Thursday, July 14, 2011

Review: Wither

Title: Wither (The Chemical Garden Trilogy: Book One)
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Publisher: Simon and Schuster BFYR
Goodreads



Synopsis (via Goodreads):
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 limited time she has left.

Review:

This was a very strange, but fantastical book.

I think I am a sucker for books where there is a biological problem with people and they either die, become zombies, or whatnot. I read this book in less than 24 hours!

I have to tell you that I was afraid to read Wither. It had been the object of my desire for SO LONG that I was afraid to read it and be disappointed. I bought it and then it sat and sat and sat on my bookshelf.

So, did it live up to my expectations? Well, I can't really answer that because it wasn't what I expected at all! I knew going in that this was about polygamy, and a couple of boys, but that was about it. It was about so much more complicated than that!

There were quite a few things in Wither that I think were necessary to help illustrate the deeper issues going on in this world. It's easy to get offended by some of the stuff that DeStefano decided to include, but I think she needed to cross that line to show how messed up things really are for these characters. Of course, this is just how I interpreted things.

The action starts right at the beginning of the book, and sets the perfect pace. There are bits and pieces of the past that are spread throughout the book, and I think that the way DeStefano did that was perfect. We know right away that something is happening to Rhine, and we get thrown right into the confusion and are scared right along with her. Nothing is concrete, and she has to tread lightly and try to piece it all together.

Overall, Wither was a unique and intriguing read! The characters were easy to attach to, the storyline was great, and I don't think I've read anything quite like it. The only thing that I didn't like was that I felt like it lulled a bit (just a tiny bit) and then all of a sudden something happened without enough buildup. It really didn't bother me all that much though!

I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of Book Two in the Chemical Garden Trilogy: Fever. I just can't imagine where it will all go from here!


8 comments:

  1. I didn't realize that this was going to be the first book in a series! I have also been a bit afraid that I would be let down based on all of the hype. I really should read it soon - I'm glad to see that you enjoyed it so much!

    Bonnie @ HandsAndHome

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  2. I will have to get this book, but I think I will wait until the full series has been published so I can read them all together. I will for sure add this to my list to buy

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  3. Yeah, I liked this one too and like you I tend to feel a little afraid to read books that have been hyped up cause I really don't want to NOT like it. I agree that there's some weird stuff in this one but that it was necessary. It's amazing at how weird and crazy books can be these days, anything goes! But it's so nice to have variety.

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  4. AGREED! :) Whither was a strange book but overall, I too enjoyed it very much! Do you know when the release of the 2nd book is??

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  5. I cant wait to read this one. I got it today but its not out over here until January next year so I'm going to put off reading/reviewing it for a while!

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  6. I agree with the weird and strangeness of this book but I also loved it. I wanted to hate one of the guys but she makes it so hard. Great review!

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  7. i am in the same boat with super duper high expectations...but i like that it won't be what i expect!

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  8. I'm not one to cry over books but there was a place in which someone close to Rhine was dying. I knew this person would die and so I prepared myself, being much more attached to the characters in this book than I had with most other books I've read. But when I got to the place, the way in which it was written took the sting out of the sadness and I felt a bit cheated by that.

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