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Lauren DeStefano

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Wither (Chemical Garden) Paperback – January 1, 2011

by Lauren DeStefano (Author)

4.3 1,295 ratings

Book 1 of 3: The Chemical Garden Trilogy

Goodreads Choice Award nominee

See all formats and editions

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What if you knew exactly when you’d die? The first book of The Chemical Garden Trilogy.

By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males born with a lifespan of 25 years, and females a lifespan of 20 years—leaving the world in a state of panic. Geneticists seek 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 sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Yet 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 has no way to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive.

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?

Book 1 of 3

The Chemical Garden Trilogy
Print length

384 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Publication date

January 1, 2011
Grade level

9 and up
Reading age

14 years and up
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.9 x 8.25 inches
ISBN-10

9781442409064
ISBN-13

978-1442409064
Lexile measure

HL800L
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Editorial Reviews

Review

""Wither" is an exceptional novel that begins with a bang and doesn't let you go--it's gut-wrenching, shocking, incredible, and completely and utterly absorbing all at once.... DeStefano is a fearless writer, and though it is firmly its own book, "Wither" will remind readers of Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale"."

--TheCompulsiveReader.com

"[Rhine] proves herself to be a heroine who faces her situation with spirit and cleverness. The trapped bride and mysterious husband are straight out of Gothic romances. By stirring in elements of sheer creepiness with dystopia and the hot topic of polygamy, DeStefano creates a story that should have broad appeal."

--"School Library Journal"

"Creepy and elegant, shocking and romantic, dreadful and rewarding, and delivers unexpected twists. It'll leave you longing for book two."

--Lisa McMann, New York Times bestselling author of the WAKE trilogy and CRYER'S CROSS

"I really enjoyed Wither, I just couldn't put it down! Rhine is such an amazing main character. She is strong, passionate and determined.... Wither is nothing short of breathtaking. "

--sparkling-reviews.blogspot.com

"Lauren DeStefano crafts an all too believable future. I loved the world, the romance, the writing -- exactly the kind of book I've been craving to read."

--Carrie Ryan, New York Times bestselling author of THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH

"This absorbing page-turner may remind some readers of Suzanne Collins' "Hunger Games" with its fearless heroine, sinister villain, bleak landscape and poignant romance. "Wither" is less violent but is in many ways even more terrifying as DeStefano proves herself a master of plot, setting, character and psychological suspense." --"The Buffalo News"

"This beautifully-written debut fantasy, with its intriguing world-building, well-developed characters and intricate plot involving flashbacks as well as edge-of-the-seat suspense, will keep teens riveted to the plight of Rhine and her sister wives. The compelling cover will draw them in and the cliffhanger ending will leave them eagerly awaiting volumes two and three of "The Chemical Garden Trilogy". This thought-provoking novel will also stimulate discussion in science and ethics classes."--VOYA

[A] thought-provoking debut, reminiscent of The Handmaid's Tale with a touch of Big Love . . . Rhine's fight for freedom against the clock--and the dissecting table--will leave readers eager for the sequel. Give this one to fans of The Hunger Games trilogy or Ally Condie's Matched (2010). - "KIRKUS, "February 1, 2011

A "harrowing debut . . . DeStefano has an observant and occasionally pitiless eye, chronicling the cruelties, mercies, and inconsistencies of her young characters. . . . It will be intriguing to see how DeStefano develops [the larger world] as this promising trilogy progresses."

- *PW STARRED review, January 10, 2010

About the Author

Lauren DeStefano is the author of The Internment Chronicles and the New York Times bestselling Chemical Garden trilogy, which includes Wither, Fever, and Sever. She earned her BA in English with a concentration in creative writing from Albertus Magnus College in Connecticut. Visit her at LaurenDeStefano.com.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

I wait. They keep us in the dark for so long that

we lose sense of our eyelids. We sleep huddled together

like rats, staring out, and dream of our bodies swaying.

I know when one of the girls reaches a wall. She begins

to pound and scream—there’s metal in the sound—but

none of us help her. We’ve gone too long without speaking,

and all we do is bury ourselves more into the dark.

The doors open.

The light is frightening. It’s the light of the world

through the birth canal, and at once the blinding tunnel

that comes with death. I recoil into the blankets with the

other girls in horror, not wanting to begin or end.

We stumble when they let us out; we’ve forgotten how

to use our legs. How long has it been—days? Hours?

