History Literature / TheChemicalGardenTrilogy

''The Chemical Garden Trilogy'' is a post-apocalyptic dystopia novel by Lauren [=DeStefano=]. The books are ''Wither'', ''Fever'' and ''Sever''.

By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males born with a lifespan of 25 years, and females a lifespan of 20 years--leaving the world in a state of panic. Geneticists seek a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children.

* IdiotBall: Despite the looming threat humanity's extinction, Gathers run around killing hundreds of girls for not being pretty enough for marriage or prostitution.

* MadScientist: The grandfather seems to be one.

* [[LetsPlay Let's Read]]: [[http://dragon-quill.blogspot.com/search/label/Wither Here.]]

* TooDumbToLive: The Gathers, and arguably the society in general. All the women in this world drop dead at the age of 20, and all the men at the age of 25. Rather than keeping every woman alive for as long as possible so they can reproduce and keep the human species from going extinct, the Gathers kill all the young women who aren't chosen as a brides for their employers.

'''The Chemical Garden Trilogy''' is a post-apocalyptic dystopia novel by Lauren [=DeStefano=]. The books are ''Wither'', ''Fever'' and ''Sever''.

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: Apparently, among other things, WorldWarThree caused the ice caps to melt and now everything but America is underwater. However, Manhattan and America's coastline are somehow completely fine. Furthermore, all of the countries and continents are rubble, destroyed during the war. Rhine mentions that all that's left are tiny uninhabitable islands and the continent of North America. All of this destruction has absolutely no ill effects on the ecosystem, weather, sea level, or anything else in America. [[spoiler: Sever hints at this not being entirely true, however- Hawaii, at least, is still there, and the people there are unaffected by the virus.]]

* BittersweetEnding

* CreatorProvincialism: Extreme example; everywhere except America has been destroyed offstage.

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: Apparently, among other things, WorldWarThree caused the ice caps to melt and now everything but America is underwater. However, Manhattan and America's coastline are somehow completely fine. Furthermore, all of the countries and continents are rubble, destroyed during the war. Rhine mentions that all that's left are tiny uninhabitable islands and the continent of North America. All of this destruction has absolutely no ill effects on the ecosystem, weather, sea level, or anything else in America. [[spoiler: Sever hints at this not being entirely true, however- Hawaii, at least, is still there.]]

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: Apparently, among other things, WorldWarThree caused the ice caps to melt and now everything but America is underwater. However, Manhattan and America's coastline are somehow completely fine. Furthermore, all of the countries and continents are rubble, destroyed during the war. Rhine mentions that all that's left are tiny uninhabitable islands and the continent of North America. All of this destruction has absolutely no ill effects on the ecosystem, weather, sea level, or anything else in America.
** Antarctica is also included as a casualty. ''Antarctica''. The one place where a nuke would be completely unnecessary under any and all circumstances.

* TookALevelInBadass: Cecily [[spoiler: who shoots Vaugh near the end of the series.]].

'''The Chemical Garden Trilogy''' is a post-apocalyptic dystopia novel by Lauren [=DeStefano=]. The books are <i>Wither</i>, <i>Fever</i> and <i>Sever</i>.

'''The Chemical Garden Trilogy''' is a post-apocalyptic dystopia novel by Lauren [=DeStefano=]. Currently, the first two books, ''Wither'' and ''Fever'', have been released.

* DesignatedVillain: How ''dare'' Cecily do her best to adapt to her horrible situation, attempt to make friends with her sister wives, act petulantly towards the staff when she expects them to do their jobs (particularly when she's pregnant and intensely frustrated from being kept in bed all the time), try to monopolize Linden's attention when he's the only one who takes much notice of her anyway, and make an honest mistake through trying to help Rhine! Oh, and by the way, ''she's thirteen and it's rape even if she's willing.''

'''The Chemical Garden Trilogy''' is a post-apocalyptic dystopia novel by Lauren [=DeStefano=]. Currently, only the first book, ''Wither'', has been released.

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: Apparently, among other things, WorldWarThree caused the ice caps to melt and now everything but America is underwater. However, Manhattan and America's coastline are somehow completely fine.

** Also, all of the countries and continents are rubble, destroyed during the world. Rhine mentions that all that's left are tiny uninhabitable islands and the continent of North America. All of this destruction has absolutely no ill effects on the ecosystem, weather, sea level, or anything else in America.

** Antarctica is also included as a casualty. ''Antarctica''. The place inhabited by like ten people. Why on Earth would it be nuked?

* ArtisticLicenseGeography:
** The rest of the world is apparently underwater due to the ice caps melting, yet America's coastline is somehow completely unchanged.
** The world is underwater because all the other continents and landmasses have been completely destroyed and turned to ruble, not because the ice caps melted.

* TooDumbToLive: The Gathers, and arguably the society in general. All the women in this world drop dead at the age of 20, and all the men at the age of 25. Rather than keeping every woman alive for as long as possible so they can reproduce and keep the human species from going extinct, the Gathers kill all the young women who aren't chosen as a brides for their employers.

* ArtisticLicenseBiology: Men outlive women, which is the reverse of what is biologically inclined to happen. This is especially egregious because the reason for the shortened lifespans is a virus -- women, having an extra X chromosome, would have more genetic material to copy from and would therefore be less vulnerable to a virus altering their genome.

* OldManMarryingAChild: Standard in this world -- all the {{Arranged Marriage}}s are to older, rich men.
** In particular, one of Linden's wives is 13.

* OldManMarryingAChild:
** Standard in this world -- all the {{Arranged Marriage}}s are to older, rich men.

* ArtisticLicenseGeography: The rest of the world is apparently underwater due to the ice caps melting, yet America's coastline is somehow completely unchanged.

* OnlyFatalToAdults: the disease that plagues Rhine's generation.

* AfterTheEnd

* DepopulationBomb

** MadScientistLaboratory: There's one beneath the house.

* OldManMarryingAChild: Standard in this world -- all the {{Arranged Marriage}}s are to older, rich men.

'''The Chemical Garden Trilogy''' is a post-apocalyptic dystopia novel by Lauren DeStefano. Currently, only the first book, ''Wither'', has been released.