Tuesday, February 21

Fever by Lauren DeStefano

Fever (Chemical Garden #2) by Lauren Destefano
Release Date: February 21, 2012
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 352


Summary: 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

My Thoughts: In the sequel to Wither, Destefano takes Fever to a whole new level. We are on the road with Rhine and Gabriel who have just escaped Vaughn's estate and the disastrous future that awaited Rhine.  

As soon as the book opens up, Rhine and Gabriel are making their way from the water trying to get to safety. They soon find themselves taken captive by a women and her carnival. The carnival isn't much better than being a sister wife. Rhine still feels as though she's property and the lady who runs it thinks Gabriel is a spy.  This isn't just any old carnival but the kind where girls entertain the guests.

The only positive aspect about this carnival is the Ferris wheel. I was intrigued by the way Rhine views it and how it makes her feel. It's the only halfway magical thing about the whole carnival.

Even though Rhine does make a friend in the carnival, she realizes they must escape and run away. Again.

Rhine and Gabriel find themselves on some tough roads along the way in Fever. They meet new people, Rhine finally finds herself back at her own home and it's not what she quite expected and she soon becomes sick and at the mercy of Vaughn again. What choice does she have but to give in and let other decisions take her over?

Now, let me talk a little more about  Fever. I don't want to give too many spoilers away or actually what happens throughout the book.

I really liked where this book took us. I liked learning more about Rhine's past and how Rhine sees the world. She's such a positive person and we see how she can look at things with such a great attitude. She never gives up and wants to keep moving, even if she's unsure of the destination.

I also still like Rhine and Gabriel's relationship. It's somewhat innocent in a way. He doesn't feel like she belongs to him and he respects her.

I also liked the new characters, especially Maddie. Maddie is just a fun little girl who is deformed and doesn't talk. Even though she is mute, she's quite smart. Than there is her mother, Liliac. Liliac is Rhine's new friend and helps her as much as she can. Than, there is Silas who lives at the orphanage. You can tell he would make a good friend. He's funny and he looks out for Rhine even though he's just met her. There were so many new characters, some of them not mentioned here, that draw us more and more into the story.

Let's not forget about Rhine's twin brother Rowan. I really want to know more about him.  

We also see more of Linden in this book and I still don't know what to think of him. I do like him a little bit, I just wish he was more independent and he stuck up for himself and his girls more against his father.  

Fever was another great book. I didn't like it quite as much as Wither, but it still was a great book.

Another cliffhanger. Not as bad as the first one, but leaves you with a feeling like crap, whats going to happen next?

Overall: Loved it! Loved learning more about the characters. Loved the different places Rhine and Gabriell ended up, the carnival, her house, the orphanage, the bus stops, riding in a truck. They had quite the adventures through this book trying to find the right place to be.  Overall, Fever was another outstanding novel by Destefano, and I can't wait to see where she takes this series next!

Cover: Love it! Think I love it even more than the first one. I love the horse and her dress again! Fabulous cover!

What I'd Give It:


3 comments:

Vivien said...

Really glad you LOVED it....I've been hearing so many disappointing reviews for this book. I have a feeling that I'll love it too.

Alexa said...

I'm glad you really loved this one. I think you are the first person I've seen write a positive review for this one. So many people are discouraged by this book. I'm almost a little afraid to start Wither now but I think I'm going to just have to see if I like this one for myself.

Thanks for the great review!

Anonymous said...

Glad to hear good things about a much anticipated sequel. That's not always the case.

Safari Poet

 

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