Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Pages: 356
Readership: Young adult
Genres: science-fiction, dystopia
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.
A perfect city in the sky. No crime. No hardship. Nothing. Everyone lives happy lives and dies happy deaths. Until one day that doesn't hold true anymore. It seemed like a pretty interesting concept to me so I had had it on my want list for a while. I mean come on, it's a city floating on clouds right above Earth. Just a big floating rock. But there's people on it. That are alive. That is crazy.
Everything about Internment is a mystery. Sure, there are the things that we're told, the things that Morgan know: that Internment is perfect. That everything is laid out before you. That everyone is good and whole. That if you go to the edge, you'll go mad. Crazy. Bonkers. But nothing is ever as it seems, is it? Because people start to die. They are murdered, actually, which is arguably worse. Fear is a cancerous thing, eating away at you until you can't sleep. You can't eat. And you surely can't think of the only place you've known as home your entire life the same way again.
Every chapter ended with some sort of little tidbit of mystery that made me want to keep going. The overwhelming mystery of the entire thing is definitely what kept me going especially since I wasn't really a fan of Morgan up until the last quarter of the book. There was something about her to me that just seemed a little dull. But that might be because of her circumstances. She never had to question her surroundings and her mind until the murders started to happen and things began to unravel. The fact that the prisoner the government claimed to have locked up was actually running around, free, trying to hide. The fact that there was a massive conspiracy going on in the force. So many mysteries. So little answers. Even right up until the end. I'm not going to lie, that bit bothered me to.
The secondary characters were strong and what kept me very interested in continuing. I absolutely loved Judas and all the mystery surrounding him. Did he do it? Was he falsely accused? Was he a scape goat? What was his story? I loved Amy and I loved Morgan's brother. I wouldn't mind a book from his POV. Basil, however, was a little lacklustre for me. He was too perfect. Too much I'll follow you till the end! I'll jump off a cliff for you! He was a bit too much.
Overall, I liked it. There would be things that I could have done without but there were also things that I thoroughly enjoyed. I'll definitely be reading the second. I will say that if you want to read something that is so original with an intriguing plot, pick this book up!
★★★
I LIKED IT
An ARC was provided by Simon & Schuster Canada for review - thank you!!!
PURCHASE
I definitely found the beginning quite slow, but it was still intriguing, as you said. The ending was bananas (in a good way!), so I really can't wait to see where the second book goes.
ReplyDelete