Don't focus on the edge. Stay inside the tracks. Stay in this little place where awful things happen, but where beauty hides in beams of sunlight, in the green grass and the gentle lapping of the lake forming and destroying watery shapes. Ignore the men in uniforms that stand at length, sullying the image. They'll be gone soon. Everything will go back to normal. 
 A beautifully written book that is superior to most YA dystopian novels I have read this year. The world building is intricate, the main character is likeable, and the side characters are immensely well-crafted. The only failing is in the weaker second half of the book, where the plot delved into somewhat of a hurried mess, with some really strange twists that just came out of nowhere. 
 I hate gushing reviews, and I will try not to do so here, but in my opinion, this book is pretty aptly named. Frankly, Perfect Ruin is anything but a ruin; for me it is a nearly flawless YA dystopian. What drew me to the book was the idea of a floating island in the sky, because it reminded me of the Miyazaki film: Laputa: Castle in the Sky. The concept may be familiar, but the premise is completely different; regardless, I very much enjoyed this rendition. 
 Our main character is Morgan Stockhour. The setting is Internment, an island removed from the Ground, now ripped up and floating in the sky. It is a small island, it can only support so many people, it is ruled by Decision Makers, and has a King. Over the past centuries, society has developed, it has developed a culture and a religion of its own, and not much at all is known about the Earth, what is known to the people of Internment as the Ground. Few people approach the edge of Internment, to do so, to look down beyond the expanse of space and land is to invite madness. Morgan knows, because her brother, Lex, was one of those Jumpers. She and her family have been shamed by the event, but it doesn't bother Morgan too much. She has her loyal best friend, Pen. She has her wonderful betrothed, Basil. 
 It is a quiet, uneventful existence, cluttered with small traumas within her family that run deep, but it is life, and Morgan is fairly satisfied with it. Her peaceful existence is shattered, and Internment's citizens are rocked to the core when a murder happens. Crimes are very, very rare in Internment, murder is almost unheard of, and Morgan no longer feels safe. They eventually capture a boy, Judas, who is responsible for the murder, but Morgan's encounters with him and another girl leads her to believe that there's something more lurking underneath the peaceful facade of Internment. 
 She looks at me, and her eyes are full of so much pain that it astounds me. 
 "It's only going to get worse," she says. 
 The Plot 
 Without revealing any spoilers, the only complaint I have towards this book is the plot. It is slowly built up, which is fine with me, but the second half felt so rushed, so out of place, and there were twists in it that just came out of thin air. There was no sense of rationality in some of the things that happened towards the latter of the book. Really, that's the only thing that failed for me. 
 The Setting 
 The world building is extraordinary. Not everything is explained completely, but that's fine by me. Why? The gaps in my knowledge of Internment and how it came to be is the same as our narrator Morgan's gaps in understanding. Certain knowledge is kept from the people of Internment, and while the setting is clearly, distinctly, thoroughly explained by Morgan by bits and pieces in the way, some knowledge is omitted simply because she does not know everything, and I find that perfectly acceptable and understandable. 
 Internment is such an interesting place. Its technologies, traditions, religion are so well-built. It is not spoon-fed to us, you do not need a glossary (thank you, but no thank you, The Bone Season). The terminology is simple and the explanations easily and matter-of-factly given. Morgan is such an excellent narrator, she explains things so clearly and so well that it doesn't seem like we're reading from a textbook. We gradually learn that Internment believes in a Sky God, that they have certain technologies, that betrothals are arranged, that living spaces are assigned. We are given an explanation of how this system came into place. We are given a rough background of the past, of how previously Internment had a class system before it was abolished. Of how illnesses, births, deaths are handled. 
 All this new information is given to us slowly throughout the novel, starting with the more innocent bits, then slowly going into the more sinister parts of Internment, such as the forced termination of babies if they are conceived before the parents are granted permission. Why the termination of the elderly is necessary. There is an explanation to everything, and the more we learn about Internment society, the darker it becomes; Internment is not the quiet, placid place that it initially seems to be. I absolutely loved the way this world is crafted. 
