Sever - Lauren DeStefano

FINALLY! A Young Adult Dystopia with a relatively happy ending for almost everyone involved! Sweet baby Jesus…

 

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.

 

Out of this trilogy, this book, might be my favorite all around. The writing is better. Gabriel is nowhere in this book. Cecily is wonderful (like always), and Rhine seems to realize just how selfish she has been. And then, there’s Vaughn, who in the previous book s (I felt) was betrayed a little too much like a mustache twirling villain. But in this book, there is more to his madness and Rhine begins to sympathize with him…just a little.

I really only had two little niggles that drove me crazy about this book. One was Rowan, Rhine’s twin brother. What an incredible tool bag that guy is. And how blind and dumb he is. Oh, and can we mention he’s a hypocrite? Thanks. And he has just no sense of what is going on around him. None. He just cannot fathom why Rhine feels uncomfortable and doesn’t trust Vaughn. Even after the truth was given.

My second issue was the whole flying to Hawaii thing. I don’t want to give too much away if you have read this book, but just think about the world that DeStefeno created in the previous two books and just think about the possibilities. That was just the one thing that I could not wrap around my head. Hawaii. I just don’t know what to even say about it. Just read it. See if you agree with me and my bafflement.

However, those two (sort of big) things aside, the story was great. It moved along fast for me. My favorite character is this book was Cecily. To see her turn from a spoiled child bride into a young woman who is fierce and determined was a great foil for Rhine, who I felt had lost her way after being trapped in Vaughn’s Room-Of-Doom. She helped show Rhine that not all is lost. That sometimes, you gotta go outside yourself to find the strength needed to survive.

But, if I’m being honest, I’m just thrilled that this young adult dystopia has a relatively happy ending. I didn’t feel the need to cut my wrists to release the angst like most young adult dystopias. It wasn’t all fluffy bunnies and mice in feety pajamas happy, but it was the beginning of hope for a much better future for her generation.

I always feel accomplished after reading a book series. And this one I am happy to say was a good one. A unique tale filled with everything that makes me love reading books: a new take on the human condition. No matter the time or place or the world that is created, at some level, everyone at some point in Rhine’s tale can relate to her struggles and triumphs.

 

Thanks for reading
Remember to always be yourself. Unless you can be a pirate.
Then ALWAYS be a pirate!