Morgan Stockhour lives on Internment, a mysterious floating city with no connection to the world below. Ever since her older brother was injured approaching the edge, Morgan has tried not to think about what lies beyond the train tracks circling the city. However, when a girl from Morgan’s class is found murdered and left on the tracks, Morgan finds herself questioning the very nature of Internment itself.
This was a surprisingly unique read despite the current abundance of YA dystopian lit. At first the world of internment seems to only have a few generic elements, such as controlled birth and arranged marriage, but the society becomes more horrifying as more and more rules are revealed. It’s also nice that the nature of the this floating city is the true central mystery of the novel. Internment itself is actually well developed; any knowledge of the world is only limited because Morgan’s knowledge of the world is limited.
The dystopian “betrothals” also eliminate any of the annoying love triangles that are pervasive in YA. Morgan and her betrothed, Basil, seem pretty committed to each other and actually show that they care for each other.
Perfect Ruin doesn’t avoid all YA tropes, including the fact that it is only book one in a series. The story ends on a massive cliffhanger, but the central premise more than enough to want to know more.
A review copy was provided through the goodreads.com first reads program.
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