Review: Fever by Lauren DeStefano

Fever by Lauren DeStefano

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"We run, with water in our shoes and the smell of the ocean clinging to our frozen skin. I laugh, and Gabriel looks at me like I'm crazy, and we're both out of breath, but I'm able to say, 'We made it,' over the sound of distant sirens. Seagulls circle over us impassively. The sun is melting down into the horizon, setting it ablaze. I look back once, long enough to see men pulling our escape boat to shore. They'll be expecting passengers, but all they'll find are the empty wrappers from the packaged sweets we ate from the boat owner's stash. We abandoned ship before we reached the shore, and we felt for each other in the water and held our breath and hurried away from the commotion." -- Fever, Chapter 1

Fever is the sequel to Wither and is no less incredible than the first book in this trilogy. Rhine and Gabriel have managed to escape Housemaster Vaughn and now make their way to Manhattan and Rhine's twin brother, Rowan, hoping to find safety with him. But escaping from the house was not the only hardship they face. Vaughn is following them everywhere they go, and when Rhine begins to show symptoms of the virus at only seventeen years old, he may be the only one with an answer.

I just can not praise this author enough. Again, I could not put this book down. I finished it in about a day. The way DeStefano writes is so gripping, and so descriptive. It's been quite a while since I truly got lost in a book but I just fall right into this series whenever I pick it up. It literally pulls me in. The characters are realistic and believable, the plot engaging, and all of it just leaves me wanting more. DeStefano is very quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. The cliffhanger at the end of this book left me excited and frustrated -- I didn't want it to end! As much as I want to devour the next book and find out what happens, I'm also very reluctant to leave DeStefano's world behind. Expect a review of the final book in the trilogy, Sever -- but how quickly that review will be posted will depend on how much I'm grieving over finishing this fantastic series ;)

5/5

DISCLOSURE: I borrowed this book from the library where I work and received no compensation for this review.

In My Mailbox

Books from the library:

The Republic of Pirates by Colin Woodard

Fever by Lauren DeStefano (sequel to Wither)

Capital Punishment's Collateral Damage by Robert M. Bohm

What's in your mailbox this week?

Review: Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Buy it on Amazon

Visit Lauren DeStefano's website 

"I wait. They keep us in the dark for so long that we lose sense of our eyelids. We sleep huddled together like rats, staring out, and dream of our bodies swaying. I know when one of the girls reaches a wall. She begins to pound and scream -- there's metal in the sound -- but none of us help her. We've gone too long without speaking, and all we do is bury ourselves more into the dark." -- Wither, Chapter 1

Wither is the first book in the Chemical Garden trilogy, and the first novel author Lauren DeStefano has had published. And it does not disappoint. Wither is the story of 16-year-old Rhine Ellery, growing up in a dystopian future North America where an incurable virus kills all girls by age 20 and all boys by age 25. Rhine, like so many other girls, is kidnapped and sold as a bride to bear children and keep the human race going. Not only does she have to deal with the pain of being taken from her twin brother and being forced into a marriage with the kind but clueless Linden, she must forge a relationship with Linden's other wives and his father -- but who in the household is really trustworthy? And how can she escape?

I admit I have a bit of a weakness for dystopian settings, but that aside, Lauren DeStefano is one of the most talented authors I've ever had the pleasure of reading. Her writing style just grabbed me from the start. I had a lot of trouble putting this book down; I think I finished it in two days. The characters are very realistic -- they're very human. It is easy to understand their feelings and motives. Even Housemaster Vaughn, the villainous person that he is, played at my emotions in a way that's hard to describe accurately. He is horrifying and his actions are inexcusable, yet he's understandable. It takes a lot of talent to write a character like that. I want to know more about this future that DeStefano has envisioned and the people who live in it. I was not ready for the story to end and I'm looking forward to reading the next two books in the trilogy, both of which are available now, as well as a short story prequel available for purchase as an ebook on DeStefano's website.

5/5

DISCLOSURE: I borrowed this book from the library where I work and received no compensation for this review.