Review: Fever (The Chemical Garden #2) by Lauren DeStefano

Title: Fever (The Chemical Garden #2)

Author: Lauren DeStefano

Genre: Dystopian, Young Adult

Publisher: HarperVoyager

Pages: 320

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 woman 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 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. (More from Goodreads)

RE-SUMMARIZE

So this book continues where the last left off. 

In a world where crazy science somehow capped the age for females at twenty and males at twenty-five, Rhine finally escaped from her crazy father-in-law's estate with her butler to pursue their freedom outside, leaving behind her husband and remaining sister-wife as well as the comfortable, sheltered life within their beautiful prison. Not long after tasting their breath of fresh air, however, Rhine and Butler Boy somehow wound up in a Red District of sorts, featuring a still-working ferris wheel, which is run by an equally-crazy lady with a penchant for fake, dead accents.

And so begins their life in imprisonment again, and their struggle to escape it.

Yes, that would be the best blurb ever.

Writing Style

DeStefano's writing is as random as ever. To put it more positively, her prose is lyrical, and a lot of thought goes into each and every one of Rhine's thoughts. But like the ferris wheel that is such a big deal in the first few chapters of this book, the lyrical prose can drag out simple moments so far, round and round, that it can get dizzying- and make it quite difficult to continue with the story. As I said in previous reviews, prose is a subjective thing- many people enjoy this about her writing. Frankly I am not one of these people, but I get where others are coming from.

Characters

In terms of character development, Rhine remains as elusive and flitting as ever. We are supposed to view her as this quirky, eccentric girl (Astrology aside- also, really?) who is more than just her heterochromia and apparent stunning good looks, but to me this is what she is- a pretty face with a genetic defect that apparently can be exploited for a cure. In fact, that is why so many people are after her in the first place. Perhaps because the fantastical description to everything is everywhere, Rhine fell flat outside her ability to perceive and reminisce unnecessarily (... and look good in pretty dresses). She still can't make up her mind about Linden or Gabriel- not definitively, anyway.

And she continues to live in the past.
Maybe that is a given, when you know you only have a few years to live.

We also get to see more of the old characters, though in what context I will not say for fear of spoiling the story.

In this book, we are introduced to several new characters. A malformed child, most notably- though to what purpose I still have no clue. The mother of said-malformed child, who is a toughie too. And of course, the crazy carnival lady, the Madame. Let me just say they would play a pivotal role in the trilogy, and their quirks will be explained in due time.

I have to say, apart from Rhine the other characters are not as well-developed. There is something about them that feels... two-dimensional, almost as if they are only there to further Rhine's story. Must say it's a tad disappointing, but in all honesty I feel this book was made to be a one-woman show from the beginning, so it really fulfilled that expectation after all.

Setting

More of the world is explored in this book and that is a great plus. More of Rhine's old life, the surroundings she grew up in; more of the ugly things and people outside the mansion, where most of the last book is set. It's kind of surprising how the mansion seems like such a better place to be cooped in than the outside world.

Actually, this was not a surprise at all. I knew she was better inside the estate/mansion, but Rhine is a free spirit. There must have been something said about that earlier, something alluding to how stubborn she is that she has to leave the comforts of the familiar and lavish life because she demands to be free. That, and she was wrongfully plucked from her previous life and family, which is why she is always so devastated.

Now that we see more of the outside world, the story looks slightly more believable. Slightly. Let us not get into technicalities and argue about how some of the experiments and scientific explanations do not make much sense.

To conclude, it is a nice continuation of the previous book. Lauren DeStefano excels at lyrical prose that, sadly, flies over me. And though this book has many redeeming qualities, it still is not my cup of tea.

Sorry, I tried! And I honestly kept trying too, because I purchased the third book (review of that to come in a later post).

~My Rating~

3 out of 5 ... Tarot Cards.

★★★☆☆