to be another long wait.  There is a lot of stuff happening in this book and I am sure you will enjoy it if you liked Wither.  I wish I could put my finger on what made this book so special to me, but I connected with Rhine and her story to the point where I think about it more and more.  There are a few sexual situations, drug abuse and some language, so this one is suited best for older teens.

BOOK TRAILER TUESDAY: Lauren DeStefano discusses WITHER

WAITING ON WEDNESDAY: Fever by Lauren DeStefano

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

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

 Description


Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but danger is never far behind.

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

In the 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.

Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers (February 21, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 144240907X
• ISBN-13: 978-1442409071

I really NEED this book!

BOOK TRAILER TUESDAY: Author Lauren DeStefano discusses Goodreads

GIVEAWAY! Wither by Lauren DeStefano over at YA Books-What We're Reading Now

Stop by here:

Young Adult Books-What We're Reading Now: New Book Giveaway-April 2011-Wither by Lauren DeStefano

And enter to win a copy of With by Lauren DeStefano!  There are low entries, so get on over and enter right now!

BOOK TRAILER TUESDAY The Chemical Garden Trilogy - Wither by Lauren DeStefano

BOOK TRAILER TUESDAY: Author Lauren DeStefano delves into WITHER

Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; 1 edition (March 22, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1442409053
• ISBN-13: 978-1442409057

REVIEW: Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Description

The first book in an exciting new series by first time author Lauren DeStefano. 

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.

About the Author

Lauren DeStefano earned her BA in English with a Concentration in Creative Writing from Albertus Magnus College in Connecticut in 2007. Wither is her first novel.

Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing; 1 edition (March 22, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1442409053
• ISBN-13: 978-1442409057

SOURCE:  Around the World ARC Tours

 MY THOUGHTS
ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT

All I can say after reading this, is when will the next one be released?  I just couldn't put this one down once I started and even now, I am still thinking about the characters. In this dystopian tale, Rhine is sixteen and forced into marriage after being stolen from her home.  She learns that her husband is more or less a pawn in his father's mad scientist games in which he is experimenting on corpses to stop the insidious virus that plagues mankind.  The virus causes women to die at twenty and men at twenty five.

Without going into to much plot detail, Rhine tries to escape and with the help of her sister-wives, she gain the courage to make the final attempt.  This is truly a page turner and it will leave you with many different feelings.  I do hope in the end, Rhine finds her contentment.  I guess I will have to wait for the installment to find this out.