Good evening my literary comrades! It's time for another review. Tonight's book is Wither by Lauren DeStephano, book 1 in The Chemical Garden Trilogy. I can not wait to get started to get those reading glasses on, get in your comfortable chair and lets away!
The story of Wither is another Dystopian novel. It takes place in a future where all children born have essentially become genetic time bombs. All males now die at 25 and females at 20. Humanity is now dying out and the scientists left are struggling to find a cure. Meanwhile girls are kidnapped, and forced to marry into polygamous marriages in order to have numerous kids. These kids will potentially help save the human race. The novel is about a 16 year old girl named Rhine Ellery who is kidnapped and forced to marry Linden Ashby, a wealthy young man with a sinister father. She tries to escape and reunite with her twin brother, but finds the unexpected in her new home.
I LOVED the story. It was a great page turner. It's a hype book (a book very hyped up before it's release) that is fantastic, that doesn't always happen. I found myself wanting to stay with the book and not return to real life. I was very attached to the characters and was pulled in. I love how they treated Polygamy. In real life, it is a frowned upon practice that most who do practice do so in secret. In Wither it is treated as a normal thing that is necessary in order to try and prolong the human race. There were moments when I said out loud "NO! What just happened??" I kept wanting to know what was happening. That is the best thing one could ask of a book.
As for characters, I LOVED Rhine. She was a brilliant protagonist and I loved her determination to succeed at her goals, but also loved her slow dilemma. Her slowly being torn between what she wanted and what she didn't expect to want was very engrossing. I only wanted the best for her and kept rooting for her with every page I read. Gabriel was another great character I loved. I thought he was interesting. Jenna had a great arc, and the end of it, I will only say made me really sad. Cecily was interesting and her growth and development was interesting to watch. Vaughn was positively sinister. A perfect villain for this novel.
With hype books, you never know if they will actually live up to the praise or if the book will be a spectacular failure, especially with a debut novel from a new author. I absolutely adored Lauren DeStephano's writing style and the way she set up the dystopia of her world. The banter between the characters was that perfect mix of funny, sweet, at times scary, etc.
I can say without a doubt that Wither is one of the best books I've read this year. I am beyond eagerly anticipating the next book in the trilogy. Until then I can re-read this electrifying first installment with vigor. I highly recommend this one to anyone who loves dystopia with added romance and a good scary villain.
Until next time my comrades.
Viva la literature!
Next review: Bumped by Megan McCafferty.
No comments:
Post a Comment