Sever by Lauren DeStefano

The Chemical Garden Reviews
Wither, Fever, and Sever

Published: February 20 2013
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers
Website: Author’s Website
Author's Youtube

Introduction

After months of experiments, Rhine is captured once again, but at least the truth is out. Unfortunately, not many people are willing to believe her. Reed, Vaughn’s brother, is an unexpected ally. In the final installment of the Chemical Garden Trilogy, Rhine journeys to find her twin brother Rowan, discovers Vaughn’s secrets, the virus’s secret, and the truth about the world. Her genetics hold vital information for developing the cure, and her brother is closer to all of this than she imagined.

Title

I was hoping there’d be some severing of some limbs, and I am sorely disappointed that there are not. Only metaphorical severing.

In all seriousness it’s an appropriate title. It’s an end to certain ties, and this is the final book.

Could it have a better title? Probably.  

Cover

                The cover isn’t too bad. Ring’s off, there’s a bird NOT in a cage, and airplane, a globe. All fitting. What I hate are the bloody apples! NO.

                Stop with the apples.

                I’m so tired of the religious imagery.

                You can say that it’s the only thing she eats at Reed’s house. And it’s way too easy to associate the apples with the knowledge that she gets from Reed or his books.

                Can authors find some other way of being stupidly clever than inserting apples=knowledge and/or other religious themes with apple iconography? Please?   

Death

There’s a death or two in here. One, the HUGE one, confuses me. I’m not entirely sure how this character died. For such a pivotal moment, I think it could have been explained better.

All I know is that I read the page and…a character died. I’m like, oh wait what?!

I still have no idea what happened. They just died and the plot moves forward. I’d love to talk about this with people who have read the book, though I feel like this character has to die because of the way that the author has written the series. Urgh it’s hard to write this without spoiling it.

But as far as deaths go, this death is stupid. At least make it clear why the character died. Make it worth something.

Character Development

                What struck me in the first installment, Wither, was the character development and the wide away of cast members. Here are my brief thoughts: 

Linden

                With the end of Fever, I had such high hopes for Linden. The truth-about how brides are Gathered, what Vaughn does with dead bodies, everything- would finally come out!

                And Linden is the biggest tool, ever.

                It killed me inside when he denies everything. And this isn’t too much of a spoiler, as it happens at the beginning of the story. And the story would be much different if Linden believed Rhine.

But my emotional agony kept me emotionally invested in the story. And it pays off. Linden has spectacular character growth that I rarely see. What DeStefano did with the character is amazing, and a true testament to her ability to write.

Though there is a constant tugging of affection between Linden, Cecily, and Rhine that I disliked. With everything that has happened, it would be excessively unhealthy for Rhine to actually love Linden (not that I’m particularly convinced that Rhine loves Gabrielle). It is very frustrating that the author keeps hinting that Rhine actually loves Linden.

Cecily

                As hinted at in the second book, the baby grows up.

                In some ways she stays the same, which is something that I liked. A character, much like a real person, does not completely change, no matter how much personal growth they experience. She grows up and matures in ways that are suitable to her environment, and she still displays hints of her spoiled tendencies. I like her much better now than her bratty incarnation that we are introduced to in Wither. 

Vaughn

                Not sure if I can count this as character development. I think that the reader FINALLY gets the whole picture in the last installment of the series. We finally get the rationale, the truth, that has propelled this whole story into action.

                Even with his explanation, he is a typical evil villain who tries to explain away his motives for the greater good, though.

Rose

                Before I start, I like Rose. I liked her in Wither and Fever, which is an interesting feat for a character who died in the first portion of the first book. More information is revealed about her lineage in Sever, but I feel like it was so forced. Like the author looked at the grand scheme of the book and realized that she could insert Rose in yet another slot and twist up the story more. The revelations about Rose in this book just made me go “Meh, whatever.” 

Plot Holes? Spoilers!

                It’s hard to discuss this without major spoilers. This book explains that cell phones and radios barely work because of the equipment like signal towers not being maintained. There are communication issues. Ok. And like in basically every dystopia, the government is a bunch of liars. Ok. But…

                How does Hawaii not know about the virus? Sure, the American government can lie to their citizens, but how does Hawaii not have a clue?

How does Rhine’s and Rowan’s condition cure everyone if they are so unique?

                If everyone knows about Rowan and what he is about to blow up, why aren’t the police there to stop him?  

                Why doesn’t Rhine go about trying to find out if Gabriel is safe? Linden is right there, ask him.  

Ending

I know some readers will hate the final chunk of pages. I loved it. It reminded me of the ending of Alice: Madness Returns.  

I don’t want to give it all away. It has a quietness that I feel is so fitting. The chaos that has been inflicted is ended simply, suddenly, like the crumbling away of a cliff, and it leads to a sudden end.   

There are still some questions lingering in my mind. I am not entirely sure I get the concept of the chemical garden. I can take some stabs at it because I’m told I’m excessively clever, but I was hoping that it would be explained fully. I hoped that the concept would blow my mind and make me lose my vision for a second because it is so radical. Perhaps I don’t feel like I get it because the chemical gardens are only mentioned a few times.

