Review: Fever by Lauren DeStefano

Fever by Lauren DeStefano

Goodreads | Amazon

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's (February 21, 2012)
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages (Hardcover): 341
Series: Chemical Garden Trilogy
Source: Library
ISBN-13: 9781442409071
Genre: Dystopian
Author: Website | Twitter | Blog
Series Reviews: Book 1 (4★)

Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but danger is never far behind.

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

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This review may contain spoilers for other books in the series.

Overview:

In her sophomore novel, Lauren DeStefano continues the treacherous life of Rhine and Gabriel as they escape the dangers only to fall into a bigger and more convoluted world of survival. With the outlook dreary and maddening, Rhine struggles maintain her grip on reality while Gabriel's love shines for her. The villain of our story is an absent, yet incredibly enveloping presence throughout the book which leaves you feeling the pain and gripping sadness of this devastated world.

Review: 

In a world of devastation, Rhine and Gabriel have journeyed out to face the terrors with no plan and no resources. Danger seems to lurk at every turn while the invisible dangers of starvation, sickness, poverty and more rack our young survivors. This book didn't not fit into the same mold that its predecessor, Wither, had set. Previously, Wither had a very rigid setting and it was a unique approach for a setting of such a desolate world; this book however, was an open world. A world that allowed Rhine and Gabriel complete exploration of its depravity and desolation. 

I went into this book expecting the terrors of the carnival to be a persistent problem. The cover eludes that it will be a significant part of the story and even the synopsis sets up that same expectation. With that in mind, the plot of this book fell a little short; I feel like this may be common in terms of a trilogy's middle read. The creepiness and haunting experience of the carnival was limited and extinguished early and set up for only a few major plot points following its end. It left this book feeling oddly paced and hopeless. 

The characters made up for a wavering experience because in this book we get an intense look at Gabriel and his love for Rhine. Gabriel's love is different from the shallow, naive love that we saw from Linden in the first book and it really grows into major focus and safe harbor for Rhine. Rhine on the other hand doesn't grow and expand in this book the way a hard-knocked survivor would. I think that is accomplished through the overtone this book starts early on with intense yet unintended drug use. It inhibits Rhine from really becoming a thoughtful character that would perhaps have had the opportunity to devise plans and concentrate on truly surviving. 

The villain of this book, House Master Vaughn, is incredibly well crafted and has a haunting and invisible tie that leaves Rhine and the reader increasingly terrified that he is lurking and watching every move she makes. It is a thrilling twist to really understand how twisted and determined he is without the use of common means such as guns and violence; his presence is always surrounding the escapees even if he is not.

Though this book was languid in its pacing and climax, it brought out a lot of characteristics about the characters that pull the reader in and leave us wondering where we will find ourselves and our little heroes in book three.

Rating out of 5:

Fever Release & Trailer

Releasing yesterday, February 21, was one of the most anticipated books of the year, Fever by Lauren DeStefano has finally arrived. As the thrilling sequel to Wither, DeStefano's riveting debut, I simply cannot wait to get my hands on it. It has been flaunted around the blog world in all of its beautiful glory and now we have the chance to indulge! Will you be getting a copy?

Fever by Lauren DeStefano

Goodreads | Amazon

Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but danger is never far behind.

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

In the sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price - now that she has more to lose than ever.

First Impressiosn Friday (12)

First Impressions is a meme hosted here at Within Pages where we take a look at all things, mostly booky, and reflect on our initial thoughts. Non-bloggers, non-book bloggers, and everyone alike can participate on any topic you'd like. Feel free to drop your links or thoughts in the comments!

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Fever by Lauren DeStefano
Cover Reveal

click to enlarge

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.


The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.


In the sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price - now that she has more to lose than ever.

My first thought is that I loved the Wither cover so much more! This cover provides a different tone. Without the synopsis, the cover creates an eccentric look that may be too over the top. But pair that with the synopsis for the book and it changes from eccentric to creepy. Carnivals don't need much to make them more creepy, but I think that we can expect a certain level of suspense from the second book in The Chemical Gardens.

While I am super excited to read this book, I simply like looking at Wither more.

Feature to note: The tarot card Rhine is holding is THE WORLD.

Review: Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Goodreads | Amazon

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's (March 22, 2011)
Age Group:Young Adult
Pages (Hardcover): 358
Series: The Chemical Gardens (Book 1)
Source: Library
ISBN-13: 9781442409057
Genre: Dystopian
Author: Website | Twitter

What if you knew exactly when you would die? 

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb — males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out. 

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape — to find her twin brother and go home.
 
