The Chemical Garden #3
Summary
What if you knew exactly when you would die? In the not-too-distant future, genetic engineering has turned every newborn into a ticking time bomb — males only live to age 25 and females only live to age 20.
In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out. When 16-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by "the Gatherers" to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Rhine has only one purpose after she has been married to her new husband, Linden: to escape and find her twin brother.
But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant to whom she is dangerously attracted, Rhine is desperate to learn the truth and protect those closest to her. But, as her sister wife Cecily keeps insisting, her role may be much bigger than that.
In the first two books of the Chemical Garden trilogy, Wither and Fever, Rhine struggles to escape the mansion and then to navigate the brutal world outside. Now in Sever, the third and final book, Rhine uncovers some shattering truths about the past that her parents never had the chance to tell her and the alarming implications regarding her own genes. She may be the one who can save the human race. ~ Add on Goodreads
I really want to read this series. I was blown away by the series' covers and summaries. Plus, many have told me they love these books. But I am only one person, and I can only read so much before I keel over and die from reading exhaustion. So I thought the least I could do is reveal the cover for the next book in the series. It's a cool cover by itself--though that color of green gives me a headache--but compared to the other covers in the series, this is my least favorite. If you haven't seen the other covers, just go to goodreads and take a gander, they are amazing. Overall, this cover is just okay. What if you knew exactly when you would die? In the not-too-distant future, genetic engineering has turned every newborn into a ticking time bomb — males only live to age 25 and females only live to age 20.
In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out. When 16-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by "the Gatherers" to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Rhine has only one purpose after she has been married to her new husband, Linden: to escape and find her twin brother.
But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant to whom she is dangerously attracted, Rhine is desperate to learn the truth and protect those closest to her. But, as her sister wife Cecily keeps insisting, her role may be much bigger than that.
In the first two books of the Chemical Garden trilogy, Wither and Fever, Rhine struggles to escape the mansion and then to navigate the brutal world outside. Now in Sever, the third and final book, Rhine uncovers some shattering truths about the past that her parents never had the chance to tell her and the alarming implications regarding her own genes. She may be the one who can save the human race. ~ Add on Goodreads
Hardcover, 384 pages
Expected publication: February 12th 2013 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Purchase: Amazon
How are you liking this cover? Do you plan on reading the book?
I read Wither and I thought the concept was good, though I was a bit distressed over the way a 14 year old girl getting pregnant was handled so flippantly. The concept was excellent, and DeStefano knows how to create scenes that stick with you for a long time. It's been over a year since I read Wither, and I can still see all the scenes in my mind as if I read the book yesterday. I simply wish the narrative had been tighter. I do love the covers on the previous books, but I'm like you. The green is too obnoxious. It's too loud. I don't want to look at it because it almost 'hurts' my eyes. Still, I should finish reading the series. I'll mark it on my TBR on Goodreads. Thanks for the post. :)
ReplyDeleteThat's good if you can remember so much about it from a year ago. Now that is saying something about Wither.
DeleteI'm not the biggest fan of this cover either. The green colour is just really in your face. The other two covers were much better. If this was the first book in the series, I wouldn't be picking it up!
ReplyDeleteI think most of us are going to agree on the green. I actually wanted to look away while writing this post because it hurt my eyes.
DeleteI felt myself looking for a connection between the circled items, It drew me in. Nice cover. :-)
ReplyDeleteLOL, now you got me looking for a connection.
DeleteI'm... not so sold on this cover. It's slightly strange, no? It's the green. It's just so... green? Uh... but othrwise SOOO pretty :D
ReplyDeleteYes, the green makes me want to blind myself with tabasco.
DeleteIt's very green-screen. I think I'm in the minority, but I wasn't a fan of Wither. Does it sound weird if I said I thought it just wasn't believable enough? Because I know it's dystopian, and you have to suspend belief a little, but I've read some dystopians and the whole time I was thinking, "Dear goodness this could be tomorrow/next year/the not-so-distant future" but in Wither I just wasn't feeling it. I suspect if I'd kept reading the series I'd have started getting answers as Rhine does and things would have made more sense, but I only have so much time to read, and I don't want to spend it on a series I'm just not enjoying.
ReplyDeleteBUT like I said, most other people whose reviews I read have loved it and been totally drawn into the world de Stephano creates, so maybe it's just me. And I do have to admit it was all very easy to visualise, and I did enjoy the gradual development of the relationship between the three sister wives. I just didn't like either love interest, or Rhine as a person, really.
And I should probably stop now.
LOL, I totally get what your saying. Some books, even if loved by most, don't hit everyone the same way. I wasn't blown away by Cinder but most were.
DeleteI do get it not being believable. A dystopian should give you a feeling like "OMG this can happen in my world" if it doesn't, then it just seems too fanciful.
Wither was ok, but the second book Fever was just a mess. It made no sense, barely furthered the plot, and had this really bizarre take on sex/rape that I just could not wrap my head around (and I suspect was totally unintentional--which still isn't a good thing). I personally think these books don't hold up under any kind of scrutiny. There are better dystopian series out there, read those instead!
ReplyDeleteHmmm, now I must rethink reading this series. I hate weak plots. Thanks for warning me.
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