REVIEW: Fever by Lauren DeStefano @simonteen @LaurenDeStefano

Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but they’re still in danger. Outside, they find a world even more disquieting than the one they left behind. Determined to get to Manhattan and to find Rhine’s twin brother Rowan, the two press forward, amidst threats of being captured again . . . or worse. The road they are on is long and perilous—and in a world where young women only live to age 20 and men die at age 25, time is precious. 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.

About the Author

Lauren DeStefano earned her BA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing from Albertus Magnus College in Connecticut in 2007. She is also the author of Wither. Visit her at LaurenDeStefano.com. 

Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers (February 21, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 144240907X
• ISBN-13: 978-1442409071

SOURCE:  AROUND THE WORLD ARC TOURS

MY THOUGHTS
ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT

Gabriel and Rhine have escaped the mansion only to find themselves in even greater danger and still within reach of Linden’s father, the pair just don’t realize how far his reach is.  Rhine thinks she has experienced everything that she needs in order to survive but her fight is only just beginning now that she has ended up in an even rougher scenario that involves prostitution and addiction to a heroin like substance.  Not that Rhine gets addicted, but Gabriel starts to show signs and she know they must escape the carnival like atmosphere that they have tumbled into where girls have relations with men for coins and drugs.  Most of them are already being taken over by the disease that haunts the young adults.

Even though Rhine feels she is deeply in love with Gabriel there are times when I doubt her true feelings for him when she puts on her act for the viewers in order to keep the place they have at the strange circus they have fallen into. Vaughn of course manages to track them down and plays on Rhine’s good nature and her feelings for the other girls she left behind.  When she finally is reunited with Linden she is taken back to the mansion where she finds Cecily who has plenty of information for her.

This installment of the Wither series is amazingly fast paced and will have you running while the pair try to make it to Manhattan and discover clues about what is actually happening outside their cloistered existence there.  There are some strange twist and turns that will probably shock you a bit but by the end, you will be dying to read the next one which will probably be in another year.  Sigh.  It is going to be another long wait.  There is a lot of stuff happening in this book and I am sure you will enjoy it if you liked Wither.  I wish I could put my finger on what made this book so special to me, but I connected with Rhine and her story to the point where I think about it more and more.  There are a few sexual situations, drug abuse and some language, so this one is suited best for older teens.