Fever (The Chemical Garden #2) Review

Fever (The Chemical Garden #2)
By Lauren DeStefano
Expected Publication: 2.21.2012
From Goodreads:

 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 woman 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.

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.

My Thoughts:  I started reading Fever at the hospital, waiting for my Mom to improve (she since has), and finished the book on Friday the 13th, so setting and time were very appropriate.  Fever picks up where Wither leaves off, with Rhine and Gabriel on the run, trying to make their to New York and Rhine's twin.  Like most plans in a dystopian world, things do not go well.

Rhine and Gabe run afoul Madame, who runs what is basically a carnival/cat house.  All seems bleak as Gabriel is kept drugged and Madame has big plans for Rhine, but the duo befriend Lilac and her young, malformed daughter Maddie.  Because DeStefano isn't going to turn our beloved heroine into a prostitute, you can pretty much bank on Rhine escaping again. Wither was slow paced, but Fever's main theme is running, and Rhine does a lot of it.  My favorite part of the book was that you're introduced to a wide variety of new characters, and old favorites pop up.

I had a problem with Gabriel in Wither, and the second installment does little to endear him to me.  Rhine had a more complex and interesting relationship with Linden, and she has more heat with newcomer Silas than she does Gabriel.  He just feels more like a comfortable best friend than a potential lover.  Honestly, he bores me a bit.  The most interesting thing about him is his withdrawal from "Angel's Blood" that the Madame hooks him on.  But there were no awesome "Intervention" type rages here, sadly.   Rhine keeps a little light of hope alive in my heart as she continues to wear Linden's ring on her finger.  Am I the only one rooting for Linden?

The ending of Fever, while not shocking, definitely leaves you with Must Read Next Book feeling.  The entire time I was reading this book, which was just two days, I kept hearing the soundtrack to Repo: The Genetic Opera! in my head.  The cover of Wither, the first book, would have fit this book too- Rhine literally finds herself in a cage, but even after she escapes that, she's still in a different kind of cage constructed by Linden's father.

Fever gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

The cover of Fever gets a Midnight Book Cover Rating of:

 I'm not sure I love it as much as Wither, but it's still gorgeous and very appropriate to the story.

Disclaimer: I received a temporary copy of Fever through Around the World ARC Tours in return for my honest opinion.

Across the Universe

Across the Universe
by Beth Revis
From Goodreads:

 Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules.

Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone - one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship - tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next.

Now, Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming.

I was a fan of Beth Revis long before I finally read this book. I follow Revis on her blog and twitter accounts and I get the feeling that I'd be friends with her if she lived on my street. Perhaps that's why Across the Universe has lingered so long on my shelf. I was afraid that I wouldn't like it, the same way I would feel if my a friend handed me her manuscript.  I know my friend can write, but I'm fearful of not loving it as much as I think I should.

Fortunately my fears, once again, proved groundless. I am not a huge science fiction fan, preferring the fantasy aspect of science fiction to the actual sciencey part of the genre. Now, like the Host by Stephenie Meyer, Revis doesn't try too hard to go over my head with the details about space travel. Maybe that will bother science fiction purists, but I think it makes for a great intro to sci-fi for the YA audience.


Across the Universe is thought provoking YA novel- which is kind of funny because most of the YA I read in the late 80's and early 90's during the time I actually qualified as young adult were designed much more to entertain and not to make the reader think. The entire story takes place on a ship heading for a new planet- a new Earth. The ship is fueled as much with lies and secrets as it is anything else. Amy, our heroine, was meant to sleep her way across the universe, waking only when the ship arrives at the new planet, but someone awakens her early and life aboard the ship is as alien to Amy as Earth is to the ship's inhabitants.

The romance between Amy and  Elder is subtle, and not the main focus of the book. When Amy is awoken early from hibernation, her memories of Earth feel like yesterday, and not 200 years ago. It makes sense that she'd be preoccupied with what's happening on board. It also makes sense that she wouldn't be quite ready for romance if she still has memories that feel like yesterday of the boy she left behind.

Elder is faced with many moral dilemmas and it was his character I most enjoyed reading about, if only because there is so much Amy's character was kept in the dark about. Side characters, especially the shadowy Orion, helped invest me in the goings on aboard Godspeed. I'm hoping to meet even more characters in the next book!

(Spoilerish)
I'm interested in Elder's struggles as Eldest. Will he become a leader who rules through fears and lies or will he continue to try to follow his heart? While Amy would probably say his path is clear,  and that truth and honesty should rule the ship, I think that Elder realizes that leadership is not that easy. I think the most interesting aspect of the next book will be Elder's continuing awakening along with the rest of the people on board. Although Elder has Amy by his side, he's been "raised" by Eldest, so who knows how Elder will rule?