The big open sky waits in its usual place.

I stand in line with the other girls, and men in gray

coats study us.

I’ve heard of this happening. Where I come from,

girls have been disappearing for a long time. They disappear

from their beds or from the side of the road. It happened

to a girl in my neighborhood. Her whole family

disappeared after that, moved away, either to find her or

because they knew she would never be returned.

Now it’s my turn. I know girls disappear, but any

number of things could come after that. Will I become

a murdered reject? Sold into prostitution? These things

have happened. There’s only one other option. I could

become a bride. I’ve seen them on television, reluctant

yet beautiful teenage brides, on the arm of a wealthy man

who is approaching the lethal age of twenty-five.

The other girls never make it to the television screen.

Girls who don’t pass their inspection are shipped to a

brothel in the scarlet districts. Some we have found

murdered on the sides of roads, rotting, staring into the

searing sun because the Gatherers couldn’t be bothered

to deal with them. Some girls disappear forever, and all

their families can do is wonder.

The girls are taken as young as thirteen, when their

bodies are mature enough to bear children, and the virus

claims every female of our generation by twenty.

Our hips are measured to determine strength, our

lips pried apart so the men can judge our health by our

teeth. One of the girls vomits. She may be the girl who

screamed. She wipes her mouth, trembling, terrified. I

stand firm, determined to be anonymous, unhelpful.

I feel too alive in this row of moribund girls with their

eyes half open. I sense that their hearts are barely beating,

while mine pounds in my chest. After so much time

spent riding in the darkness of the truck, we have all

fused together. We are one nameless thing sharing this

strange hell. I do not want to stand out. I do not want

to stand out.

But it doesn’t matter. Someone has noticed me. A

man paces before the line of us. He allows us to be prodded

by the men in gray coats who examine us. He seems

thoughtful and pleased.

His eyes green, like two exclamation marks, meet

mine. He smiles. There’s a flash of gold in his teeth, indicating

wealth. This is unusual, because he’s too young to

be losing his teeth. He keeps walking, and I stare at my

shoes. Stupid! I should never have looked up. The strange

color of my eyes is the first thing anyone ever notices.

He says something to the men in gray coats. They

look at all of us, and then they seem to be in agreement.

The man with gold teeth smiles in my direction again,

and then he’s taken to another car that shoots up bits of

gravel as it backs onto the road and drives away.

The vomit girl is taken back to the truck, and a dozen

other girls with her; a man in a gray coat follows them

in. There are three of us left, the gap of the other girls

still between us. The men speak to one another again,

and then to us. “Go,” they say, and we oblige. There’s

nowhere to go but the back of an open limousine parked

on the gravel. We’re off the road somewhere, not far

from the highway. I can hear the distant sounds of traffic.

I can see the evening city lights beginning to appear in

the distant purple haze. It’s nowhere I recognize; a road

this desolate is far from the crowded streets back home.

Go. The two other chosen girls move before me, and

I’m the last to get into the limousine. There’s a tinted

glass window that separates us from the driver. Just

before someone shuts the door, I hear something inside

the van where the remaining girls were herded.

It’s the first of what I know will be a dozen more gunshots.

I awake in a satin bed, nauseous and pulsating with sweat.

My first conscious movement is to push myself to the

edge of the mattress, where I lean over and vomit onto

the lush red carpet. I’m still spitting and gagging when

someone begins cleaning up the mess with a dishrag.

“Everyone handles the sleep gas differently,” he says

softly.

“Sleep gas?” I splutter, and before I can wipe my

mouth on my lacy white sleeve, he hands me a cloth napkin—

also lush red.

“It comes out through the vents in the limo,” he says.

“It’s so you won’t know where you’re going.”

I remember the glass window separating us from the

front of the car. Air tight, I assume. Vaguely I remember

the whooshing of air coming through vents in the walls.

“One of the other girls,” the boy says, as he sprays

white foam onto the spot where I vomited, “she almost

threw herself out the bedroom window, she was so disoriented.

The window’s locked, of course. Shatterproof.”

Despite the awful things he’s saying, his voice is low, possibly

even sympathetic.

I look over my shoulder at the window. Closed tight.

The world is bright green and blue beyond it, brighter

than my home, where there’s only dirt and the remnants

of my mother’s garden that I’ve failed to revive.

Somewhere down the hall a woman screams. The boy

tenses for a moment. Then he resumes scrubbing away

the foam.

