Book Description
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.
About the Author
Lauren DeStefano earned her BA in English with a concentration in Creative Writing from Albertus Magnus College in Connecticut in 2007. Visit her at LaurenDeStefano.com.
I tried to keep this spoiler free….
Ok, let’s talk about that cover. There are a thousand words in that cover. There are so many details that make sense once you finish this book. Since those details are in view, I am going to talk about those rather than how this series ends. First off, the apples in the lower part of the image: Rhine finds that she can only eat in her new location at Reed’s home. Reed is Linden’s uncle and the complete opposite of Vaughn. He is a mad inventor living off the grid and remembers the way the world used to be before the virus. In Reed, Rhine find some comfort and he helps her even more than she realizes.
Cecily and Linden join her with their son, Bowden there. There are lots of secrets that Reed knows about Vaughn and gives hints to the group. Then there is Rhine holding her ring. Yep, she finally has the nerve to ask Linden to remove it, thereby annulling her marriage to him. While she is relieved by this action, at times, she misses the closeness that she shared with him. She also knows that this action will comfort Cecily and in turn makes Cecily a stronger person. Rhine is not perfect and she knows it, everything she thinks is right turns out to be wrong but she still knows what is good and true to her.
THAT is the story of life. There are so many gray areas that occurs in day to day life that you can’t possibly imagine that something your parents do will have consequences beyond their lives that will impact your own life. You hope that they choose wisely and if not you grow up to overcome their choices if you feel that they are wrong. So the story ends, but not without Rhine questioning all of her choices, regretting some, rejoicing in others. One hint: she does reunite with her brother, which I am still trying to figure out where he stands. Hmm, maybe I need a story with Rowan’s point of view? Parents: I don’t remember any steamy scenes or a lot of violence in this one. This is just a fitting conclusion to the story.
No mention of Gabriel?!?! Doesn’t he rejoin Rhine?!
Yes, but I can’t tell because it would be a major spoiler.