Early Review: Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Title: Wither (The Garden Trilogy #1)
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Genre: Young Adult (14+)
Format: ARC, 358pp
Source: Simon & Schuster BFYR
Release Date: 3/22/2011
Author Website

Synopsis

What if you knew exactly when you would die?

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.

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 Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, before it is too late.

 

Review (Spoilers)

I didn’t really get into this book until about chapter 6. After that I couldn’t stop. I read the whole book in 1 day! I love the Cover Art! I love how things are futuristic, but I also think they could have been described a little bit better. Sometimes I had a hard time imagining what the people looked like or what the house looked like. 

This is the first time this has ever happened to me, but I was kind of torn between the characters. I was mad that Rhine was stolen from her brother, and that Linden bought her. But I was glad she didn’t die in the van like the other girls. I was mad that Rhine was first wife, yet she never consummated the marriage, while a 13 year old had a baby. It confused me that Rhine was able to make so many decisions about what happens between her and Linden. I was mad at Linden a lot through the book, until he showed his emotions, and we realized that he was just as trapped as the wives were. I hated that Jenna died, and I think House Master Vaughn had something to do with it.

One part of me wanted Rhine and Gabriel to get free, but the other part wanted Rhine to stay with Linden. I think Linden did start to love Rhine but I think he had a hard time separating her from Rose.

I really want to read more about Rhine and Gabriel, but I also want to read more about Linden and Cecily (even though she is a whiny baby and I wanted to reach through the book and wring her neck sometimes). I find myself attached to these characters, and I want to know how they are, and what they’re doing.

 

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