Sever by Lauren DeStefano

#3 in the Chemical Garden Series
Published February 12, 2013 by Simon & Schuster
1 Star

Goodreads Review
Time is running out for Rhine in this conclusion to the New York Times bestselling Chemical Garden Trilogy.With the clock ticking until the virus takes its toll, Rhine is desperate for answers. After enduring Vaughn’s worst, Rhine finds an unlikely ally in his brother, an eccentric inventor named Reed. She takes refuge in his dilapidated house, though the people she left behind refuse to stay in the past. While Gabriel haunts Rhine’s memories, Cecily is determined to be at Rhine’s side, even if Linden’s feelings are still caught between them.

Meanwhile, Rowan’s growing involvement in an underground resistance compels Rhine to reach him before he does something that cannot be undone. But what she discovers along the way has alarming implications for her future—and about the past her parents never had the chance to explain.

In this breathtaking conclusion to Lauren DeStefano’s Chemical Garden trilogy, everything Rhine knows to be true will be irrevocably shattered.

Review:  I am a literature sadist.  I don't know why, but I have a sick need to finish every book that I've started, no matter how painful, stupid, or rage-inducing.  I really did not like Sever, nor the Chemical Garden series as a whole.  I think this story could have definitely been a stand alone because all of the plot really happened in the first book and the second and third were full of pretty prose of little consequence.  I was particularly disappointed with this series because there were so many really interesting ways this story could have gone and a lot of great topics that could have been explored but none were really committed to which just left for a weak series that didn't say anything.

Sever was a very monotonous ending to the series where nothing really happened and none of our questions were answered.  The first third of the book was Rhine hanging out at Lindon's uncle's house (did we know about this uncle before book 3?  I don't think so, and this character suddenly living just down the road was very convenient) doing nothing.  I thought finding her brother was really important but she's really not in any hurry to do anything other than putz around.  I also was wondering what was going on with Gabriel, but Rhine must really have an out of sight, out of mind personality because I don't think she spared one thought for him for at least 200 pages.  But you know what, Rhine and Linden should have stayed together because they're both as exciting as a bump on a log covered with a wet blanket.  I seriously don't think I've read two more wishy washy characters in my life.  The only semi redeemable character in Sever is Cecily (I know I was surprised too).  There was some character growth there and Cecily actually took some action in this book.  I couldn't believe it.

I also had huge problems with the general plot of Sever and how the big issues of the world were glossed over or just not addressed at all.  I don't want to post too many spoilers, but the big revelations about Rhine's parent's work on genetics or Vaugh's motivations behind his terrible abuses or how the world because the messed up society felt so contrived, like the author didn't know how to tie things up so she just brushed it under the rug with the barest of explanations.  The plot of this series is so sloppy, it's laughable.  All of the pretty prose in the world can't replace a well thought out story.

The other aspect of Sever that is really damaging is sex, namely the lack of sex that our main character has.  I mentioned this in my review for Fever, but to have a world where young girls are forced into marriage and prostitution as basically broodmares, and then put your main character into situation after situation where all of her peers are forced into sex but somehow miraculously she doesn't have to have sex is so ridiculous I can't even properly form words.  This is the biggest cop out I have ever seen.  If you're going to create a world like this and put your character in those situations (I mean, she was in a prostitution circus FFS) then you have to follow through, even if that means bad things have to happen to that character.  If you don't back up your world building the entire series falls apart and I won't be able to take the story or the characters seriously.  That's a problem with YA in general I think, writers don't want to do anything really bad to their characters so they put them in dangerous situations but don't actually put them in any danger. 

Sever, and frankly the entire Chemical Garden series, is just a hot mess.  Weak characters, weak plot, and very weak world building makes up this train wreck of a series.  Flowery prose cannot make up for this pile of pseudo scientific drivel. 

Fever by Lauren DeStefeno

#2 in The Cemical Garden Series
Published February 21, 2012 by Simon & Schuster
1 Star

 Goodreads Review
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.

In the 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.

Review:  I didn't really like Wither, but I didn't hate it either.  I was put off by the lack of scientific support for the world building but I was interested in the characters and the drama that unfolded.  I thought Wither presented some interesting topics on forced marriages and human trafficking as well as the ethics of genetic manipulation and that in Fever we were going to explore these themes in greater depths.  Unfortunately these topics were barely touched on in this weak follow up.

Fever really suffers from middle book syndrome.  It's almost like the wordiness and overly poetic writing is trying to make up for the lack of character development, world building, or any real plot.    I feel like everything in this book, from the main character to the writing to the world building to even the book itself, is very surface level. Everything is pretty and shiny, but there's no substance, no meat, to anything.  It's like this book is saying "Look at how beautifully I described these girl's dresses and hair! Ignore the fact that they are child prostitutes, let me wax poetic about the fabric of their sex tent!"  The writing is very wishy washy, to the point where I wasn't sure what was happening (specifically with Gabriel and the cage and with Vaughn and his testing).  We're never told clearly what is happening, and instead of creating tension, it only creates confusion.

