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A review by tiareleine
Burning Kingdoms by Lauren DeStefano
5.0
Burning Kingdoms, the second book in The Internment Chronicles, picks up right where Perfect Ruin left off. That means this review is going to be filled with spoilers for book one. So many spoilers. If you haven't read Perfect Ruin, please do that and then come back.
Now for the spoilers.
At the end of Perfect Ruin, Morgan and co. left Internment (the floating city where they lived all their lives) and went to Earth (at least, I think it's Earth. Alt Earth, but Earth nonetheless).
That's pretty much all I can say as far as plot goes. Not because I'm holding back spoilers, but because this book isn't really about the plot; it's about the characters.
Lauren DeStefano's writing is not for everyone for that exact reason. Some people need things to be happening all the time to stay interested in a book. I just need to root for the characters. Which makes this series perfect for me. Lauren DeStefano is great at writing characters who can hold a book on their own. Characters with distinct personalities. Characters that stand apart from each other despite the fairly large cast (Morgan, Pen, Basil, Thomas, Judas, Amy, Lex, Alice, Nim, Birdie, Princess Celeste, etc.). Characters with real problems and struggles, with pain, with love, with friendship. Characters who keep me from ever being bored.
The prose in this book is also great, which helps keep me interested. The way Lauren DeStefano describes things (both physical and emotional) is beautiful. Style can make or break a book, but in this case it makes it. You don't have to worry about "purple prose," though. It's nowhere near that, it's just really nicely written.
The best way I think I can describe Lauren DeStefano's writing is genuine. What she writes is real and natural, never forced. It's never to please anyone else, only because there's a story that wants to be told. My favorite books are the ones that don't really fit any genre because the story unfolded in it's own way. If that sounds like something you like, I'd recommend both The Internment Chronicles and The Chemical Garden trilogy.
Now for the spoilers.
At the end of Perfect Ruin, Morgan and co. left Internment (the floating city where they lived all their lives) and went to Earth (at least, I think it's Earth. Alt Earth, but Earth nonetheless).
That's pretty much all I can say as far as plot goes. Not because I'm holding back spoilers, but because this book isn't really about the plot; it's about the characters.
Lauren DeStefano's writing is not for everyone for that exact reason. Some people need things to be happening all the time to stay interested in a book. I just need to root for the characters. Which makes this series perfect for me. Lauren DeStefano is great at writing characters who can hold a book on their own. Characters with distinct personalities. Characters that stand apart from each other despite the fairly large cast (Morgan, Pen, Basil, Thomas, Judas, Amy, Lex, Alice, Nim, Birdie, Princess Celeste, etc.). Characters with real problems and struggles, with pain, with love, with friendship. Characters who keep me from ever being bored.
The prose in this book is also great, which helps keep me interested. The way Lauren DeStefano describes things (both physical and emotional) is beautiful. Style can make or break a book, but in this case it makes it. You don't have to worry about "purple prose," though. It's nowhere near that, it's just really nicely written.
The best way I think I can describe Lauren DeStefano's writing is genuine. What she writes is real and natural, never forced. It's never to please anyone else, only because there's a story that wants to be told. My favorite books are the ones that don't really fit any genre because the story unfolded in it's own way. If that sounds like something you like, I'd recommend both The Internment Chronicles and The Chemical Garden trilogy.