But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.
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Overview:

To have such a rigid setting, Lauren DeStefano did a spectacular job at creating the world that exists years into the future. The best Dystopian settings are the ones that are plausible and the perfect test tube baby is a possibility in the future. Her characters are so well defined and the emotional struggles that Rhine undergoes are strong and complex. It is well paced and exciting; however, towards the end though, the story just ended, there was not really a hard climax but a gentle setup for the second book.

Review:

With intelligent and beautiful prose, the reality that DeStefano creates in her debut novel, Wither, is remarkably intense. On the brink of perfection, disaster strikes and now plagues the children of the children of the world and perpetuates the forced action of young girls to become mothers.

The characters, starting with Rhine, are all completely well rounded and very solid. Rhine's strength is something that is immediately demonstrated in the book and her will to survive and be free is a constant theme. DeStefano has created a strong history for Rhine, we are always learning about her parents and her twin brother Rowan. Through her connection to her family, Rhine is caring and open to people that she begins to interact with; Linden, Gabriel, Cecily, and Jenna.

Her sister wives are indivually crafted to be unique. I loved Cecily, it was such a nice turn of events to see a girl, a child in fact, be so willing to partake in the customs or lifestyle that is set before her. Cecily was such a complex support character, her changes through the book were astounding and a central part to Rhine's emotions. Rhine's love of her new family ebbs and flows as she struggles with adapting and craving freedom. She worries and cares for the well being of all of her family, including Linden.

Against most odds, I was "Team Linden", his sincerity towards all of his wives was not fake or covered in chauvinism, he was genuine in his care for all three of the girls and his son. He is not at fault to fall so unknowingly to the cruelty of the world; Rhine can see and understand his naivete, making her only more lost in her emotions. Linden's depth is so profound, he would have given Rhine the world on a silver platter and there are times I thought she would let him.

The story in this book has a rigid setting, taking place almost entirely in the manor, though it doesn't hinder the progression, pace, or entertainment. It is so carefully constructed that there are times the plot doesn't seem linear, that there will the surprise ending. There are clues to the mystery, the confusion of emotion, the devotion amongst wives, etc. All these things are circling one another, turning on top of each other, until the end. There was no way to predict the choices that would be made until the moment of decision.

This book leaves plenty of mysteries to be unravelled in the remaining two books and ends with a gentle setup rather than a cliffhanger. I am very interested in seeing where DeStefano takes the story of Rhine in Fever.

Rating out of 5:

Armchair BEA: Best of 2011

Today's topic for discussion for Armchair BEA goer's is the best picks of 2011. There are a bajillion new selections that come out every year, it is so many I have to make up a new amount for it. Here are some of my picks, I've broken it into a couple different categories!

New Releases

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

This book is fantastic. It is an extension to one of my favorite YA series The Mortal Instruments. Clare does a great job at creating a world in a brilliant Urban Fantasy setting full with the mix of a GREAT story and a HOT love. This extends into the series The Infernal Devices you'll here more about in a minute!

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Wow, Rhine is such a deep character and the world is so fully created and I am not left with a sense of confusion in the creation of her dystopian environment. I can feel the tension amongst all the characters while I read this book, as I am doing now.

I feel like Divergent by Veronica Roth is going to be on this list but I haven't had the chance to read it yet, it is next in the TBR!

Upcoming Releases

Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

This release has been delayed from September to December of this year and the cover is to be revealed tomorrow morning at BEA and Mundie Moms will be sporting the cover reveal tomorrow with an Armchair BEA event! This book is the second in The Infernal Devices series, second to The Clockwork Angel which I absolutely adored. It has its own flair and uniqueness to it that I didn't expect with it being the prequel series to The Mortal Instruments.

Sacrifice by Melinda Metz & Laura Burns

This book is the sequel to Crave which received a five-star review from me. Crave ended in a very harsh cliffhanger so I cannot wait to get my hands on this YA vampire sequel.

Finally Read in 2011

Have I mentioned just how much I love Cassandra Clare? The Clockwork Angel was released in August 2010 and Crave was released in September 2010. I had heard great things about CA and I knew I would enjoy it having read The Mortal Instruments but I recently went into reading Crave completely blind, just grabbing it off the library shelf and I fell in love. The story was amazing. Strongly recommend either of these!

What are the books in your top for this year?

In My Mailbox (6)

In My Mailbox is a meme hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren; here we share with you, the lovely readers, what books came to us this week whether it be in the mail, from the library, purchased or borrowed.

Divergent by Veronica Roth

City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare

Wither by Laura DeStefano

The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

Fallen by Lauren Kate

The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

Thank you, Natasha for my wonderful gift!

Be sure to let me know what it is in your mailbox!