My review of Wither

11/03/12 - Wither (The Chemical Garden Trilogy #1) by Lauren DeStefano - Released 22nd March 2011

An extraordinary adventure of a girl longs for freedom.

At age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years to live. Thanks to a botched effort to create a perfect race, all females live to be twenty, and males live to age twenty-five. While geneticists seek a miracle antidote, orphans roam the streets and polygamy abounds.

After Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she is desperate to escape from her husband's strange world, which includes a sinister father-in-law in search of the antidote and a slew of sister wives who are not to be trusted. On the cusp of her seventeenth birthday, Rhine attempts to flee--but what she finds is a society spiralling into anarchy.

Wither has been on my TBR list for almost a year now and I was ecstatic to finally start reading it. It wasn't exactly what I expected, it came as quite a shock when I read the first few chapters and found out that the main character lived in such a horrible world. I fell head over heals for the idea of the whole men die at 25 and women die at 20. Wither is an addictive dystopian novel that is quite similar to the film 'In Time'.

I found the characters enjoyable and very interesting to read about. I loved reading about Rhine's past and about her twin brother, Rowan. Rhine was kidnapped and taken to be married to Governor Linden, a rich man in need of wives on his arm. Through out the book, Rhine thought a lot about Rowan. They're really close and she obviously loves him a lot. I really wanted to meet Rowan in this book because of the way he was described; strong, protective, fun (at times).

Sadly, Rhine was too busy locked up in Linden's mansion. She had company though; Linden's other wives, Jenna and Cecily. At first, I didn't like them very much, but as I read more about them they became unique. I also loved reading about Gabriel. I would've liked some more description about the way he looked when him and Rhine first met. I didn't feel that knowing his hair and eye colour was enough. But, he was very interesting and incredibly charming!

The ending has left me wondering about Rhine's future. Will she ever get back to her brother? I need to know! I also need more Gabriel. Luckily, Fever, the sequel, is already released! It has some really great reviews and I...just really want to get it! Those who have read Wither will know that the ending is sweet and very touching. Definitely a great ending! Not much of cliffhanger....okay, maybe it is, but it isn't a DUM DUM DUM ending.

Overall, Wither is a book that will have you biting your nails and furiously flipping pages. A book that you won't forget in a long time.

I rate this book: