Burning Kingdoms by Lauren DeStefano {review}

Burning Kingdoms
by Lauren DeStefano
♦publisher: Simon & Schuster 
♦release date: March 10, 2015
♦hardcover, 320 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦series: Internment Chronicles, book 2
  review of book 1: Perfect Ruin
♦source: from publisher for honest review

Danger descends in the second book of The Internment Chronicles, from the New York Times bestselling author of The Chemical Garden trilogy.

After escaping Internment, Morgan and her fellow fugitives land on the ground to finally learn about the world beneath their floating island home.

The ground is a strange place where water falls from the sky as snow, and people watch moving pictures and visit speakeasies. A place where families can have as many children as they want, their dead are buried in vast gardens of bodies, and Internment is the feature of an amusement park.

It is also a land at war.

Everyone who fled Internment had their own reasons to escape their corrupt haven, but now they’re caught under the watchful eye of another king who wants to dominate his world. They may have made it to the ground, but have they dragged Internment with them?

Review: Burning Kingdoms is another fascinating journey into the worlds that Lauren DeStefano so expertly creates. A little curious, deeply emotional,  and just a touch magical, this story continues only moments after Perfect Ruin ended.  Morgan, Pen, Basil, and the whole crew have safely reached the ground after risking their lives to escape from Internment on a ship shaped like bird.

When they step outside, they are immediately taken into custody by the right hand man to the king.  They are brought to his home, a large off-season hotel where he lives with his five children. Two of them are around the same age as Morgan, so I knew they would play a big part in the story.  The family dynamic reminded me a little of the Von Trapps, two older kids taking care of the little ones in place of a distant political father.  I loved Birdie---she was spunky, opinionated, and fun.

Love the worldbuilding in this. What I initially thought was our own world in the 20s turned out to be something  similar but slightly more magical, two lands run by two stubborn kings and torn apart by the a war over fuel.  When Pen and Morgan make an important discovery about the precious substance, Morgan must decide if that discovery is a bargaining chip that could get them all home, or a secret that could bring their whole floating city crashing down.

There are really a lot of emotional chips thrown down here, as they discover this new world.  We find out exactly why Princess Celeste muscled her way onto the ship, and she gets in over her head trying to play her political hand.  Pen wrestles with a few old demons and a dangerous weakness. Morgan must decide where her loyalty lies strongest and also face up to what she really wants for her and Basil, now that they are not held by Internments laws of betrothal. And they all must come to terms with their feelings about their lives on Internment and the fact that they may never be able to go home again.  All while trying to figure out this strange new place and survive it’s escalating war.

You never quite know how this is going to play out and it ends on another suspenseful and exciting cliffhanger. I’ve definitely become invested in the lives of this huge group of characters. A little bit of a slow in pacing here and there, but there is never any falter from the gorgeousness of DeStefano's writing!  A really great second installment---can’t wait to see what book three holds!

Find Lauren DeStefano online:  Website  •  Twitter  •  Facebook

Purchase Burning Kingdoms: Indiebound  •  BookDepository  •  Amazon

First Impressions Review: Burning Kingdoms by Lauren Destefano

First Impression Reviews is a new feature here at Stories & Sweeties where I give my first thoughts at 50-100 pages into a book. For a details about this feature, go here!

where I'm at: pg 57

first impressions: So excited to be continuing this series.  Last year, I gave Perfect Ruin 4.5 cupcakes--but the funny thing was, I loved the beginning, almost DNFed at about 120 pages in, and then picked it back up, got sucked back in and ended up loving it.  So I'm curious to see how this one will be for me. As of right now--LOVING it. So that's good. lol

Burning Kingdoms picks up exactly where Perfect Ruin left off, down to the minute!  NOTE: Don't read past this point if you haven't read book 1!>>
Morgan and the rest of the crew have landed on the ground and are taken in by the family of the King's right hand man. They are all astounded by how different things are on the ground: the customs, the food, the weather,...not to mention, it seems they've landed in a world on the brink of war.  I love all the new characters---the family is made up of quite a few children (another thing that shocks them since the population is under such tight control on Internment) and the oldest two are right around Morgan's age. I can tell already the eldest boy, Nimble and the oldest girl, Birdie, are going to add some fun twists to this story. Morgan and friends are very wary of their father and the King's intentions for them, though, so the tension is very high!