I can't wait to read A Million Suns. The only benefit to waiting as long to read Across the Universe as I did is that now I don't have to wait long for the second book! Across the Universe was part of my Mount TBR challenge and I'm glad that I finally got around to it! I don't read too much of this kind of genre (lately it seems I only read dystopian, which I still love, but it's nice to have a change of pace).  I'm even thinking of going back and re-reading my Xanth novels by Piers Anthony, which were my first real introduction into sci-fi.

Across the Universe gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

The cover of Across the Universe gets a Midnight Book Cover Rating of:

I love the colors!  And I love the image of figures, it's as if Elder is leaning down to kiss Amy as she lays sleeping in hibernation. 

Life Support Review

Life Support 
by Tess Gerritsen
First published in 1996
From Goodreads:

The overnight ER rotation at Springer Hospital is a calm one, which suits Dr. Toby Harper just fine. While Toby is fiercely proud of the stripes she earned as a resident in a big-city ER, she's come to appreciate the pace at Springer. But no hospital could have been prepared for the man Toby admits one quiet night. Delirious and in critical condition from a possible viral infection of the brain, he barely responds to treatment. And then he disappears without a trace. Under fire from the hospital administration for literally losing a patient, and fearful that she's missed a life-threatening diagnosis, Toby knows she must find the patient. Her hunt is intensified when a second delirious patient dies in the hospital's care. But even more chilling is the discovery that the infection can only be spread through direct tissue exchange.

My Thoughts: A few years ago I read my first Gerritsen novel- The Surgeon.  I quickly devoured the Rizzoli and Isles books, while I collected her other stand alone books.  Last year I finally read one- The Bone Garden, which turned out to be one of my favorite reads in 2011.  As part of my resolve to read the many, many unread books I already own this year, I picked up Life Support.

I don't know if I picked the best time to read a medical thriller, as I read it while keeping watch over my mom in the hospital (she's doing much better and will be coming to live with us once she gains strength at a physical rehabilitation center). Fortunately the plot had more to do with Alzheimer's and genetic experimentation than the pneumonia and congestive heart failure that my mom was busy fighting.

Let me start with what I did like- Life Support gives a very real portrayal of Alzheimer's disease and what it's like for the family members and care takers.  The science behind the genetic experiments, while disgusting and perhaps unrealistic, was thrilling and there were some great plot twists throughout the book.  Some of the information in the book was a little outdated, but this is one of Gerritsen's earlier books, and the woman knows how to craft a plot.

Where the book failed to grab me was the main character.  I never felt connected to Toby and didn't much like her, although towards the end I did feel bad for her plight even if I kind of blamed her for some of the trouble she found herself in.  To be honest though, it took me a couple of books to warm up to Jane Rizzoli and Maura Isles too.  Probably because I don't have much in common with there tough, driven women, but Gerritsen creates great female characters- they may be successful, but they're hardly one dimensional and suffer from the same issues all women deal with, in this case Toby has pretty much put her life on hold in order to care for her ailing mom.  Normally Tess Gerritsen book's get me so wrapped up in the plot that I soon find myself caring for characters that are hard to love (Rizzoli in The Surgeon is a particularly prickly pear).


Life Support was okay, but not great.  It will not deter me from reading the rest of Tess Gerritsen's books- I tend to be pretty author loyal.  This book was a fairly decent medical thriller, it just didn't grip me as tightly as her previous books have done.

Life Support gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

The cover of Life Support (at least the edition I own) gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

The cover's slightly pornographic looking and has little to do with the plot.

Dead To You Review

Dead To You 
by Lisa McMann
Expected Release: 2.7.2012
From Goodreads:

Ethan was abducted from his front yard when he was just seven years old. Now, at sixteen, he has returned to his family. It's a miracle... at first. Then the tensions start to build. His reintroduction to his old life isn't going smoothly, and his family is tearing apart all over again. If only Ethan could remember something, anything, about his life before, he'd be able to put the pieces back together. But there's something that's keeping his memory blocked. Something unspeakable...

My Thoughts: You know, it’s refreshing to have a male protagonist in a YA novel- especially one that feels male.  I’m always impressed with authors who have the ability to capture characters of the opposite sex and bring them to life.  Ethan feels real, and it’s easy to empathize with his predicament of trying to get back to his “old life”.  Everything from trying to connect with his family and dealing with school brought to life the very harsh truths of reunifications- often they are very hard.  And it's not just Ethan who struggles to fit into his new life, his parents marriage is put through the ringer upon his return, and his siblings have to deal with accepting him as their older brother.  Much family drama ensues!

