Review - Sever (The Chemical Garden, Book 3) by Lauren DeStefano (4.5/5 stars)

Reading Level: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopia/Sci-Fi
Size: 384 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Release Date: February 12, 2013
ISBN: 978-1442409095
Stand Alone or Series: 3rd book in the Chemical Garden Trilogy
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

This was a beautifully written conclusion to this series. Everything is wrapped up nicely. I really enjoyed this whole dystopian/post-apocalyptic YA series.

Rhine is hiding at Linden’s uncle’s (Reed’s) house and trying to make plans to find her twin brother. Linden’s father Vaughn will stop at nothing to find Rhine and us her for his own genetic experiments. Will Rhine find her brother? Will she be able to escape Vaughn’s searching? Most importantly of all, will anyone ever be able to find a cure for this horrible genetic disorder?

This book, like the previous ones, is beautifully written. The descriptions of both the surroundings and the characters’ struggles are exquisitely done. Really the book is just a joy to read.

Rhine grows a lot in this book; she carefully considers how her actions affect those around her and embraces the danger around her. When Vaughn enters the picture, despite her horrible past with him, she is able to see beyond that and see that maybe he really could offer up a cure.

Both Linden and Cecily also show a ton of character growth. Poor Cecily is really forced to grow up in this book and she grows into a formidable woman. I was a bit disappointed that Gabriel is absent for most of the story. I mean really he needs to be in the story more to make him a character worthy of Rhine’s efforts.

The beginning of the story moves very deliberately. Rhine keeps getting delayed from leaving Reed’s by various complications. I still enjoyed this portion of the book though. In this part of the story we really get to see how Cecily, Linden, and Rhine interact with each other as a family of sorts. There is some anger and bitterness there, but there is also caring and love...it makes for some fascinating character interactions.

The pace picks up a lot in the second half of the story. At that point the book is a whirlwind of revelations around Rhine’s history, the genetic disorder plaguing humanity, and some startling truths about the outside world. It’s just one surprise after another. Despite all the revelations, I thought the twists and turns were well done...they never felt contrived or forced to me. I really loved how all the elements came together in the end.

I also really love how much thought and care is put into the cover of this book. The cover shows a number of little hints and secrets that are revealed throughout the story.

Overall a very well done conclusion to this series. I love the beautiful writing and also enjoyed the character development. The plot elements wrapped up very nicely in a way that was surprising and engaging. I was a bit disappointed we didn’t see more of Gabriel in the story. Also the first half of the book was a bit slow. Still I have really enjoyed this whole series and strongly recommend it to fans of YA Dystopian books.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- 150+ Reading Challenge
- Young Adult Reading Challenge

Review - Fever (The Chemical Garden Trilogy, Book 2) by Lauren DeStefano (4/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopia
Size: 352 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Release Date: February 21, 2012
ISBN: 978-1442409071
Stand Alone or Series: 2nd book in the Chemical Garden Trilogy
Source: Borrowed from Library
Rating: 4/5 stars

This is the second book in the Chemical Garden Trilogy by DeStefano. I enjoyed this installment in the series, although not quite as much as Wither. DeStefano writes beautifully and delivers a compelling story that will definitely grab the readers attention.

Rhine and Gabriel have escaped from Rhine's husband's house only to be trapped by a twisted ringmistress of pleasures. Rhine is determined to get back to Manhattan to find her brother, but the place she is trapped in now is even worse than the house than she had to watch her sister-wives die in. Even if Rhine and Gabriel can escape the Madame they have to evade Rhine's husband's twisted father Vaughn and actually find Rhine's twin brother Rowen.

DeStefano just hands down writes beautifully. She is absolutely adept at making locations and scenes come vividly alive; she makes the characters come alive and then makes you despair as she sucks the life out of them...only for the characters to regroup and come out of their trial...well not intact, but alive. I think it is the metaphor's Rhine uses that make this book so alive; Rhine sees beauty in the simplest things even when she is surrounded by squalor.

Seriously Rhine goes through so much in this book, I felt bad for the poor girl. She is defintiely the driving force in this book. She is the one who makes decisions and survives, yet still manages to make caring for others (no matter how horrible the people she deals with) one of her main goals. Rhine is one of those characters that totally kicks butt, without ever resorting to violence.