This is starting out really well, I tend to love stories that take a look at the earthly world from an outsider perspective---there's something wondrous about seeing a character in awe over snow and the ocean and even eggs for breakfast, things we take so much for granted. Plus, it seems there are a few fantastical things happening as well on this version of "earth". 

Once again, Lauren Destano takes our world and adds her own creative and compelling spin to it. I can't wait to see what else is in store!!

Becky's View: Perfect Ruin by Lauren Destefano

Perfect Ruin by Lauren DeStefano
♦publisher: Simon & Schuster
♦release date: October 1st, 2013
♦hardcover, 356 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦series: The Internment Chronicles, book 1
♦source: from publisher for honest review

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.

Review: Perfect Ruin marks the start of another exceptional series from Lauren Destefano.  This time around, she's given us something more mystical and a lot less gritty than her Wither series.  The city of Internment has it's own myths and legends, and it's ruled by its beliefs and by its seemingly respectable king.  The people revere the Sky God who legend says put them in the sky. They know that if they try to get to the ground below, there is the hefty price to pay.

Morgan leads a quiet life, going to school and spending time with her friend, Pen, and the boy she is betrothed to, Basil.  Her family life is marred by the fact that her brother, Lex, is a "Jumper", someone who got too close to the edge of Internment.  He was left blind and seemingly close to madness.  Still, Morgan is close to him and his wife, Alice.   Morgan is constantly worried about her own thoughts of the edge and fears turning out like her brother.  When a student is murdered and strange documents with the student's  unconventional, some would say traitorous, views on Internment and it's beliefs pop up around the city, Morgan begins to question her world even more.

Ok, in full disclosure, I almost didn't finish this one. I raced enthusiastically through the first 100 pages, and then somehow it lost me. I actually put it aside for awhile. Then, by chance, I ended up alone with this book and decided to pick it up again. I couldn't be happier that I did.  This story and characters dug into my brain and from then on I was completely enthralled by it through the fantastic, climactic end. 

All the characters rang so true to people living in a falsely ideal society.  I loved Basil's sturdiness and sincerity, Pen's strong, sometimes misguided belief and optimism, Thomas and his snarkiness and persistence and devotion to Pen despite being put off.  Even Morgan's parents, though they seemed kind of there, but withdrawn---you get a pretty strong inkling that there is something else going on with them.  Lex and his wife Alice have an intensity to their love that spells out just how much they've both been through.  Then there is Judas and Amy and even some great characters that drop in right near the end of the story---the whole cast is well written and all do their part to touch the reader.

The love story is beautifully done.  Morgan and Basil are betrothed through the laws of Internment, but they've grown to really love each other.  It was pure and strong and unquestioning.  I really enjoy when a love story doesn't take over the plot, but provides a constant source of support for the main character.  Basil was amazing in that way.   When the rest of Morgan's world seems to be falling to pieces and she's worried she's losing her mind, he's there to stand by her and reassure her.  And while I was worried for a while with the appearance of Judas that it was going to take an ugly turn into a love triangle, I was so grateful that it didn't go there. Thank you, Lauren Destefano!

Love this quote from just after Morgan admits to Basil that she has thoughts of the edge:

He knows that I'm not like the other girls---the normal ones---that a part of me is slipping off this floating city, and he doesn't care. He doesn't care.  

Maybe we're both beyond saving.

The ending was so exciting!  Full of suspense and uncertainty, and it has an almost whimsical "down the rabbit hole" kind of feel to it. My heart was literally pounding with anticipation!  It's definitely a cliffhanger so prepare yourselves to be left dying for book 2, as I am!

Find Lauren Destefano online:  Website  •  Twitter  •  Facebook

Purchase Perfect Ruin: Amazon  •  BookDepository  •  Indiebound