“I can help,” I offer. A moment ago I didn’t feel guilty

about ruining anything in this place; I know I’m here

against my will. But I also know this boy isn’t to blame.

He can’t be one of the Gatherers in gray who brought

me here—he’s too young, possibly my age. Maybe he

was also brought here against his will. I haven’t heard

of teenage boys disappearing, but up until fifty years

ago, when the virus was discovered, girls were also safe.

Everyone was safe.

“No need. It’s all done,” he says. And when he moves

the rag away, there’s not so much as a stain. He pulls a

handle out of the wall, and a chute opens; he tosses the

rags into it, lets go, and the chute clamps shut. He tucks

the can of white foam into his apron pocket and returns

to what he was doing. He picks up a silver tray from

where he’d placed it on the floor, and brings it to my

night table. “If you’re feeling better, there’s some lunch

for you. Nothing that will make you fall asleep again, I

promise.” He looks like he might smile. Just almost. But

he maintains a concentrated gaze as he lifts a metal lid off

a bowl of soup and another off a small plate of steaming

vegetables and mashed potatoes cradling a lake of gravy.

I’ve been stolen, drugged, locked away in this place, yet

I’m being served a gourmet meal. The sentiment is so

vile I could almost throw up again.

“That other girl—the one who tried to throw herself

out the window—what happened to her?” I ask. I don’t

dare ask about the woman screaming down the hall. I

don’t want to know about her.

“She’s calmed down some.”

“And the other girl?”

“She woke up this morning. I think the House Governor

took her to tour the gardens.”

House Governor. I remember my despair and crash

against the pillows. House Governors own mansions.

They purchase brides from Gatherers, who patrol the

streets looking for ideal candidates to kidnap. The merciful

ones will sell the rejects into prostitution, but the

ones I encountered herded them into the van and shot

them all. I heard that first gunshot over and over in my

medicated dreams.

“How long have I been here?” I say.

“Two days,” the boy says. He hands me a steaming

cup, and I’m about to refuse it when I see the tea bag

string dangling over the side, smell the spices. Tea. My

brother, Rowan, and I had it with our breakfast each

morning, and with dinner each night. The smell is like

home. My mother would hum as she waited by the stove

for the water to boil.

Blearily I sit up and take the tea. I hold it near my face

and breathe the steam in through my nose. It’s all I can

do not to burst into tears. The boy must sense that the

full impact of what has happened is reaching me. He must

sense that I’m on the verge of doing something dramatic

like crying or trying to fling myself out the window like

that other girl, because he’s already moving for the door.

Quietly, without looking back, he leaves me to my grief.

But instead of tears, when I press my face against the

pillow, a horrible, primal scream comes out of me. It’s

unlike anything I thought myself capable of. Rage, unlike

anything I’ve ever known.

Product details

ASIN ‏ : ‎ 1442409061
Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; Reprint edition (January 1, 2011)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 384 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 9781442409064
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1442409064
Reading age ‏ : ‎ 14 years and up
Lexile measure ‏ : ‎ HL800L
Grade level ‏ : ‎ 9 and up
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 11.3 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.9 x 8.25 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #717,270 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #617 in Teen & Young Adult Fiction about Death & Dying
- #798 in Teen & Young Adult Fiction on Dating & Sex (Books)
- #1,787 in Teen & Young Adult Dystopian

Customer Reviews:
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Lauren DeStefano

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Lauren Destefano earned her BA in English with a Concentration in Creative Writing from Albertus Magnus College in Connecticut in 2007. This is her first novel.

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OpheliasOwn

Fabulous Start to the Series

Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2013

Verified Purchase

The cover and design of this book is so unique and so striking you simply can't ignore it. I was so enamored with the design on the cover pages and throughout the book I just thumbed through it for a while before reading it! When I finally did start reading, I realized it was actually as good of a book as it looked. Lauren DeStefano's breakout dystopia Wither is the start of the Chemical Garden Trilogy, and you won't want to stop reading once you hit that last page!

Modern science has cured all those horrible illnesses and defects that affect children. Unfortunately, it only worked for one generation. The generations that follow find themselves with a severely shortened life span before dying an agonizing death. Women live to be 20 and men to 25, and so far there has been no progress in reversing the process. This has caused many first generation people to accept babies as donations for medical experiments to find a cure. More wealthy people have started collecting wives (and usually kidnapping and buying them) in order to have as many babies as possible. This situation has created a world of orphans where young girls are kidnapped and forced to bear children they will never get to raise.

