Book Review // Perfect Ruin By Lauren Destefano

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Perfect Ruin By Lauren Destefano

 I was given Perfect Ruin by a blog friend of mine, Jen at Fefferbooks, as part of the Books n Bloggers swap hosted by Chaotic Goddess Swaps. I don’t usually choose YA books myself, but one of the most interesting things about getting involved with the swap is discovering new genres and broadening your horizons, so I was very glad to begin this book and see where it took me. 

 If I had to sum up this book in one word I think I would describe it as ‘good’. I shall elaborate; firstly the book has an appealing and intriguing cover- covers are, in my opinion, an integral part of the reading experience, just as the art gracing LP sleeves, is an integral part of the listening experience when it comes to music- you are given another aspect for your senses to feast upon, which in-turn enriches the whole experience. The blurb sounded interesting, if a little different from the type of books I usually go for, and so, without further ado, I began reading. 

 I have not yet finished the book, but so far I must say I have enjoyed it. Despite the tone being a little young for me, and the plot lacking somewhat in complexity, Perfect Ruin has certainly proved to be a page turner. I find myself looking forward to picking it up when anticipating my lunch break or a bus journey I’m about to take. I have tended to read, on average, a couple of chapters at each sitting, which is quite satisfactory where my reading is concerned :)

  Because the language is quite simple I found it easy to get along quite quickly with this book. On the other hand, there is the occasional flowery passage, where Destefano taps into her skill for creative description, and these passages seem to appear particularly at the end of chapters, in an effort to end the scene on a dramatic note. This works well, but considering the simplicity of the majority of the text, can seem a little over the top. Given that these more complex sentences and paragraphs (complex not only in syntax, but also in feeling) are well written, and that the author evidently knows what she is doing when writing them, and how to construct them, I wonder why there are so few. 

 When all is said and done, I have enjoyed Perfect Ruin. It has interested me, and kept me interested, with only a few slow parts where the storyline seemed to drag a little. The main character is quite well defined and it’s evident that Destefano has tried to add depth by writing from her perspective and giving us the chance to hear her thoughts. However, whilst the supporting characters in the book can each easily be labeled- Pen is ‘bubbly, confident and steadfast in her beliefs’, Basil is ‘romantic and caring’ Thomas, much the same, and Judas ‘mysterious’etc., they do tend to seem a little two dimensional. 

 To conclude, Perfect Ruin is an engaging book built on a very interesting and original idea. The plot is well constructed if a little predictable, but I enjoyed it and am even curious about the other books in the series. I’d love to see this made into a film, but I guess we’ll have to wait and see :) 3/5