Sever

January 15, 2013
In the third book of The Chemical Garden Trilogy, readers finally learn what exactly a Chemical Garden is. Rhine has returned to evil Vaughn's compound, reconnecting with her husband, Linden, and sister wife, Cecily. In Bella Swan fashion, she wonders about missing Gabriel, the servant with whom she escaped and found comfort in Fever (2012), yet rekindles her feelings for Linden and their strange relationship. The first half of the story crawls as Rhine once again makes plans to outwit Vaughn and search for her twin brother, Rowan. At long last she has the support of Linden and Cecily, who slowly realize Vaughn's deception, as well as support from Linden's hippie-ish uncle, who lives off the grid. Once Rhine discovers that Rowan has become a celebrity vigilante terrorist, destroying virus-research labs across the country, and the true nature of her deceased scientist parents' work, the pace picks up. Readers, along with Rhine, learn more about the virus that kills off young adults, how American society destroyed itself, how the virus may have been unleashed and Vaughn's secret experiments to find a cure. Ironically, in this rushed effort to tie up loose ends, holes are left in its wake. Fans will delight in the symbolism and clues from the cover, but they will ultimately find the trilogy's conclusion unsatisfactory. (Dystopian romance. 14 & up)

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June 1, 2013
Gr 9 Up-Sixteen-year-old Rhine was near death, but is now recuperating. Although her father-in-law's tortuous experiments caused her hospital stay, her husband Linden is in denial. Rhine's sister-wife, Cecily, though fiercely loyal to Linden, knows that Rhine's accusations are true. Vaughn, a world-renowned, wealthy doctor, is desperate to cure the "virus," a genetic defect that kills "new" generation women at age 20 and men at 25. While most U.S. residents live in poor and decaying circumstances, Vaughn's wealth and power shield his family from hardships, except for the virus that will not yield to fame or money. Rhine, too, is desperate-desperate to find Gabriel, the boy she loves, and her twin brother, Rowan, a rebellious activist who strikes hospitals that experiment on the new generation. Helped by Vaughn's brother, Rhine sets out with Linden and Cecily as her unlikely and strained companions. She hopes to find answers, but what she learns about her brother, Gabriel, her deceased sister-wives, and her past aggressors, Vaughn and Madame, is as startling as it is disturbing. Two dramatic events in this volume (2013) bring DeStefano's trilogy to a wistful, yet ultimately hopeful conclusion. Angela Lin turns in a fine narrative performance. Rhine is soft-spoken, resigned, and often submissive, matching the mood of this mostly bleak dystopian future. The novel's strength is its well-developed and believable characters. Those familiar with "Wither" (2011) and "Fever" (2012, all S & S) may find some revelations here inconsistent with earlier characterizations; however, fans of the series should be pleased. For libraries circulating the previous titles.-"Lisa Taylor, Ocean County Library, NJ"

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2012
Grades 9-12 Following the events of Wither (2011) and Fever (2012), teens Rhine, Linden, and Cecily take to the road in a postapocalyptic America in search of Rhine's twin brother, Rowan, who is busy destroying labs that are researching a cure for the virus that kills people before their twenty-fifth birthdays. But finding Rowan only leads them back into the clutches of Dr. Vaughn Ashby, Linden's driven father, who won't hesitate to kill because of his obsession to be the first to the cure. This concluding volume in the Chemical Garden trilogy regains the plot momentum lost in Fever and includes a few new twists for good measure. The story concludes a bit neatly, but it is still a satisfying ending that balances out and even recasts the rather brutal medical experiments seen in the previous books. Readers definitely need the background, plot, and character information of the first two volumes before they plunge into these deeper waters. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: DeStefano has already achieved best-seller status with this series, and fans should be further swayed by the dedicated website, videos, and author events forthcoming.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)