[#23] Book Review: Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Wither 

(The Chemical Garden #1)

by Lauren DeStefano

Synopsis

By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children. When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement. Her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next, and Rhine is desperate to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive. Will Rhine be able to escape--before her time runs out?

Together with one of Linden's servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. But in a world that continues to spiral into anarchy, is there any hope for freedom?

Review

Wither... Hell, why did I try to delay reading this book? This is a wonderful book, and I feel sorry that I didn't read it the moment I got my hands on it. Here's the summary of this review: if you love YA dystopians, then this book is absolutely made for you. I wish I could just end this review that way because for real, that's all, read it and find out for yourselves, but hey, I have so much to say, and this book kept me from reading my midterm reviewers, so bear with my rants. *lol*

The premise of this book was awesome, kind of reminded me of Shatter Me's. Anyway, I already mentioned that I didn't read this book right away, it practically been on my shelf for months. I didn't expect to like this book as much as I did. The synopsis was to be blame for that, aside from giving a creepy impression, it had a scific sound which I really didn't like. And the brother thing was not something to be excited about. So what happens to the old saying 'don't judge a book by its cover'? Now it's more like 'Don't just a book by its synopsis' *lol* (ok, i know, that's weird and nerdy xp)

The plot was truly unique so it’s no question that I was captivated by it. A lifespan of 20 and 25 was really distressing. How can one suppose to enjoy life or rather how can one be able to know what life is? Marriage and pregnancy at 13? Polygamous rich men-boys? Psycho father-in-law? And stupid genetics? Yeah, it's all a perfect mix *lol* Love it all!

Rhine's character was something I liked about this book. I love how she's not letting the circumstances ruin her and get hold of her life. Loved that she kept on fighting and absolute about her goal which is to reach her brother. Her relationship with Linden and Gabriel was both confusing, but 'hey, that's the reason I (we) love reading YAs, right?'.  

I really though that Linden was the villain in this book but it turns out to be the opposite, and I really don't know what to think of him. It sucks that he's so innocent and ignorant. 

Jenna and Cecily, perfect sister wives. Thinking of them makes polygamous marriage a little not so bad. 

So overall, it's really a nice read. And I really like how it ended, like it was saying "This is only the beginning."

How much I love it?

4.0 Hearts