*MAJOR SPOILERS*

Review Written: 8th March 2012

Fever by Lauren DeStefano

Fever is one of the most heart wrenching books I have ever read.

The whole concept, women dying at 20 and men at 25 is heartbreaking in itself, but the actual plot and the characters add another layer of sadness!

Fever is sequel to the very good Wither – it centres on the main character Rhine Ellery, who is taken from her home and her twin brother Rowan to be a wife to Linden. I won’t explain the plotline to Wither as I’m not reviewing it here but go read.

This book picks up where Wither left off. Rhine has escaped with a boy named Gabriel who worked in the house to try and head back home. You may hate me for this, but I didn’t want her to leave. I felt sorry for Linden and if Rhine had only just explained the situation and talked about his creepy father who experiments on his dead wives, then maybe they could have got somewhere with their relationship. If she had stayed, she wouldn’t have walked into a carnival/brothel thing. Now this book is aimed at teenagers, and I, reaching the end of my teen life, felt uncomfortable reading this. The themes covered were very adult.

After having escaped this creepy carnival, with a plus one, Rhine & Gabriel end up helping in an orphanage – before Rhine falls ill. 

The book ends with her in hospital. Unfortunately she has been captured by her evil father-in-law. I knew it would happen yet I wanted her to return in her own time and only if she wanted to. However, after having admitted to Linden how evil his father actually is, I hope book three, the final in the series, things actually get better.

I do hope Rhine spends the remainder of her years happy, I hope she finds her brother and I hope someone finds a cure so that she can live longer than 20!

NEXT REVIEW: MAUREEN JOHNSON'S THE NAME OF THE STAR