Fever
Fever (The Chemical Garden, #2)by Lauren DeStefano
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. (goodreads.com)
Release date: February 21, 2012I couldn't wait any longer to read this book. I know it comes out a month from now, but I have had it in my house - taunting me! - since November. Last year I received Wither for review and it made me so happy. The book was even better than I had hoped and it stayed at the top of the Best Books of 2011 I had read.Right from the first page of Fever I was in a constant state of anxiety and rage. Rhine and Gabriel's escape at the end of the first book leads them right into even worse conditions. The entire time they were in Carnival with Madame my skin was crawling, my stomach knotting and my heart was racing. I swear this book was a cardio workout the entire time.I hate feeling trapped when I read books. Hate it. I was trapped the entire first half of this novel and I just wanted to escape. I say this in the most positive and complimentary way as odd as it seems. I felt like I was experiencing Rhine's fear and frustration first hand. Even once they escaped from Madame and ended up with the Fortune Teller, I still couldn't breath properly.In fact, my breathing was irregular and catching for the entire story. The action doesn't even slow down at the end! I have no idea what's in store for the final book, but by golly, I can't wait to find out!My one issue with the story is Gabriel. It's more my own personal feelings towards him than anything in the book. If I had to chose between Linden (in the first book) and Gabriel, I'd choose Linden. I know that's weird, but he was just so complex and naive and I could get why Rhine's opinion of him would change. Gabriel, to me, has always been sort of secondary. I found him very secondary in this particular installment in the trilogy because he spends much of it out of sight out of mind and though Rhine does think of him often, I felt like he should have had a larger roll in their adventure since they'd escaped together. I don't find him particularly likable and he's never created any emotions within me, unlike Linden and his creepy-ass father Housemaster Vaughn. *shudder*I can't say I was all that disappointed by the lack of Gabriel in Fever even though he probably should have been around more if you think about it.Heck, I felt more for Jacob, the guard in the Carnival than I did for Gabriel. That's saying something.Ultimately, I feel like Lauren DeStefano is a gift to readers that we should not ignore. It's rare when an author can write just so poetically and wonderfully and create such emotion with their words. Sarah Addison Allen, Michelle Zink, Erin Bow, Kate Forsyth, these are authors who get the same reactions from me as Lauren DeStefano does. These are authors I know can paint a masterpiece on paper with their words. I feel, taste and touch every single emotion they describe. I love books that are like a thrill ride - even if it's not a scary kind - and they don't leave me motion sick in the end, either.Have you not read this Dystopian YA yet? What are you waiting for! Go NOW and pick up the first two books and prepare to burn calories as you read because your heart will be a-pumpin'!Chemical Garden Trilogy