Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Description:


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 limted time she has left.


Quote:
"A stranger passing by would think we had been together for years, that we planned to live the rest of our lives together. I always knew I was an excellent liar; I just didn't know I had it in me to fool myself" p. 318 (ARC copy)


Epic Wins:

• We start with the concept. Ticking time bombs, genetically engineered to death, and polygamous marriages make this book an intrigue. I took a class called bio-tech , there was a unit on genetic engineering and we discussed what could come from it. So when I read the description I was hooked. 
• Gabriel was one of my favorite characters. I was practically in love with him myself! He was sweet, had a passion, and he was understanding. 
• Jenna is the character I connected with the most. She was quiet, read, and was a grudge holder. She was also totally not like me as in she was cunning, could act, and dance (not coordinated). She went from asking for a trampoline to planning an escape. 
• The mansion sounded awesome! Rhine thought of it as a cage but I have to admit it was a cool cage. A holographic pool, a huge library of books, and gourmet meals? Like Jenna said  "Why not die in style". 
• Rose was great. She impacted Rhine's world in such a short time. I loved the relationship that develops between the two. And the irony. 
• Rhine. First I love her name. Second I had some issues with her wavering feelings but I loved her nonetheless. She is sort of butt-kicking material with bravery to boot. I loved her love (?) for her brother. She would do anything to get to him, that is true family. 
• Linden. He isn't bad just ignorant. He is basically a sweetheart. Never pushing and always asking what they need. 
• Cicely. Young. Too young. She makes some mistakes but redeems herself, otherwise I would have put her on the list below.
• Rowan. You only get little memories of him but I like him. He was like the hope, the light that she needed to get herself out of the cage.

Epic Fails:

• First you need to know I LOVED this book but one of the issues I had was I COULD put it down. It took me a while to get through it because either 1) I was in a reading funk or 2) The book had pauses. 
• I love books that leave you with a cliff-hanger. They make me excited for the next one. This book didn't have the cliff-hanger or the HUGE twist in the end that you don't see coming. NOW please keep this in mind: I took a lot of breaks and I took one near the end so the BIG TWIST might have happened before I put it down. In that case the book has wonderful twists! 

Overall:


You should know I was really confused about this book. I also think you should know its a great book. I hope it comes across as me liking it because when I read it I was in weird reading mood.  I can't wait to read the next book!


just sayin,
-Kare