Rhine Ellery and her brother are barely scraping by, but they still do better than most kids their age. They have some food and are able to work enough to stay safe- until Rhine answers an add for work and finds herself in the back of a van with a large group of girls. She has seen other girls in her neighborhood disappear into the hands of the Gatherers, but she never thought it could happen to her. She is tossed from the van where a man makes his decision to keep three of the girls, including Rhine. Once the man leaves, the other girls are put back in the van and disposed of. The three who were chosen and spared are taken to a magnificent estate, but they have no idea where they are. They are brought to a secure wing where they have bedrooms, a sitting room, and a library. This is where Rhine and her sister wives, Jenna and Cecily, are expected to spend the rest of their days, pregnant with Master Linden's babies.

Rhine is 16, Jenna is 18, and Cecily is only 14. Cecily is the only one who is interested in being Linden's wife, as the life in the estate is better than what she experienced in the orphanage. Young and enthusiastic, she vies for Linden's attention. Jenna is the oldest, and while she despises Linden and everything he stands for (he sister was in the van of girls not chosen), she chooses to accept her fate with unwilling concession. Rhine is the only sister wife who wants to escape. She worries about her brother desperately and beings to grow attached to the young man, Gabriel, who delivers food and answers to the wives on the floor. Her feelings for Gabriel are forbidden, but she can't help but care about him.

Her biggest struggle is that she doesn't actually hate Linden. He turns out to just be a clueless, heartbroken boy, much like his new wives. Just after the wives arrive, Linden's previous wife and only true love, Rose, died in the wives wing. He has never really recovered, and only took the new wives at the urging of his father, the evil Vaughn. Vaughn has given his life over to finding the cure that will save his son, but his methods are far less than ethical. He is a horrible, vile man who is afraid to stop at nothing to help his son and find a cure, even if that means sacrificing the lives of the wives. When Vaughn finds out about Rhine's attachment to Gabriel, he takes Gabriel away. Now Rhine must find the boy she truly cares about and find a way out of the estate. But how can she do that when the estate seems like a fortress with no entrance or exit?

I loved so much about this book, it is hard to pick anything specific. The characters were dynamic and had to be peeled away layer by layer like an onion. The characters you thought you would hate turned out to be sad and broken. The ones you thought you would like were flawed. The story takes turns that you would never expect, and the mast villain, Vaughn, is so beyond evil they would have to make a new classification for him right next to Josef Mengele and President Snow of Panem from The Hunger Games. He gives me the creeps just thinking about him. The beauty of this book lies in the fantastic story telling and the haunting but beautifully written prose. This was a difficult topic to broach- forced marriages and kidnapping- but DeStefano accomplished her goal with ease.

The language is moderate, but this might be a book left for mature 9-12 grades. It has tons of discussion opportunities and can make for a great book to read with your child or student. I am thrilled by DeStefano's breakout novel and can't wait for the next book in the trilogy. We are in a stage of the YA world where young people are contributing as much as seasoned authors, and so far, the experience has been amazing! I can't wait to see what they throw out next!

2 people found this helpful

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Christina

Poetic & Sticks with You

Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2013

Verified Purchase

So sometimes Amazon sends me books ahead of their release date. I'm not sure exactly why that happens, but I'm glad it did. Er, well sort of. I was supposed to study for my organic chemistry test.... (You can see how well that's gone.) But anyways, damage's done. At least it was for a good book.

Ten Likes/Dislikes:

1. (+) The Cover - This cover is so gorgeous that I have to comment on it first. I didn't realize that within each of the circles, the cover got darker as if someone had applied a Soft Light Layer in Photoshop. The effect is stunning though and draws attention to the most important parts -- her eyes (though they're closed), her ring, the parakeet in the cage, and on the back cover, the hourglass. So incredibly symbolic. The color scheme is also out of this world; when I flipped to the front book flap, this aged green to purple gradient and the lily there stunned me... So much win in this cover. Definitely my favorite of 2011.

2. (+) Writing & Inability to Stop Reading - I stayed up all night reading this book instead of studying. Does that even begin to tell you how wonderful it is? DeStefano's writing is a masterpiece with prose and plot/character development, handling even the most delicate of issues with great care. Definitely looking out her and not only for the rest of the series.

3. (--) The Pace - Yet, it also moved a bit too slow for me. It's fitting that Carrie Ryan has a book blurb on the back; her writing is just as beautiful as Ryan's though it's also not too packed with action.

