Saturday, August 27, 2011



Wither by Lauren DeStefano
****
Lauren DeStefano can really pen words to page, and do it so very eloquently. I thought this was an interesting attempt at a different kind of dystopian society. In this dystopian girls live until they are 20 and the boys live until 25 years of age. It hasn't always been like this. Science with all its good, somewhere made a big disaster in the human race causing all future children to get a genetic virus that kills them at these early ages. Because of these early deaths people do drastic and crazy things like kidnap young girls and force them into polygamous marriages, prostitution, or kill just kill them. Rhine is one of these young girls who gets abducted by the Gatherers. She is a strong and smart girl, who does what she needs to to survive and her relationship with Linden is interesting. I find it interesting, the human will to survive and what we are capable of thinking and contemplating while living in a crisis mode. Rhine is lucky in a sense at least she has been sold to a wealthy husband, Linden, for her fate could have been much worse than him. Linden is okay handsome but frail, he is kind, naive, and in time really does come to love and care for Rhine. Since this is a polygamous marriage Rhine also has sister wives. Cecily who is 13yrs who is just so naive and eager to please. Her part in this story was the hardest for me to take. Her character I think was one that develops the most in this story, she turns out to be pretty amazing. Then there is Jenna who is 19, she is smart, strong, and witty, she becomes Rhine's confident. I enjoyed the bond the sister wives shared with one another, it was strained at times, but you could tell they genuinely cared for one another and helped each other. Rhine misses her brother and her freedom and wants to escape this life which appears to have it all husband, money, gorgeous home and grounds. However it lacks the two things most important family and ones freedom. Rhine meets Gabriel who is a servant in her new home they develop a quick connection and come up with a way to escape. This part of the story seems a little under developed, and maybe it is suppose to be. I just didn't always feel they were so connected or if the situation was different would they have chosen each other. There isn't a lot of background given to Gabriel either, at least for my liking. Hopefully in book two my concerns will be taken care of. I did enjoy this story I thought it was a unique take on a dystopian society, and I look forward to book two.

couple of language issues
clean romance, but deals with polygamous marriages at very young ages, sex behind closed doors no detail, forced marriages.

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