It's all very disappointing because I really liked the idea of the sex carnival and I thought it was an interesting setting to talk about tough issues like child prostitution.  But it's almost like the author presents these terrible situations but doesn't fully commit her writing or her main character to those situations.  Rhine gets exempt from abusive situations again and again (not having to consummate her marriage to Lindon, not having to prostitute with strangers).  Instead Rhine watches other children be victimized and doesn't do anything to help them other than feel kind of bad.  I feel like there is some indirect victim blaming going on here, that the child prostitutes are dirty and bad for having sex and that Rhine must stay pure and good because she is the main character.  I do not know if that was the intention, but that is the road Fever heads down and it is a very damaging and dangerous path.

Fever is a truly disappointing novel not just as a sequel, but as a missed opportunity to actually say something of value.  It just flits from topic to topic without fully committing to anything.

Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets by Evan Roskos

Published March 5, 2013 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
5 Stars

Goodreads Review
“I hate myself but I love Walt Whitman, the kook. Always positive. I need to be more positive, so I wake myself up every morning with a song of myself.”

Sixteen-year-old James Whitman has been yawping (à la Whitman) at his abusive father ever since he kicked his beloved older sister, Jorie, out of the house. James’s painful struggle with anxiety and depression—along with his ongoing quest to understand what led to his self-destructive sister’s exile—make for a heart-rending read, but his wild, exuberant Whitmanization of the world and keen sense of humor keep this emotionally charged debut novel buoyant.



Review:  Do you ever just randomly pick up a book without knowing much about it and it's just the perfect thing for your life? Well that's what happened for me. I wandered into the bookstore with the goal of just getting a coffee but then Dr Bird's caught my eye. I had no idea what it was about, but I saw the blurbs from Matthew Quick and Jesse Andrews and thought "I need to read this". 

Turns out Dr. Bird's is about a boy with depression and anxiety.   The synchronicity is rather freaky because I've suspected that I have depression for years but I've never really taken action to get some help, I've always tried to deal with it on my own. Dr. Bird's helped me realize that I cannot do it alone and I've started taking steps to find a therapist. I really appreciate this novel and the perfect timing in which it came into my life.

Do you ever just randomly pick up a book without knowing much about it and it's just the perfect thing for your life? Well that's what happened for me. I wandered into the bookstore with the goal of just getting a coffee but then Dr Bird's caught my eye. I had no idea what it was about, but I saw the blurbs from Matthew Quick and Jesse Andrews and thought "I need to read this". Turns out Dr. Bird's is about a boy with depression and anxiety. The synchronicity is rather freaky because I've suspec.

Also I need to read more Walt Whitman.

Sidenote:  I posted this review up on goodreads a few weeks ago and the author, Evan Roskos, took time to leave a very lovely comment on my review.  I wanted to thank him for the words of encouragement and for writing such a wonderful novel.

Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott

Published September 2009 by Simon Pulse
4 Stars

Goodreads Review
This is Alice.
She was taken by Ray five years ago.
She thought she knew how her story would end.
She was wrong.

Review:  I can't really say I liked this book, because who really does like a book about such a horrible topic? However Scott treated this subject well, and while she didn't shy away from the graphic and horrific aspects of the story, she did it in a way that doesn't exploit or glamorize the situation. It's raw, dirty, and painful.

The best part of Living Dead Girl is the writing style.  I normally don't care too much about writing style, but in this case it's what makes the novel.  It's almost like reading poetry and I feel like it really lends to the narrative.  I can completely understand Alice and why she thinks the way she does and why she can't "just escape".  The mental and physical abuse has completely drained her will to live.  Alice has comes to believe that she deserves to live with her captor.  I think fans of Ellen Hopkins books will really like Living Dead Girl.

Overall Living Dead Girl is a very dark story about a young girl's horrifying kidnapping that could have easily felt exploitative but was handled very well.  It is a heart breaking story that will haunt you for a long time.  Sidenote:  I would say that this book is for mature teen and adult readers only. 

Want to Go Private by Sarah Darer Littman

Published August 1, 2011 by Scholastic Press
4 Stars

Goodreads Review

Abby and Luke chat online. They've never met. But they are going to. Soon.

Abby is starting high school—it should be exciting, so why doesn't she care? Everyone tells her to "make an effort," but why can't she just be herself? Abby quickly feels like she's losing a grip on her once-happy life. The only thing she cares about anymore is talking to Luke, a guy she met online, who understands. It feels dangerous and yet good to chat with Luke—he is her secret, and she's his. Then Luke asks her to meet him, and she does. But Luke isn't who he says he is. When Abby goes missing, everyone is left to put together the pieces. If they don't, they'll never see Abby again.

Review:  This is a hard book to review.  Want to go Private is an intense book. I want to say it should be read by older teens, but no. This is a book middle schoolers need to read because the dangers really do start that young, as much as I hate to admit it. I went onto a chat room for the first time when I was in 5th grade (I was only 10 years old, I was put in school early). The dangers are out there, and not only do parents need to educate their children, but they also need to educate themselves. I was worried this book was going to be all shock factor, but it really covers a lot of facts and offers some very useful insight into internet predators. I was very impressed. 

Sidenote: I've read reviews that say that Abby was asking for it for being so stupid and she deserved to be raped. No girl deserves to be raped, and no girl ever asks for it. If you believe that then you can go fuck yourself.