Verdict

                The Chemical Garden series is a fine dystopia for young adults. The writing is detailed, the world is altered yet believable, and the characters are well-rounded with motivations and develop naturally. I highly recommend it for mature teens who need a book with more than the typical fashion and love themes. It is a suitable gateway into adult literature, especially for the dystopian genre. There are some plot holes that I think adults who are analyzing the book will pick up on. But the world is immersive, and now that I have finished the series, I’m going to wallow in self-pity.

Fever by Lauren DeStefano

The Chemical Garden Reviews
Wither, Fever, and Sever

Published: February 21 2012
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Website: Author’s Website 
Author's Youtube

*Fair Warning: I try to keep this as spoiler free as possible but it is difficult!

Introduction

Gabrielle and Rhine have escaped the gilded cage mansion and have washed ashore. They are promptly hit with the realization that they are in their cruel dystopian world that is unkind to people without a home. This installment is about them trying to make it back home to Manhattan, to Rhine’s brother, Rowan. They pick up another character, a girl without security in the world concerned with perfecting and correcting genes. Together they travel to Rhine’s former home, until the fever hits. What is it?   

The Scarlet Carnival

The first place to take advantage of them is Madame’s cruel carnival-a scarlet district prostitution ring. The girls are haggard with teeth rotten and wearing dirty exotic dresses. Madame takes a liking to Rhine and she falls into a dilemma: Vaughan cannot find her in the circus, but she is being used by a woman who is a predator in the business of selling pretty flesh until it is ruined.

Sound intriguing? I was bored. Like the first book, Wither, the circus is a confined space with a set domestic space and rules, like the mansion. I was craving for them to just LEAVE and explore and have more agency. I am supposed to be creeped out by the way Madame collects girls to sell their flesh until they die. In reality, this happens in real life. It is scary, though it is nothing new. 

Perhaps I am what you consider well-read, but I get the whole sexual enslavement issue. The whole scenario about how she’s there but not as a full prostitute made me stick out my tongue and go “PFFFT.” Yeah, right. As if she’d be kept there without having the dirty experience. It’s just because DeStefano wanted to give us the nitty-gritty inside of the sexual enslavement of the world AND keep her character extremely pure. This world doesn’t keep anyone pure, by the way, so this whole virginal main character concept is ridiculously unbelievable. If you read Oryx and Crake or The Year of the Flood , both by Canadian author Margaret Atwood, you’ll get a more realistic sense of what happens to women in a dystopian society that is driven by gratification.     

Ermahgerd guys, prostitution!  

Characters

I found this installment lacked the vibrant and complete cast of characters that its predecessor has. There are a lot of fleeting characters because the duo are on the move. There’s Lilac, the intelligent and beautiful prostitute, and her daughter, Maddie, a “malformed” child who does not speak. Madame, the ring-master of the carnival of tattered silk prostitutes.  The rest of the characters, to me, are replicas in different areas that serve the same roles. Ally, enemy, abuser. I understand that it is difficult to give depth to characters when you don’t spend much time with them because the characters are going elsewhere.

Cover

I like this cover as a cover much better Wither’s cover. The model still has the ring, she holds the card (part of a lame attempt at dramatic symbolism by the author), and she looks unwell. The title is Fever, and (surprise) everybody at some point feels unwell, but the model looks…not attractively unwell. You might say, well, duh, she’s supposed to be sick. But when you’re talking about modeling something artistically, there are ways to convey the idea right…and better. This girl looks…bored (oh hey it’s me when I was reading the circus passages!), or like she’s high, or like (as pointed out on Goodreads) she has some bodily functions to take care of. I think it would have been more effective to make her pale or flushed, sweaty, and give her dishevelled hair. In the first book, the rat’s nest was uncalled for. Here, it’s alright because she’s ill and has nowhere to go and no brush to untangle her hair.

Story Progression

The story of Fever is both linear and knotted. They are en route to Rowan. They get stuck in the carnival. The go on their way, towards Rowan. Little blips happen, and they get untangled and keep going towards their destination. It is not until the end when “stuff” happens and the linear, planned plot goes away. I like the ending much more than the whole first half of the book. It was hard to care too much when everything is so planned. Yes, “stuff” happens and it is interesting. Yet I found myself craving for when they are forced into something more unexpected. I wanted desperately for the plan to unravel and throw something at me that would make me squirm to read and turn the page. It does happen, but not until later. When it happened, putting the book down was impossible.     

Writing

Even when the plot isn’t terribly engaging…the writing is always well-crafted. Now, what does that mean?

The writing brings the world into reality: eerily dystopian and disgustingly beautiful.

Everything seems right in her writing this time. I wish I can one day write something that conveys the world to be so multifaceted like DeStefano does. There’s mansions, malls, pretty dresses, slavery, forced marriage, candy, kidnapping, family, prostitution, murders, sister wives, drugs, love…all these textures are weaved in the pages of the book. 

Next Book: Sever

Yes please! I am reading Magisterium by Jeff Hirsch (I ordered it in November from my library and it came in on July 30!) and then it’s off to finish The Chemical Garden Trilogy with Sever! I can’t wait! This trilogy is honestly the hottest thing on my mind (book-wise) and in my mind, the highest anticipated book in a series that I have encountered in a while.

