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  • A Great Start to The Chemical Garden Trilogy4

    Keren Kiesslinger Firstly, I loved this cover. It was what drew me to the book in the first place. I had been looking for new books to read and came across Wither in my travels. I have only read a couple of Dystopian books before and I find I really like the genre. So I knew I had to give this a go.
    It sat on my shelf for a while before I finally got the time to read it, but what with getting the ARC of FEVER (The Chemical Garden Trilogy #2) I knew I had to read it soon so that I am up to speed.

    From the moment I picked it up, I knew I would enjoy this book. I don't know what it is but sometimes I just get this feeling that I will like something and I do.
    I love the way Lauren DeStefano writes. It's lyrical and beautiful. Wither had me laughing, swearing and fighting tears along the way.

    Thanks to a botched attempt to create the perfect human race, all males will die at the age of 25 and females at the age of 20. Geneticists may be trying to find a cure, but is it really likely to work? Is there more to life than marrying, having children and dying at such a young age?

    Rhine is a 16 year old girl, so she has 4 years left before she dies. As if that wasn't bad enough, she is kidnapped and forced into marrying 20 year old Linden. He falls hopelessly in love with Rhine and though she would like to, she can't seem to find it in her to hate him. Even though the way in which they married was somewhat less than Rhine desired, she can't help but feel a little sorry for Linden as his life seems to be ruled by his father, Vaughn.
    So she finds herself living in a mansion with her husband and her two sister wives, Cecily and Jenna. Yes, you read that right, Linden has not only one wife but three!
    Rhine is desperate to find a way of letting her twin brother know that she is okay. She is desperate to be free. She can't spend the last years of her life trapped in a mansion with a husband she doesn't love, two sister wives and a monster of a father-in-law. (I can't tell you why, but trust me, Vaughn is a despicable excuse for a human being)
    When she finds herself drawn to Gabriel, a servant, she encourages him to break free, to go out and discover the world that lies beyond the grounds of the mansion.

    Will Rhine and Gabriel be able to escape the clutches of this mansion and it's inhabitants? Is there really any hope for freedom?

    I have to say, I found this story to be interesting, exciting, fast-paced and very well written. I really have high hopes for the next 2 books in the trilogy! by Keren Kiesslinger

  • The YA Reader5

    Stephanie Watson While I was reading Wither I happened to be rather sick with Bronchitis, which kept me out of commission for 2 weeks. It might sound rather strange to say this but I was actually grateful that I decided to pick up this book during my prescribed 'bed rest'. In other words, Wither was so amazing that I could not put it down and luckily I didn't have to.

    I loved the fact that the writing provides such crystal clear imagery. I felt like I was literally whisked away into the beautiful world that Lauren has created. I could see Rhine walking the floor of the sister wives, mingling with people at the entrancing parties, walking among the orange groves and being trapped in the confines of her bedroom. It felt more like watching a film rather than paging through a book.

    Read the rest at: http://ya-reader.blogspot.com/2011/09/review-wither-by-lauren-destefano.html by Stephanie Watson

  • Top review

    30 Nights Insomniac Reviews5

    Jill Barrakling One thing I have to say first: I loved every single page. I loved the world it was set in - I mean, what kind of a Dystopia-junkie wouldn't - and I absolutely adored Rhine. Had I been in her situation, I'm not sure I would have been so strong.

    The ease with which she can act her way through that polygamous marriage and quite honestly, how she can even stand to be in the same room as Linden and/or Cecily at times was beyond me. She (Rhine) is definitely a very strong character, she doesn't dwell too much on what's happened, instead she searches for a way to get out of that situation. Granted, the ideas are not always the best but at least she tries.

    Lauren DeStefano definitely created a world that maybe nobody would really want to live in but definitely experience. All of her characters (even the evil ones). It's horrible to even think about dying at 20. I mean, I'm barely 19 and to die in less than a year? No thank you. Horrible, absolutely horrible. Especially with those rich guys practically stealing girls from the streets.

    The novel starts when Rhine climbs out of the van she was pulled in after being "stolen" with a bunch of other girls. She and two other girls are then chosen and brought to a car, and the last thing Rhine can hear before passing out are gunshots - the other girls who weren't chosen were killed.

