Perfect Ruin - Lauren Destefano

Well I am done already, and if you have ever read a book by Lauren Destefano I am sure you can understand why. This novel is slow, yet fast paced at the same time. The character growth is slow but the plot progresses quickly. You start with Morgan, a 16 year old girl who has a dysfunctional family. She has a best friend, Pen, who also has a dysfunctional family. After a mysterious death their perfect world, or island in the sky, starts to go crazy. Heightened security has the girls on high alert and soon you find out things are not what they seem in their perfect world.

Daphne is the girl who is murdered within the first chapter of the book. Soon after you meet her sister, Amy, who is seen posting her dead sisters essay all over town for everyone to read. Next thing you know the local flower shop catches fire. Now all we are told as the reader is that it is believed to be a boy named Judas, Daphne's betrothed. You think that would be weird in the book but it actually works. The people put together really seem to be meant for one another. Especially our main character, Morgan, and her boyfriend, Basil. So back to the story...

Morgan finds Judas and tries to help him, which kindles her friendship with Amy. Story progresses where things get worse and worse in the city and people start showing up dead. Morgan and Basil get home from school and she immediately checks on her mother who appears to be sleeping. Morgan is overcome in pain so Basil takes her to her bothers apartment.

Back story on her brother, Lex, he is an ex-pharmacist, who has a wife, Alice. Lex tried to jump over the edge of the Island after Alice had to have her pregnancy terminated for being out of turn. He was left blind from the incident and almost died. From that point forward Lex hated the government and the King.

Now that I caught us all up... because of Morgan's family history we find out she was poisoned, as was everyone in her family as well as several other people. Lex and Alice no longer take their medications from the government so they are safe. Morgan's mother and father are both dead and Lex is barely able to save his sister. Lex, Alice, Morgan, and Basil now all have to go in hiding because they are supposed to be dead. Morgan wakes up to find herself underground in a 'bird' (plane) meant to help rebels leave the floating island. In a fit of rage over her parents she leaves the bird followed by Judas to kill the King. She realizes this is ridiculous when she gets to the surface and decides to just write a message to Pen.

Pen is already at her and Morgans secret spot and the two get to talk. It is here Morgan realizes the Pen truly loves living on the Island and believes every word of the history books. Morgan decides not to tell her about the bird and just wanted to say good-bye. Before she can leave they are shot with darts by the Prince and Princess and rendered paralyzed. They are captured...yada yada yada, they escape and make it back to the bird. The group realizes it has to leave now or be killed. As they reach the end of the floating Island they find the Princess has been stowed away in the bottom of the bird with Pen's betrothed, Thomas.

Pen has a melt down about leaving the Island but it is too late and the bird is in the air. They make it to the ground where they are greeted by other people. The book ends here!!!!!!! Ugh don't worry the sequel comes out March 10th. So, not too long of a wait. I gave a crazy simplified synopsis because you have to still be able to enjoy reading it! Lauren Destefano is an amazing author and I recommend reading anything she is willing to write.

Currently reading Perfect Ruin! Now I was a huge fan of the Chemical Garden Trilogy so I am hoping Lauren Destefano will have written just as well here.

I know you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover but this art work is simply amazing.

In side flap with more artwork.

Pretty stars in side the book.

The back of the book. I really can't get over how great this looks. So simple yet it sucks me in.

Kiera Cass - my first meet and greet

So this past summer I was able to meet one of my favorite Authors, Kiera Cass, who wrote the Selection Series. A recent post on her website reveals she is adding two more, that's right TWO more full length novels to the series. The Heir is set to release May 5, 2015 and there is no title or date on the last book.

The Selection is about a girl, America, who is put into a pool of girls to try to win Prince Maxon's affection in hopes to be the new Queen. The setting is in the future in the United States where we have reverted back to a King and Queen instead of a President. Also, the people have been broken down into a caste system of numbers where what ever your number is will decide what type of work you can preform. America is currently a 5 which are artists and musicians. Maxon is the son of the current King and Queen making him a 1. Aspen, America's long time friend and neighbor, is a 6 which is the lowest of the Castes and he is a laborer. In the Selection America deals with the fact that a lot of people cannot see past the number she once was. Once you are chosen for the Selection you are bumped up to a 3 which is where most other famous and wealthy people are. I dont want to say to much more without giving it away.

The Elite continues on with America deciding if she can win Maxon over or if she will risk it all for Aspen. She also bumps heads with Maxon's father and realizes there is a lot more going on outside of the Palace with the caste system than the King is letting on. Again, if I say more I will surely be giving too much away.

The One, as you can probably guess Maxon has to narrow his choice down to 1 girl and choose his bride and the future queen. This book was better than the first two, which is very hard for most authors to pull off. Kiera Cass really does an amazing job at keeping you interested right up to the very last chapter. I wanted to cry at some parts and SCREAM at Maxon and America in others. This last book really makes you feel what the characters are feeling.

Now there are Novellas in this series as well.

The Prince is about the first time Maxon comes into contact with America. Honestly this just made me love Maxon even more than I thought I ever could. I love novellas told from the opposite sex's point of view. You read about Maxon's struggle to win over his Father and yet make is own decisions to make an attempt for real love.

The Guard is told from Aspen's point of view when he joins the Guard, making him a 2 and being in the palace with America while she is dating Maxon. I wasn't fond of Aspen but this book did give me a soft spot for him.

The Queen is being released in 21 days and will be about The Queens time in the Selection. How she came to become the Queen and the bonds she made with the other girls she competed with.