 The Characters 
 I liked Morgan, I really do. She is initially a "soft" character. A dreamer who feels like she's going crazy. Her family is under the stigma of her brother's Jump off the edge, which has left him blind and disabled, and Morgan feels like she is slowly going crazy as well. She fears that she is going to turn into her brother, Lex. 
 "...she asked if I had thoughts about the edge. I lied, Basil. I told her that of course I didn't think about the edge. But I do. I dream about it. I want to know what will happen if I cross the tracks. I don't want to jump; I just want to look down. I want to see what's down there with my own eyes, not through a scope." 
 "What if I'm lured the way Lex was lured?" I say. "What if one day I can't stop myself and I walk right over the edge?" 
 She is naive, but not excessively so. She questions herself, like a girl of her age is wont to do. She is a good daughter, she strives to be a good friend, she wants to be someone worthy of her (very wonderful) betrothed. She suppresses her desires because she wants to be normal. Morgan does make some questionable decisions throughout the novel, but overall, her character is a likeable one. 
 What nailed me to this novel are the side characters. This book has more well-written side characters than any YA novels I can recall reading this year. In so many YA novels, side characters are...well, sidelined. They are given no personality beyond that of being convenient supporters or foils to the main character. This novel does not do that. Every single side character is well-built, with wonderfully layered complexity; I absolutely loved the insight into each character's personality and relationship with Morgan. 
 Morgan's relationship with her family is so complex. Morgan's quiet sadness about her mother's deep, devastating depression. Her disappointment about the lack of relationship and time with her father due to his busy work schedule. Her love/hate relationship with her brother, Lex (one of my favorites). Her empathy and pity for her brother's lovely wife, Alice. Alice and Lex's loving, complicated, almost one-sided relationship at times. Morgan's best friend Pen, and her boisterous personality that masks something underneath. Pen and her betrothed Thomas' hate...then growing tolerance for each other. I cannot emphasize how well-depicted the side characters are. They are absolutely spectacular. 
 The Romance 
 Here's something you guys will probably never hear from me again regarding an YA novel. I absolutely loved the romance in this book. 
 I don't usually fall in like with guys in books. I can name probably 2 guys in the history of all the books I've read who have been worthy of being added to my "book boyfriend" shelf. Well, the main love interest in this book, Basil, came pretty freaking close to being book-boyfriend #3. I'm also pretty notorious for my dislike, nay, my utter disdain accompanied by profanity-laced rants regarding a certain topic as a "love triangle." Well, let me just say in that sense, regarding this book, I am happy. Despite my persistent fear of such a horrifying occurrence happening in this book, I ended up being very, very happy. *sigh* 
 Morgan has been betrothed to Basil since they were practically born. It is an assigned betrothal, every single person in Internment is given a partner, and once that partner is gone...there is no other. Basil is...well, perfect. Morgan and Basil have always been friends, but lately, her feelings towards him seems to have gradually changed, from one of casual friendship, to something that hints at more to come. 
 I rest my head on his shoulder. His collarbone presses into my cheek, and I breathe in the sharp linen of his uniform and something faintly spicy-sweet. Up until last year, he smelled only of soap, if anything at all. 
 Their relationship...their trust in one another, Basil's protectiveness of her---which, by the way, is never overbearing, his belief in her, his willingness to give her space, his faith in her. I haven't come so close to swooning over a guy in a novel for a long time. 
 "Morgan." He takes my hands. "Whatever you decide, I want you to know that I'll stand behind it. I said I'd follow you off the edge, and I meant it. I'd jump into the sky with you. Wherever you go, you won't have to go alone." 
 *swallows lump in throat* I'm forming a Basil fanclub. Who's with me? 
 Highly recommended due to a beautifully-crafted dystopian setting, gorgeous writing, and a wonderfully complex cast of characters.