Wither by Lauren Destenfano

Hardcover, 358 pages

Published March 22nd 2011 by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

ISBN

1442409053 (ISBN13: 9781442409057)

edition language

English

original title

Wither

url

http://thechemicalgardenbooks.com/

series

The Chemical Garden #1

characters

Rose, Jenna, Cecily, Linden Ashby, Gabriel Borelli ...more

setting

Florida (United States)

 

Obviously, something went terribly wrong. Genetic mutations have festered, reducing human longevity to twenty-five, even less for most women. To prevent extinction, young girls are kidnapped, mated in polygamous marriages with men eager to procreate. Sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery, a recent victim of this breeding farm mentality, has vowed to break loose from its fetters; but finding allies and a safe way out is a challenge she can only hope she will survive. A dystopian fantasy series starter with wings. Editor's recommendation.

My Review 

I was somewhat aprehensive about reading this book after seeing all the mixed reviews, where some readers loved it and others hated it. I suppose in the end I just wasn't sure what to expect, was it going to be an engaging and interesting story, or something that was going to be cliche, boring and dull. However, I am so glad that I decided to sit and read this because the story that it contained, the words that it spoke, and the images that it crafted was grasping and highly indulge. The book reminded you of times where marriages were arranged, people were sold to become slaves, and your freedom was stolen so that you had no choice about what became of your life. The piece in this sense was therefore highly inspiring and thought provoking because it made you take a huge leap back to take a giant look at your own life and of all the things that you take advantage of.

I loved the way that the main characters were expressed, because you really got an insight into who they were and what they were about. I loved the main character and really felt myself connecting to her, so that I could become her and live her story. The imagery was done with detail and expression which gave the whole novel this huge sense of realism. But what striked me most was the whole thought provoking essence that it had. It was the way the book made you sit and think, make you plan and plot along with her as if you were actually trying to escape the evil clutches yourself. I loved the whole imaginative original frame that was taken with the novel because it seemed to put this whole modern twist on the past, and yet at the same time it seemed to be an idea that just had not been ever thought about before.

It was obvious from the beginning of the book that the first wife was going to be the favorite, that she was going to have something unique about her, but also that the person she was going to fall in love with, was not the one she was forced to marry with. I loved the whole behind the doors romance, but at the same time I just got the sense that it was horribly predictable and cliche. But this did not make me stop and put the book down. In fact it did the opposite, it made me want to read on. I found that when I got to the end of the book I wanted the next one, only to look to my pile of to read books to find that actually I do not have it as of yet. I do feel that there is a huge sense of potential for this series of books, and I think that all my fellow friendly readers may enjoy this novel if they have not read it already. 

My rating