Burning Kingdoms

January 1, 2015
This sequel to the innovative Perfect Ruin (2013) brings the series down to the ground, literally.The Internment Chronicles continue as Morgan, her brother and his wife, her betrothed, Basil, and her best friend, Pen, have escaped Internment, their city in the sky, and descended to Earth. There, they find a whole new world, but it might not be to their liking. With the group is Celeste, the princess of Internment, who has her own agenda. The group explores their new world, where Morgan doesn't like the food and isn't impressed with the different technology. The world on the ground seems to resemble 1920s America, with speak-easies, silent movies and cloche hats. But Morgan learns that kings rule here, too, and that wars dominate the lives of the people. People ran in fear from a small fire on Internment, but here, bombs fall, killing innocent citizens. Worse, Morgan learns that the cause of the war is a dispute over two islands that contain phosane, a powerful substance common on Internment. Her phosane betrothal ring alone can power a jet that might travel to Internment. DeStefano turns her attention from worldbuilding to characters and relationships in this book. The shift in focus combines with an overall slower pace to create a dragging middle volume. Committed fans will find the story only just intriguing enough to continue. (Dystopian adventure. 12-18)

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December 1, 2014

Gr 7 Up-Continuing where Perfect Ruin (S. & S., 2013) left off, the characters feel and fight the constraints of the new kingdom in which they find themselves. Morgan, Pen, Princess Celeste, and the rest have ridden the Metal Bird from their troubled kingdom of Internment in the sky and have landed on the outskirts of the city of Havalais. They have landed in the middle of "winter," a completely unfamiliar time full of cold and frozen water falling from the sky. During this dire season, the young people of Internment are hosted by Jack Piper, advisor to the king, and his five children. The cold isn't the only thing that hinders their comings and goings as King Ingram has recently begun a war with a neighboring kingdom-a war that may have implications for Internment and her people, whether above or below. Despite the threat of rocket attacks, Morgan and Pen join "Birdie" Piper in secret night journeys into the city to enjoy silent picture shows and clubs that hearken back to the 1920s. DeStefano's characters have little power to affect their fates with their actions, so talk and diplomacy are their only outlets. By removing opportunities for action, the author allows her characters to reveal more of themselves to one another and to readers. The author's fans will want to read this nuanced second volume in "The Internment Chronicles," but it should also appeal to teens who appreciate emotionally charged and character-driven novels.-Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2015
Grades 8-12 At the start of the second book of the Internment Chronicles, Morgan has arrived on land below her floating island for what is meant to be a one-way journey. Traveling with Morgan are some who have come for political reasons, others for love. DeStefano uses her considerable world-building skills to imagine a place that both exceeds and dashes the expectations of the voyagers. As in Perfect Ruin (2013), it is Morgan's strong voice that is the heart of the narrative, and it is her intense relationship with her best friend, Pen, and her alliance with Princess Celeste that keeps the story moving, even as political events shake the very ground on which they now stand. But with the cast from Internment now joining their hosts, the Piper family, the story seems overpopulated. There is also a good bit of meandering conversation that slows the pacing. Still, there is a fierce intensity here and grand philosophic questions (as well as more mundane ones) to be answered. Readers will be eager to learn if worlds figurativelyor perhaps literallycollide.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)