Part of the reason I wanted to read this book, other than being a fan of McMann (I rhymed!), was because the premise reminded me of the old Lifetime movie I Know My First Name is Steven (which was a bit cheesey) and The Deep End of the Ocean (movie, not the book which I haven't read yet, but the movie is excellent and stars Jonathan Jackson, whom I truly adore), and since then I’ve had a strange obsession with tales of kidnapped kids.  In 2011 I read You Are My Only and Jaycee Dugard’s autobiography, but it’s obviously a story line I can read about again and again. Time and again I’ve read books of kidnapped girls- Possession, The Collector, Living Dead Girl, etc.  McMann choosing a male victim was a nice twist. 

Speaking of twists, that’s where this book lost me a little.  The pace of the book, the tension kept me flipping pages, and while I knew there was something coming, the ending took me by surprise.  It's either going to be and ending that you like, or one you hate, but it will make for excellent discussion!  I personally liked the ending, even if it left me wanting more.  It doesn't seem like McMann is going to continue Ethan's story, but I'd love to know what happens to him, Cami, and his adorable moppet of a sister.  I recently spent a week with my 2 1/2 year old niece, the lovely Fiona Kathleen, and Ethan's little five year old sister "the replacement child" reminded me so much of my precocious name sake that I had to wonder if the author has met Fi.

Overall, Dead To You is as readable as McMann’s Wake trilogy.  The subject of the book is dark, the main character is tormented, so this is not the book you want to read if you’re in the mood for a light and fluffy YA book.

 Dead To You gets a Midnight Book Rating of:

And a new feature is my Midnight Book Cover Rating!

Dead To You gets a Midnight Book Cover Rating of:

I love the cover, even though it’s not apparent from the cover if the book is about a male or female character- not with those nice lashes!  But hey, the cover’s at least gorgeous enough to flip to the back for the summary.

Disclaimer: I temporarily received a ARC copy of Dead To You through Around the World Blog Tours in return for my honest opinion.

More 2012 Challenges!

So, you know I can't resist a Reading Challenge... although I am pretty resistant at finishing them... Oh, well, 2012 will be a new year so you never know when they'll come up with a cure for procrastinator's like me!

Here's some more challenges I'm joining, you can find the complete list on my left hand side bar.

Read Your Name Challenge:

Basically all this challenge requires is for you to pick book titles (the first letter in each title) that spells out your name. Now obviously, Midnight Book Girl would be a ridiculous choice, so I'm going with KATE.  It seems like a fun challenge, and one that's within my powers to actually finish!!

What's In A Name 5 Challenge: 

I did this challenge in 2011 and actually finished it!  I love the treasure hunt aspect to this challenge, and this year I'll have to read books who's titles refer to: topographical features, something you'd see in the sky, creepy crawly, type of house, something you'd carry in your pocket, purse or backpack, and something you'd find on a calender.  This one can be a bit tricky, but it's 6 books in all and I'm hoping it will lead to some creative reading on my part!

Mount TBR Reading Challenge: 

What I like about this challenge is that I have already decided that I have to do something about my crazy TBR shelves.  Most of them are books I really, really want to read!  It's insane to keep piling up books that I'm not reading.  So no more of that!  I'm going to focus on trying to get it under control so that I can enjoy shopping for new books without the guilt of those dying a slow death on my shelves.  There's different levels for this challenge, but I'm choosing Mt. Ararat, which is 40 books.  I hope to go higher, but I want to keep it realistic too.  I read 175 books or so in 2011, there's no reason on earth that I can't get to 40 books off my own darn shelves in 2012!  I plan on getting to 3-5 books on my tbr shelves a month, which would put me at 60 tbr books, but I don't want to push my luck.  

Bucket List Reading Challenge:

I'm going big on this one, since it coincides with my Mount TBR challenge.  I'm choosing to do the Semi level and here's the 13 books I plan on getting to:

1. Across the Universe

2. Bran Hambric and the Fairfield Curse

3. Anna and the French Kiss

4. Matched

5. Anna Dressed in Blood

6. The Invention of Hugo Cabret

7. Twenty Boy Summer

8. Drive

9. What My Best Friend Did

10. The Forest of Hands and Teeth

11. Feed

12. Uglies

13. The Screwtape Letters 

Books You Can Read In A Day Challenge:

I'm going with Level 1 on this challenge, which is to read 15 books- not all at once, but separately, in one day.  Here's a (partial) list of books I already have in mind:

1. Digit: She's Got Your Number by Annabelle Monaghan

2. Drive by James Sallis

3. Anna Dressed in Blood

4. Bewitching

5. Smokin' Seventeen

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

A-Z 2012 Challenge

I love this challenge and am so glad that Kim of Page After Page is hosting it.  I had a huge problems with letters K and Y, but was able to pull out a win in 2011.  Of course I got lucky with some of my letters, like Queen of the Dead, Zombies Vs. Unicorns, and XVI... so 2012 might be a bit more difficult!!

 
Reading Challenge Addict!

Feeling as addicted to reading challenges as I am?  Then this is a great group to join!  Plus it's a great way to learn of even MORE Reading Challenge!!