The Favorite is to be about Marlee. I am not sure what this is about because I have not really researched too much about it. I did pre-order the Queen/Favorite combo pack and will make an attempt to update after I have read them both.

The Jewel - Amy Ewing

Since I am terrible at blogging apparently I am going to attempt to keep up to date reactions to all of the books I read. You can visit my shelfari page and see what i am reading there as well as what I plan to read in the future. [sgamble187]

I recently read The Jewel by Amy Ewing. WOW is how I would sum up this book in 1 word. If you have read the Chemical Garden Trilogy (Wither, Sever, Fever) or The Selection Series (The Selection, The Elite, The One, -The Heir* not yet released) Then I have no doubt that you will also love this new and up coming series.

The Jewel isn't a piece of Jewelry, it is actually the center of an island or the capital of this 'country'. The book never really says exactly what the world is only that water surrounds all of the land, and that is where the poorer families live. Then there are stone walls separating each class of citizens basically until you reach the center, which is the Jewel.

The people of the Jewel are royalty and you soon learn that for what ever reason they cannot conceive children of their own. Have no fear though, because they are royalty they have tons of money and can afford to buy girls to carry their children for them. They even have the technology to choose to have a boy or a girl. But this isn't even all of it...

The story follows Violet, a girl who is chosen to become a surrogate after a blood test shows she basically has magic in her. They call magic Augury in this book. There are 3 different kinds, the ability to change colors, the ability to change shapes, and the ability to make life or growth. The royals buy these girls and use the Augury magic to have the perfect children. The girls are forced to use the magic to make the child look how their owner wants them to look.

There is a love story in this book, however the main focus point is on Violets struggle to take charge of her life. She realizes very quickly that she has never been able to decide on anything since she was chosen to become a surrogate. When she is purchased she is even more limited and must listen to what The Duchess of the Lake tells her to do. When surrogates do not listen they are punished and in some cases even put to death. The whole book you are put on the edge of your seat waiting for The Duchess to hurt Violet for disobeying her. Lets just say it finally happens at the end of the book and you have to wait for the next one to come out around 1 year from now :(

Now to the writing style. It is told from a 16 year old girls point of view, but thankfully Violet does not act like a younger girl as in some other young adult books (I'm looking at you House of Night novels). There are very long descriptive parts about the scenery and the background on what is going on. I am the type of person who usually skips this part of the book and looks for the next set of quotation marks to pick back up on the story. This town, country, whatever it is, is seriously so interesting to me that I didn't skip any details. You as a reader are pulled right in to this story by the first few pages. I just needed to know more about Violet and the Jewel. I read this book in a day, which sadly is not unusual for me when I find a good book like this. Amy Ewing really sold me on her first book she had published. I have high expectations for the second book which does not yet have a title but is set to release September 2015.

Update 9/22. If you write to Amy on her website AmyEwingBooks.com she will respond!!! So insanely cool that she takes time out of her day to do this!

My first book post! Son by Lois Lowry

Well first off I will be writing spoilers about this book. So beware what you read if you plan on reading this book.

Back in my high school we had to read 'The Giver' which I will sum up for anyone who forgets. The Giver takes place in a Utopian Society where no one can see colors and the government decides everything for you. You are given your career at 14. The main character Jonas starts to see things like an apple differently than he has before. On the day of his placement for a career he is chosen to be a Giver. His family has been temporarily caring for a child who Jonas believes to be gifted like he his. The government decides the baby is too different and sentences it to death. Jonas and the baby escape leaving you to wonder what happens next.

Part I
Now onto Son. The book starts off with a girl Claire who is 16 and she was made a birth mother. She gives birth to the product, which is how families in this society get their children. Something goes wrong during her birth and they end up doing a c-section to get the baby out. After this incident Claire is deemed not a good vessel to carry kids. Before she leaves she is able to find out from a nurse she had a son and he is number 36. She is then sent to work at the hatchery which is where fish are genetically engineered and grown. In her free time Claire visits her son at the childcare center. She cannot tell anyone that he is her son or that she has feelings for him because it is against the rules. Claire finds out that the man at the center who has been caring for her son is the father of Jonas from 'The Giver'. We learn Jonas escapes with her son who we thinks name is Abe at this point. Claire finds a way out of the community during the commotion brought about by Jonas escape.

Part II
Claire ends up washed ashore in an unknown village where she is cared for by a woman who never had children of her own. Her Claire slowly regains her memory and trains to get herself ready for the journey to finding her son. Claire is tought about colors, medical things, and cooking while staying in the village. (I summed this up it wasn't interesting to me)

Part III
After Claire makes it over the mountain she trades her youth with The Trade Master so she can be with her son again who is now fairly old. Claire turns into an old lady and struggles with the decision to talk to her son who we learn is Gabe. This part is told from Gabriel's point of view. Jonas has told Gabriel as much as he can remember about the society they originated from and Gabe cannot come to terms with the fact he was essentially a factory made baby. Close to death Claire finds Jonas and confides in him the truth of why she has come to the village. Jonas tells Gabe who goes to find the Trade Master so he can save the mother he has been wishing for, for so long. Gabe defeats the Trade Master and reunites with his now young again mother.

This is a very short summation and all I can say is I am so happy I read this book. It has been a while since I read 'The Giver' and I have forgotten how opened ended it was. Once I got into reading it I didn't want to stop. It was especially interesting the parts of the story that happened at the same time The Giver happened. To read the stories as they cross paths and intertwine was so amazing considering the books are by two different authors. Long of the short is if you have read 'The Giver', read 'Son'.