    After that I was very surprised at Rhine's cooperativeness but the thoughts she had made it very believable and I almost couldn't put the book down, but my real life demanded more attention than I wanted it, too. If that hadn't been the case I probably would have read it in one sitting.

    As it is, I can recommend this book without any exceptions. You should definitely read it if you like a good Dystopia and a strong female lead. by Jill Barrakling

  • Review by Sandy from Scribing Shadows5

    Sandy When I first saw the cover for Wither I had high hopes that the story would be just as captivating, that it would be hard for me to pull my eyes away, and it was. This story was a beautifully written dystopian novel that really showed the inner struggles of a girl who seemed to have everything a young girl should want - a grand lavish mansion, beautiful dresses, a personal attendant, and the devotion of a man who loves her but without true freedom. Like the cover depicts, Rhine is a bird trapped in a beautiful cage, an illusion.

    Yet, despite what has happened to her I have to admit Rhine's life before being captured by the Gatherers was awful. She's an orphan and was living with her twin brother in the basement of her family home because it was the safest place to hide from beggars, thieves, and men who steal young girls off the streets and from their homes. Both her and her twin had to work to keep from starving and they each had to take turns at night keeping watch for intruders. Given the circumstances of Rhine's life I could easily have pictured this story going a completely different route if Rhine's situation was just a little different and if her character was just a little different.

    I, like Rhine, had to constantly work at not forgetting how she had gotten to the lavish lifestyle that she is living, to not forget that she was stolen away, her freedom taken, and her brother left alone miles away in a factory strewn Manhattan because it is very easy to forget when her old life is completely hidden away. She doesn't forget though, no matter how many times people tell her to not run away, that it's dangerous, that the life she is living isn't so bad, and that if she just behaves she can have "anything" she wants. Rhine doesn't give in no matter how tempting the words are because she knows that this world she is in cannot give her her brother, and her freedom.

    Wither is a story that shows the beauty and darkness of the human heart, it was really a story about the characters, not just Rhine herself but her sister wives, her husband Linden, her ambitious father-in-law, and many other characters that weren't just there to fill the space or carry the story along but who truly added to the tale. Unlike a few other dystopians Wither isn't about the action and the external forces but about the will and strength of the people. by Sandy

  • 3 1/2 * Almost a 4*4

    Lisa Richards While I didn't fall head over heels in love with this book, I had no problem finishing it. I wanted more though. I wanted more details on the whys-- why this was happening and why kidnap young girls off the street as the orphanages were full of them. Hopefully, the next book will answer a lot of these. The first couple of chapters were amazing and quite satisfying. DeStefano did an excellent job of world building and fleshing out the characters. The characters were real and engaging. Their emotions were so intense that you ached for them. That said once I got about 2/3's of the way through, it began to drag for me. While there were moments that were predictable, it was twisty enough to ensure that I read the next book. by Lisa Richards

  • A Brutal Future World Where Life is a Ticking Time Bomb5

    Nicola Mansfield Reason for Reading: I love dystopian novels and this sounded fantastic.

    And fantastic it was! Absolutely fantastic! The first book in a trilogy hasn't excited me this much since The Hunger Games (not that this is anything like it). A brutal future world where an entire generation has been artificially conceived but they have cured disease, no more cancer, no more AIDS, no more heart disease. What this first generation didn't know, until 20 years later, though was that their own naturally conceived children were ticking time bombs. Females now only live until 20 years of age, and males to the ripe old age of 25 then they succumb to "the virus". For seventy years now the first generation, who also have conquered the rapidness of aging, have been trying to find a cure for their children but they have separated into two factions by this time: those who want to find a cure, and the pro-naturalists who say it's time to let nature take its course and want to stop the breeding of infants for the purpose of experimenting on them.

    It is in this world that Rhine is kidnapped along with a van full of other girls by a wealthy father looking for wives for his son. The son chooses three and they are forced to marry the 20yo and become his wives. In their captivity the sister wives, form a unique bond with each other. Each comes from a different background and situation, dealing with their kidnapping/captivity and forced marriage in different ways. Rhine is the only one with a will to escape.

