Name: Fever (Chemical Garden #2)Author: Lauren DeStefano
Release Date: 16th Feb 2012
Date I finished it: 20th Feb 2012
From: Bought from Amazon UK
Rating: 5/5 Stars
I feel like I've been waiting forever for this book to be released!
I loved Wither, it was one of my favourite books of 2011.
Fever picks up right where we left Rhine and Gabriel in Wither, on the run.
The two end up in a strange carnival where the mistress sells the prettiest of her girls to the highest bidder and keeps a tight leash on the rest of them. There seems to be no hope for Rhine and Gabriel and they have to play along with this strange woman's rules and hope they manage to find a way out eventually.
I'm going to try to keep this review as spoiler free as possible, but it is going to be pretty hard!
The cover art for this book is actually amazing and so detailed. When I first saw it I thought what the hell? After reading the book everything on the cover clicks into place, form the tarot card, the carousel horse, the golden dress and even Rhine's drugged induced look. Everything has a meaning, which is what I love so much about it. It's not just another stock image of a pretty girl, every element of that cover ties in with something in the story.
To me, Fever was a million times better than Wither. This time around we actually get to see what state the outside world is in and what the people are like. In Wither we only see a small cluster of characters as majority of the story takes place with Rhine locked up in the mansion. It is a big difference from what we saw in Wither, Rhine and Gabriel are targets for kidnapping, prostitution and scientific experiments because of their age.
The world has really changed since the virus and there are two camps, those who agree with experimenting to find a cure for the virus and those against it. We see the impact of these two sides in one part of the book, it reinforces the fact that Rhine is now living in a broken world.
Throughout the book as Rhine searches for her twin brother Rowan, we see flashbacks to her childhood. I really liked these scenes, I felt like I got to learn more about Rhine, her family and what the world was like before all the death and chaos from the virus.
There are a few new characters introduced in this book, my favourite has to be Maddie.
A malformed, mute little girl. Her scenes actually make this book. She is one of the smartest little girls I've ever read about, she knows exactly what is going in around her even when the others don't. Her story is heart wrenchingly sad and you can't help but feel for this poor girl. At the same time she doesn't let her past hold her back, she is a brilliant addition to the book.
Overall I loved it! I knew I probably would but I didn't think I would love it more than Wither!
If you liked or enjoyed Wither, you really need to give Fever a chance, it builds on the previous story and gives you much more insight into Rhine's world.
I cannot believe I have to wait over a year for the third and final book in the series, I honestly don't think I can last that long!
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