Author: Lauren Destefano
Publisher: Simon and Shuster
Pages: 358
Read Time: 1 Day
Tag Words: Dystopia, sister wives, 2011 debut authors, virus, post apocalyptic, a new take on the love triangle, awesome authors, writing that raises the bar, cover lover, amazing names
My Summary:
A new virus is wiping out the human population. The new generations are groups of ticking time bombs, and they have marked expiration dates.
The men, will die at 25, the women, at 20. It is because of this that girls like Rhine are taken from their homes, and sold as wives to wealthy and prominent men to repopulate a dying world.
Though her sister wives are content to live and die in the mansion where all is an illusion, Rhine has sworn to break free from the clutches of her husband, Linden, and his family.
What Rhine didn’t count on was the manservant Gabriel, and his eyes, blue as the sea she is trying to return to.
My Review:
Oh. My. Gosh. It is so, so, so, so, so, so, so good.
Is Lauren seriously a debut author? No, seriously. Seriously? Whoa.
Lauren Destefano is another author in a recent trend of writers who are raising the young adult bar. Her prose are lyrical, her themes are consistent, her characters are balanced, intricate and raw. Destefano is the masteress of turning taboo subjects into the new world you won’t want to leave, though you pray for escape.
Wither was the first ARC I ever received for review. I still remember the day it came, in one of those brown box-bags where you open up the middle tabs and pop off the top and bottom halves of the packaging. The book was perfectly proportioned and the first thing I saw when ripping off tab one was the pink title, Wither. I knew this book, I was dying for this book, and suddenly, the book was here, before it was anywhere else! I didn’t know how, I’d never sent requests, or entered a contest, and yet there is was, addressed to me!
Obviously Wither had sat in anguish on my shelf, Rhine wondering, I’m sure, what the rejection was all about. I never rejected Rhine, but she seemed like such a key player in the building of my own world that I couldn’t quite bring myself to let our entwined story be over so soon.
After seeing the Fever cover debut, I knew that it was time, because Rhine would rise again. I wish I had read it sooner, I hope you all read it very soon.
Wither is a beautiful portrayal of a girl tethered by a life she never chose, and fears she is growing less and less resistant to. I know I’ve had similar fears, I’m sure most of us have, and yet you’ll never read a book, or truly live a life, like Rhine’s.
Notes on the Names:
The NAMES! I love Lauren, even more now, for the names.
Rhine, Rowan, Gabriel, Linden, Vaughn, Cecily, Bowen, Jenna, Ashby, Ellery, Rose, Lydia, Adair, Elle & Deirdre.
They are so smashing together, it hurts.
Thoughts on the Cover:
Best cover of the year right here.
Parental Book Review *spoilers*
A la, Reading Teen, thanks, Andye!
Sexual Content: Sex is discussed but not described (prostitution, polygamy, and young girls forced into marriage)
Profanity: Mild
Violence: Heavy, though not described
Other Notables: Drinking by married couples at parties. Gruesome details of birth and death.
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