"Fever (The Chemical Garden, #2)" by Lauren DeStefano

"Fever (The Chemical Garden, #2)" by Lauren DeStefano

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Published: February 21, 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Romance
Pages: 341

Format: Hardcover

Source: Library

Read January 25 to February 21, 2013

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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.

This book picks up where the first left off: Rhine and Gabriel are running away from the mansion they left behind, but in the world they live in, they are never safe.

While trying to find a safe place to go, the two find a carnival far unlike the ones we think of today. Instead of a sweet and happy place, this one is twisted and dark. More like a brothel than a happy place for children. At this carnival, there is a woman named Madam, who is in charge of all the girls. All the girls have a named based off of a color: Lilac, Goldenrod, etc. I though that was kind of funny. Even though Madam seems like a ruthless woman, we learn a lot about her, and she actually plays a pretty important role.

I was so happy that Rhine escaped with Gabriel! I'm not a huge Linden fan. He could be nice, but I just can't get over the fact that he has multiple wives and thinks that it is all cool. I know he was raised that way, but I just can't get over it.

Even though we got to learn more about Gabriel, I feel like we could have learned more. And I really wanted to find out more about who he was. I was still really sad about Jenna's death, and her death really affects Rhine in this book.

I felt like even though Rhine was still really determined to find her brother, I feel like this book was kind of uneventful when compared to the previous book. A lot of the book seemed to be based off of the romance and sexual tension between Rhine and Gabriel. And Cecily is still annoying. As always.

Before I forget, the model on this cover looks a little like a pair of twins that were on a cycle of America's Next Top Model, my guilty pleasure.

Rhine

I liked her more in the first book. There were a few times that she was kind of annoying here. I hope that it changes in the next book because I really like her! She is determined to find her brother, and nothing will stop her.

Gabriel

I like him, but he seemed a little flat at times. I hope that changes too. I like him, but I don't want him to be boring. I just want to learn more about him!

Overall, this book was a pretty good sequel. While it didn't live up to the first book, it was still great. I want to know what will happen to Rhine and Gabriel and if they can end up together, because I really want them to have a happily ever after. Is that too much to ask? I hope that the next book will be a great conclusion and has as much in it as the first did.