    Wonderful. wonderful. wonderful. Right from the first chapter I was addicted to this story. It swept me up into a horrible possible future that is brutal and repugnant. The young either live in poverty as third generation orphans or as rich socialites in decadence with no moral values as life is literally too short to waste on virtues. The ethical questions give one much thought, especially about finding a cure vs. experiments on babies or the question of how terrible is it to kidnap street women and starving orphans so they live the rest of a short life in opulence versus leaving their freedom behind? My enjoyment of a dystopian novel always hinges on whether I believe the major situation is possible. While I don't believe that our current society is headed towards perfecting a genetically altered artificially conceived disease free generation. I do, however, believe the current dwindling replacement population crises will have many profound repercussions on the future generations even if something is done immediately, which is hardly likely. Women are already kidnapped for use in prostitution in today's world, it is hardly unrealistic to think they would be kidnapped for use as wives and breeders by the wealthy in this futuristic world with no religion or moral values.

    DeStephano has created a fascinating concept with many layers, and even added a tiny touch of romance. This is a riveting book and I can hardly wait for the next book in the trilogy to be published. by Nicola Mansfield

  • Magical writing, I felt what Rhine felt.4

    Pamela Green I loved this story. I've realized recently that I'm becoming a fan of dystopian stories, which I've never read until now. I suppose it has something to do with the fact that there are so many of them coming out right now, but either way, I'm quickly becoming addicted. WITHER is a great story about Rhine, a 16-year-old girl who is abducted and taken to a grand estate to be the bride of some rich, young man. While here, she experiences sister wives, attendants, domestics, a comfortable room, a life free of danger and a man who loves her. But all she can think is: I need to get out. And I don't blame her. Aside from the close bonds she forms with Jenna, one of her sister wives, and Gabriel, an attendant she becomes attracted to, Rhine can only think about her twin brother who is now alone and probably heartbroken without her.

    Lauren's writing is magical. She knows just the right words to use to make me feel everything Rhine feels. The emotions were portrayed amazingly. I could never imagine being in any position like Rhine's, but I could sympathize with her because of the way Lauren wrote. She made me feel like I was there with Rhine the whole time - that whatever Rhine went through, I went through it, too. And it hurt to watch poor Rhine cry through the night or stand in front of her father-in-law in fear, knowing I couldn't do anything to help her! When those emotions are pulled out of me when reading a book, I know that the author is an amazing writer.

    The whole concept of the story was great. I loved the way Lauren didn't feel the need to take the first hundred pages explaining the world. Slowly, but surely, we learned about Rhine's world and how things worked there. There were also a couple flashbacks so we could see the way Rhine and her brother Rowan were living before she was swept up by the Gatherers. I prefer this way of learning about the dystopian world because it doesn't make the beginning drag and it prevents a lot of information from being thrown at you all at once, which can be overwhelming and also boring.

    If I didn't love a character in this book, then I hated them with as much passion. There were not many characters who were just kind of there and didn't make me feel for them in any way. They all felt like real people to me. The one character who I couldn't decide whether to love or hate was Linden, Rhine's husband. I really wanted to hate him because it was his fault Rhine was stuck in that estate in the first place, but he didn't make it easy. He was such a sweet, fragile young man, and as you learn later on... well you'll have to read it yourself if you want to know why it's hard to hate Linden Ashby. Even Rhine found it hard to hate him eventually...

    Ok, I need to talk about Gabriel. I really liked him as a love interest for Rhine. The weird thing is that he wasn't actually in a lot of the book as a character, but he was very often there as an idea or a thought. Let me explain. Even though Rhine and Gabriel didn't interact a lot, Rhine thought of him often. For example, if she didn't see him for a while, she worried about him. There were always occasions where Rhine was thinking about Gabriel even though he wasn't around her very much. I think that's what made me like them together so much: the fact that he was sort of a light in this dark place for her. I really hope their relationship grows in the next book.

    I was happy with the way this book ended. I am so ready for the next book to come out, although I can't find any information about it anywhere. Even though I finished this book over a week ago, I still find myself thinking about it and what is going to happen next. What if he...? Will she...? Does he...? So many questions that I can't finish because I want to avoid spoiling it for you all! Seriously, if you're into any kind of dystopians that also include romance, pick this one up when it comes out next Tuesday. You don't want to miss it. by Pamela Green

  • Good YA - love the premise4

    Julie Smith 12 girls taken in a van, 3 picked out, and as they are driven away in the car that meets them, they hear shots.

