Fever by Lauren DeStefano

[Fever is the sequel to Wither, so it is suggested that you read Wither before reading this review so nothing is spoiled for you!]


"But there's no such thing as free. There are only different and more horrible ways to be enslaved."

 
Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but danger is never far behind. 

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness. 

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

 

I adored Wither, so I was super excited when I won a copy of Fever from the lovely Alice Marvels. I actually can't believe I took as long as I did before I read it.

I don't know how much time I spent raving about DeStefano's writing in my review of Wither, but it's safe to say it wasn't nearly enough. I could quote any sentence in the book as an example of her style; that's how pretty it all is.

One thing I loved was that, even though it has been a few months since I read Wither, and my memories of how the world in it worked were a little fuzzy, I had no trouble at all picking up Fever and reading through it. That's a big plus to me, because I read a lot of series, and when you're reading a book, it saves a whole lotta time if you don't have to read every book that came before it just to keep up with the new one.

I have to say again how much I love every character Lauren DeStefano creates. In this book, especially, I loved Maddie and Lilac and Simon, and I'm still a big fan of Rhine and her sister wives. It was definitely nice that there was more Gabriel in this book, so he was fleshed a little more.

Lastly, I love how action-packed this book is. I never knew what was coming up next in Rhine and Gabriel's journey, but I loved how you got to explore all these parts of the world DeStefano created.

I really don't have any complaints for this one; I give it five big hearts of approval! 

If you enjoyed Wither, chances are Fever will be a win with you, too. Don't miss this sequel—it continues a captivating trilogy, and I'll be thinking about this one until the last book comes out next year.

Read more reviews for Fever at:

The Readable Kingdom and Stuck in YA Books

Legend by Marie Lu

"Each day means a new twenty-four hours. Each day means everything's possible again. You live in the moment, you die in the moment, you take it all one day at a time."

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias' death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

 

I'd been hearing a lot about this one, and the synopsis reminded me of Divergent, which I loved, so I decided to check it out. (Literally. Thank you, library.)

There are so many dystopian books being talked about out in the YA market right now, it's incredibly hard to guess which books are going to be good and which ones just have a really fantastic publicist. Legend, fortunately, is one of those books that is just that good.

The book alternates the point of view between June, a teen genius, and Day, a boy renegade, who constantly on the run. (What's really intriguing is that when viewpoints switch in the book, so do the font and the text color—from black to gold. I'd never seen that before in a book, so, naturally, I geeked out over it.)

Anyway, I have to start out with the amazing characters. I don't know about you, but I've read so many books where the main character is supposed to be a genius or a total expert at something, and then, when it comes down to it, they really aren't. June is actually really smart. I loved being in her mind; she's constantly analyzing the situation she's in and making observations on the most minute details. 

Day, on the flipside, was great as well. I have to say that I loved that the alternating point of view because you get to be in Day's mind. There are lots of books out there that don't really flesh out the guy love interest, and his point of view really helped to do that. I loved that we got to see so much of him.

As for plot, I was kept guessing. What I expected to be the finale of the story happened in the middle of the book, and totally threw off my expectationns.

Like a lot of dystopian books, I would have liked a little more world-building. Let me make this clear: I've never really care to know how a dystopian world got where it is then from how it is now; I don't think every book needs to drone on about the history that happened hundreds of years ago. (Example one: The Hunger Games. Did it ever explain its history? No. Was it fabulous still? Absolutely.) What I wanted was more details on how their society works, and more about the world that the author had created.

This book is a fantastic choice for those dystopian lovers out there; I hope many more readers pick this one up so it gets the attention it deserves.

Read more reviews for Legend at:

Teens Read and Write and Lauren's Crammed Bookshelf