Verdict

            An excellent sequel to the first book. It doesn’t quite deliver on the expectations that you might hope for from the first book. Instead of an adventure it is more like a boring road trip where you keep asking “Are we there yet?”. This book also lacks profound moments because the author places her character in a world of prostitution and squeezes her into an unrealistic role of purity there. Fever is excellently written, though the book doesn’t take us very far story wise. There is advancement between Gabrielle and Rhine, and some more characters that won’t mention to spoil it. The first half was dead-boring to me, but the last 50 or so pages keep me reading and excited for the next book.   

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

The Chemical Garden Reviews
Wither, Fever, and Sever

Published: March 22 2011
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Website: Author's Website
Author's Youtube


Introduction
            The First Generation was genetically modified to improve the human condition. The unexpected consequence lurked in their children; the children have a “virus” that terminates males at 25-years-old and females at 20-years-old. From perfection came disaster. With the population in decline, scientists are scrambling for a cure. Girls are being snatched off the streets by wealthy families to procreate and extend the family lineage. Rhine, a girl with heterochromia eyes, has been stolen from her life to be a sister wife to Linden. The mansion is a gilded cage, and with only four years left to her life, she plans on escaping the sinister family.

Cover
            I usually hate it when covers use faces. It stops the reader from imagining the appearance of a character. It is also worse when the cover looks nothing like how the author describes their character.
            In this case, I love the image. It has beautiful symbolism: the ring, the cage, the decadence. I hate the hair and the dress because #1 both are high-fashion messy and #2 nowhere in the book is Rhine in such a dress and has teased hair that looks a few strokes from a rat’s nest.
            With this explanation, I say that I love the image, but not as a cover. It’d be passable if the image was cut off at her neck to exclude her face and hair. In fact, it would add to the symbolism presented in the story about women being degraded.

Concept
            When I began reading, Wither immediately struck me as a stripped-down version of Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale for teens. Not that it is bad or unoriginal. I recommend all older teens to read The Handmaid’s Tale and Wither (if the concept of forced procreation is something they can handle).
            This novel is an excellent “what if” scenario in regards to the possibility of population decline and women becoming “baby factories” to maintain the human race and to find a cure. There are other dystopian elements as well: a large social divide, generational divides, gender oppression, and mass poverty and the associated lack of security and chaos. Unfortunately, the world of the story is very confined; she is trapped in the mansion and only recalls what the real world is like. I suspect we will see more of it in the next two books.

Heroine
            I tried to like Rhine. She is like how most girls would picture themselves in her situation: rebellious. The heterochromia eyes and her name are interesting facts, but the book fails to make Rhine unique. She assesses situations and chooses her words wisely, but she does less of this as the story progresses. She becomes less hard, and I do not feel like the author meant for this to happen, just that the writing took the author there and she forgot that Rhine is supposed to be much more capable than she is at the end.

Supporting Characters
            The cast of characters for this novel is exceptional. There are the obviously evil characters, the not-so-evil, the victims, the willing, the unwilling, the blind. The main characters evolve as the story progresses and I am thoroughly impressed by the ensemble and their interactions with one another.
            As I tried to like Rhine, I fell in love with Jenna. She has a tragic backstory, and I understand her acknowledgement of the situation. She decides what to do, she makes the best of the circumstances, and she is humorous at times. Downside: her name is Jenna.
            At first I hated Linden. He’s complacent, weak, and oblivious to the suffering he is causing to his sister wives. As the novel progresses, I became more sympathetic to the character. Making me sympathetic to a character I once despised is not an easy feat, and it is a testament to the writing.
            Cecily, the youngest sister wife, brings life into the house in more ways than one. She is a willing wife, though she is an orphan and the mansion offers joys she could never imagine. Cecily is a fine example of how distorted the world has become: a willing captive, an eager mother, ignorant of freedom or the way the world was before the dystopia set in. Without spoiling anything, it is through her that the reader finds out about the babies sister wives bear in this world, and how cruel the process is.

Writing
            Luckily, I was intrigued by the overall concept and I didn’t just read the first few pages, because I probably would have walked away. I found the beginning to be overly written. I understand that Rhine has just been ripped from her world, shoved into a van, and brought to the mansion. Her mind is scattered, but I think the author couldn’t decide where to go either. She brings up too much in the beginning without dealing with the issues at hand. And she dwells and details too much when reminiscing about the setting-social values and her past and the history of the world-at inappropriate times.
            As mentioned, the characters are excellent. Each serves a purpose and the main ones evolve. You’ll hate certain characters at the beginning and by the end, you’ll change your mind.
            Other than the characters, the writing is nothing special. No particular voice or prose was burned into my mind, but it serves its purpose.

Verdict
            A fulfilling dystopian teen novel with a little romance (of course). I suggest this to slightly older/mature teens because of the sexual content (we are talking about making babies against your will). If the teen likes dystopia or other kinds of speculative (non-paranormal) fiction, I recommend it highly. The characters are vivid and dynamic, but it is the setting of the world and how it came to be that makes the novel truly special.