    Welcome to a world where girls are kidnapped as brides by people known as Gatherers, and they and their children are used as experiments for the first generation created by genetic cloning. The first cloned generation were all healthy and normal, but their children only live to a certain age: 20 for girls, and 25 for boys. The orphans of the second generation, if not placed in the horrid orphanages from which some girls are sold, scrabble for food and die in the streets.

    Rhine and her twin brother Rowan had been living a solitary existence, locking themselves down at night to avoid both the Gatherers and the thieving orphans at night, working as they can during the day, in New York. When Rhine is kidnapped and taken to Florida, she finds herself eventually married, along with 13-year-old Cecily and 19-year-old Jenna, to Linden Ashby, the 21-year-old "Governor" of the estate. Linden's first wife, Rose, a girl he married for love, is ill from the virus when they arrive, and before she dies, she advises Rhine to become Linden's favorite, so that he can take her places. His father, Housemaster Vaughn, is a first generation, and seemingly very cruel and heartless.

    I won't go further into the plot, but there are definitely enough surprises and twists to keep the reader going. This is the sort of plot that makes you want to crawl inside an author's mind to find out exactly where the idea germinated.

    The characters aren't deeply-drawn, and I didn't feel a deep affinity for any of them; however, I DID feel that Linden was entirely too weak and clueless. I wanted to reach into the pages and slap him in the head to give him some sense.

    Rhine is rather interesting, but seems rather dispassionate, given her situation. She may have needed to be that way, however, since she really was all but powerless to change things, and has to bide her time without drawing too much attention to herself. Cecily was a spoiled little brat, very peevish and self-centered, which likely comes from her growing up in an orphanage. Jenna was rather enigmatic, but we discover things about her that make us feel rather sorry for her.

    This book is the first in a trilogy, and it will be interesting to see what happens next. Maybe Linden will get some backbone, and we'll find out what Housemaster Vaughn is DOING down in that basement.

    QUOTES

    Girls who don't pass their inspection are shipped to a brothel in the scarlet districts. Some we have found murdered on the sides of roads, rotting, staring into the searing sun because the Gatherers couldn't be bothered to deal with the. Some girls disappear forever, and all their families can do is wonder.

    I think of him being bruised, beaten, etherized. I can't allow myself to think he's already dead.


    If I were truly an orphan like Linden believes, if I had really spent my childhood in a school for brides, I think this would be a nice life to lead. I could see how a girl could get lost in it.


    Writing: 4 out of 5 stars
    Plot: 4.5 out of 5 stars
    Characters: 3 out of 5 stars
    Reading Immersion: 3.5 out 5 stars

    BOOK RATING: 3.75 out of 5 stars by Julie Smith

  • can't wait5

    laura plowman 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, in the limted time she has left.(less)

    blub frrom goodreads website by laura plowman

  • Review of Wither4

    Lydia Presley 2010 introduced me to the world of dystopia. I've read everything from George Orwell's 1984 to books still due to come out, such as Lauren Oliver's Delirium. There have been some good, and some not-so-good (although both listed were fantastic!) and Wither is another book to add to that good list.

    Books with such mortal characters, the "ticking time tomb" talked about in the summary of this book, have a way of weaseling in and getting a grip on the reader before he or she knows what's happened. That's what Wither did to me - just a few pages in and I was walking around the house with my nose buried in the book, unable to put it down. I devoured this book and I'm hungry for the next one - unfortunately I have a while to wait for it.

    I do have some small complaints - things that bugged me about the relationship between Rhine and a few people in their lives, things that, if Rhine's story hadn't been as powerful as it was, wouldn't hold up. But Lauren DeStefano did a remarkable job of giving Rhine her voice and of manipulating her readers emotions with the turmoil in this story.

    2011 is shaping up to be quite the year for dystopian fiction and I'm quite looking forward to it. Wither is a great contribution to the list! by Lydia Presley

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