Great Wrap Up

Lauren DeStefano didn't lose any interest or ability when finishing up the Internment Chronicles series.  The third book, Broken Crowns, is just as good as the first. 

A LONG time ago

I read the first book in the Internment Chronicles by Lauren DeStefano.  I loved it.  And I loved Wither, from DeStefano.  Fantastic.  And then some how I forgot about the series!  And so now the series has been done for a while and I just finished the second one, Burning Kingdoms which was great.  Three years after reading the first I was able to enjoy this one, as DeStefano did a great job of reminding me what the first one was about (though I did remember a lot of it, it was just that good) without giving the sense that the book was just a rehash.  Great character and world building!  So good!  Reading the third one now!

The Start of a Another Great Series!

Lauren DeStefano's Chemical Garden Trilogy is a series that doesn't get enough attention.  I loved the Hunger Games as much as anyone and I liked Divergent and all, but Chemical Garden was by far and away the best of the dystopian fiction craze.  It was just awesome and I couldn't wait for each book. DeStefano created such a vivid world, and a frightening one.  Each of the three books had their own special flavor, too.  So I was super excited to see that The Internment Chronicles is out.  Perfect Ruin, the first one, came out last year and I didn't hear about it until I saw the second book up for review on edelweiss.  I didn't download Burning Kingdoms because I was working on The Mad Man of Piney Woods and Where I Belong and I'm just not a fast reader and also I wanted to read the first one first.  Now that I have, I really want to download Burning Kingdoms now! Again DeStafano has created another world that is other-wordly, but believable and characters that are interesting.  I have to say, I know they might be part of "the bad guys" but I really enjoyed the scenes with the King's daughter and son.  Looking forward to the next one!

The Final Book

Sever took me a long time to read. I didn't want the Chemical Garden Trilogy to end. I love Rhine and her determination and the twists and turns of this story. Don't like Rowan very much though. But man, this book was good and full of huge "oh my gosh!" moments! Loved it. Sad to see it end.

You Give Me Fever

A brief break for an excellent song.
Fever is the second book in the Chemical Garden Trilogy by Lauren DeStefano. I loved Wither and I loved this one, even though it is fairly different.

The major difference is that it is more action-filled, like Pandemonium was more action-filled than Delirium. Both Pan and Fever were more Hunger Gamey than the first books in their respective trilogies.

No matter, I loved Fever, every bit of it. There were surprises that make me gasp, it is very unpredictable.

If you remember from the end of Wither, Rhine and Gabe have escaped the mansion and now are trying to make their way back to Manhattan to find Rhine's twin brother, Rowan. That creepy Vaughan just doesn't let up though. And Gabe and Rhine end up in some pretty miserable places, making them wonder if they ever should have left. I found myself not liking Gabe very much. He seemed kinda pouty and wimpy, or maybe it's just that Rhine is so strong.

Wither Like a Fig Tree

This is really difficult passage on which to preach!  I only did it once.  I wish I could find it.  I think it's on my old mac.  All while reading Wither I would think about that fig tree!
I loved this book!  But I didn't like cover.  If you don't read the book, the cover looks like one of those wild romance novels.  This is the first in the Chemical Garden Trilogy and my only sadness is that I will have to wait so long to read the next one.  
We are back to the future again and Rhine (named after the river as she discovers in the book) and her brother Rowan live in a dying world.  New York City to be precise.
Some years ago medical science found genetic answers to most of the troubles in the world.  The "first generation" folks live long, healthy lives...but...now the new generations are dying and dying early.  Men live until the age of twenty-five and women to the age of twenty.
In the darker circles, in the rich circles, tween and teen girls are often kidnapped and sold to be wives to wealthy first gen men or their young sons.  They are meant to have lots of babies, which will be experimented upon so that a cure can be found.
Rhine and two other girls, Jenna and Cecily are chosen to be the bride of Linden Ashby, a young and wimpy man who is clueless about the horrors of the real world.  He is also clueless about the evil doings of his own father, a doctor, who is out to find that miracle cure through his experiments.
Rhine is determined to make her way back to her brother Rowan and to her freedom.  She is determined not to live her last, short years in the prison that is the Ashby mansion.
There's a love triangle of sorts as well, as a house servant named Gabriel helps Rhine and the two of them share hopeful moments.
The book is about 350 pages but it flies by and again, my old regret is that I will have to wait until next year to find out what happens next.  A captivating read!