Gabriel was an interesting character in his own right. It was intriguing to watch how someone who never left the Mansion reacts to the world that Rhine grew up in. I tried to keep this in mind as I read about Gabriel, because he acts extremely sheltered throughout the story. That's not to say he doesn't grow as a character, but especially very early in the story I was frustrated with how complaint Gabriel was and his lack of fight. Vaughn is everything an absolutely horrible evil man should be, he is the perfect villain, and creeps me out just as bad as he did in the first book.

We meet a ton of wonderful new characters. Lilac is trapped at the Carnival with Rhine and Lilac has a wonderful deformed daughter named Maddy. Maddy really adds a ton to the story; she is smart as a whip and just a spectacular child.

The plot was very well done and this book is mostly about the journey the characters take. It was fascinating to finally see more of this destroyed world and to watch as Gabriel is exposed to it. As with many of these dystopian books, there is more going on politically than first meets the eye and the reader is exposed to more political unrest than we saw in the first book. I just can't wait to see where this series ends up.

Overall an excellent addition to this series. I love the characters, the world, and the plot. We get to meet wonderful new characters, the plot is broadened, and the world is heartbreaking. The thing that really elevates this book over many other YA dystopian books is the beautiful writing; it just brings the story alive for me. I can't wait to read the next book when it releases next year. Highly recommended to fans of YA dystopia books. I also recommend Divergent by Veronica Roth and The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
- Dystopia Reading Challenge
- 150+ Books Reading Challenge

Early Review - Wither (Chemical Garden Trilogy, Book 1) by Lauren DeStefano (5/5 stars)

Reading level: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopia/Science Fiction
Size: 368 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Release Date: March 22, 2011
ISBN-13:  978-1442409057
Stand Alone or Series: 1st book in Chemical Garden Trilogy
Source: Around the World ARC Tours
Rating: 5/5 stars

I got the ARC of this book to read through Around the World ARC Tours.  I have to admit I was first drawn to the book because of the beautiful cover and then after reading the premise was hooked.  This is the first book in the Chemical Garden Trilogy, and what a wonderful book it was.

Rhine lives in a world where genetic tinkering has left human society in ruins.  Human males only live to the age of twenty-five and females only to twenty.  Rhine is kidnapped by Gatherers to become one of the many brides of a nobleman named Linden.  Although Rhine grows fond of her sister-wives, she yearns for her freedom and wants to get back to her twin-brother.  Adding to the despair in the household, her husband's father (a first generation able to live to the old age of 80 or so) is determined to find a cure and will stop at nothing to get subjects for his experimentation.

This is a beautifully written book, it is very easy to read and in general is just a pleasure to read.  The world that DeStefano has created is astounding in its implications.  Just think about how society would run if everyone died at those young ages.  Basically none of the children even barely know their parents.  You as a child would know when you were going to die; think about how this short-term life would affect your life-decisions.  Then add to this crazy society the fact that the first generation created to be genetically perfect is still alive.  You have a society of grandparents and children.

The book also explores polygamy and the benefits in downfalls of this.  In a society where woman die so young and men live a bit longer, it almost makes sense for the survival of the race.  DeStefano tackles the polygamy issue with fairness and makes it sound eerily reasonable at times.  This is definitely more of a drama-type story than an action one; much of the story is spent with Rhine and her sister-wives in their house.

Rhine as a character was wonderful; she is sensitive and caring, yet has a core of toughness that is impressive.  Her sister-wives were also well done characters; each with their strengths and weaknesses.  I loved that the characters were so realistically portrayed.  Rhine's husband, Linden, is sweet...yet a bit evil in his ignorance.  Even Linden's father, who is the villain in this story, has reasons that he believes are for the greater good in doing what he does.

The story ends well and wraps up nicely; I am eager to see what the next book brings.

Overall I was very impressed with this book.  It is beautifully written, creates a wonderfully thought-out world, and touches on problems with a dystopian society that were refreshing and interesting.  The characters are all spot-on and readers will be drawn to them.  The story definitely isn't all happy, but there are rays of hope throughout that keep the reader from becoming too depressed.  I loved Rhine and loved this book, I am really looking forward to the next book in the Chemical Garden Trilogy.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:

- 100+ Reading Challenge

- The Debut Author Challenge