Mini-Review: Fever by Lauren DeStefano

Title: Fever
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Series: Chemical Garden #2
Genre: Dystopian Young Adult
Release Date: 02/21/12
Reviewed by: Sara
But the Book:

Summary:

The second book in The Chemical Garden Trilogy reveals a world as captivating -- and as dangerous -- as the one Rhine left behind in Wither.

Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but they’re still in danger. Outside, they find a world even more disquieting than the one they left behind.

Determined to get to Manhattan and find Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan, the two press forward, amid threats of being captured again... or worse.

The road they are on is long and perilous -- and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and men die at age twenty-five, time is precious. In this 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.

Mini-Review: I really enjoyed the messed up carnival aspect of this novel. Although it's only a portion of the tretcherous trip Rhine and Gabriel make, it gave a much needed perpective into the world outside of the mansion. The trek the characters made up the coast allowed for a lot of details in regards to world-building that the first novel didn't. And it was a very quick read. Normally, stories including a lot of searching or running tend to bore me, but the many roadblocks Rhine and Gabriel ran into made for some great twists and turns. Plus, the ending left me craving the third novel immediately. Rhine and Gabriel are both sick during different times during the novel, and this allows each to take turns leading the way. There were numerous new characters introduced, many of which were interesting. The cover, although not nearly as striking as the first, was still very eye-catching due to the little details. Plus, I really enjoyed that the colors were very complimentary to the first since so many things about the novel were very different from the first.

Plot: 4 Stars
Pace: 4.5 Stars
Characters: 4 Stars
Cover: 4 Stars
Overall: 4 Stars

Disclosure: I bought a copy of this novel for my own reading pleasure.