4. (+) Protagonist - Rhine is an amazing protagonist.. If I was in her situation, I probably wouldn't have been able to keep my emotions at bay and be as strong as she is. She takes care of everyone.

5. (+) Other Characters - DeStefano didn't introduce a ton of characters. Why is this so awesome? Because it meant that she fully fleshed out all the other characters and made them realistic. Cecily, Jenna, Rose, Deirdre, Gabriel (though I do wish we had known more about him.)... Even Rowan, who we don't directly meet (though I definitely wanted to meet him. I guess I'll have to wait for the sequel :D).

6. (+) The Villains - (An offshoot of #5) --- she made me sympathize with the "villains." I felt bad for Linden even though, in his ignorance, he too made some despicable choices. And even creepy Housemaster Vaughn -- his determination to find an antidote because of his son makes him more human. (Though of course you shouldn't be fooled by his kind words... Beneath lies the snake.) In the end, that's the key; what does it really mean to be a human in this story?

7. (+) Questions Raised by the Novel - An offshoot of that last sentence -- I loved the questions on humanity. Should we let the humans die or should we try to save this dying race? This issue brings an interesting perspective to the story.

8. (+) The Protagonist's Past - This goes along with 4, but I loved her character not just because of the way she held herself but because of her past. DeStefano skillfully weaves in little details as you go along and keeps the larger reveal towards the end. It reminded me of Fire by Kristin Cashore. I really wouldn't be surprised if DeStefano wins awards for this novel.

9. (+) Story Feels Complete - Even though this book has a sequel, DeStefano didn't write the climax at the end and leave you thirsting for more because of an unsatisfying cliff hanger and unresolved tension. Yes, there are still unresolved issues, but because the story develops gradually, the book feels complete. The cliff hanger at the end even becomes appropriate. Well done.

10. (+/-) The Story Idea - I was intrigued by her world-building but I also had questions... like if they were going to die soon, why get married? They mentioned the idea of other men having seven wives, one for each day. Why wives? What's so special about matrimony? I mean the wives are essentially sex slaves and baby makers, but I don't think DeStefano explained the importance of matrimony. Does matrimony offer some benefit to the man? Even more control over the women or what? Plus, if the new generations kept dying off and matrimony is important, why aren't there more people flocking to their religions? (Matrimony shows that they still believe, right? Especially since it is a religious wedding--the priest has them say the vows, not a judge.) I'd imagine that with an apocalyptic thing like that, people would need faith. Or is the idea of faith not introduced because of Rhine's hard upbringing? And though I love the name, I'm a little confused-- why is the series called The Chemical Garden Trilogy?

Lauren DeStefano has an incredible talent for poetic story telling, so I will definitely be checking into her future work!

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Amazon Customer

Amazing book!

Reviewed in Canada on June 16, 2020

Verified Purchase

I LOVED this book and ordered the next 2 immediately after finishing the first one in 2 days! My friend told me about it and i ordered it and i was not disappointed at all. It is a real page turner, and I could not put it down! I suggest this book if you like romance, plot twists, suspense, etc. I have very high expectations for the next 2 books!

One person found this helpful

Pageturner 20

Great beginning of a series

Reviewed in Germany on October 3, 2017

Verified Purchase

Note: I wrote this review a while back (three years) when I first read the book.

I picked this book up because I saw a couple of reviews raving about the series and I decided that I had to check it out for myself.

I quite liked this book. I turned 20 in April and the idea that my life would be over in this book because of a virus is really kind of creepy. It's gone before you have a chance to live it! The Virus, which means that men die when they turn 25 and women when they are 20, has turned society into anarchy. Girls are snatched from the streets to be sold as brides to rich men (who normally have more than one bride) to create more children, there are many orphans and crime is at a high rate.

Rhine was one of the girls who was snatched and sold to Linden with two other sister wives, Cecily and Jenna. Her eyes are the only thing that saved her because they are two different colours (Heterechromia in the book). I liked her as a character. She was bold and quite strong considering her position. I felt like I could connect with her in some aspects of her life, but I couldn't connect with her in others. I don't feel like there was enough connection and contact between her and Gabriel to actually ship their affair. Despite the fact that Linden is clueless about the fact that he bought the snatched girls, I actually really liked him and thought that he was really sweet to her.

Linden is the clueless son of a crazy doctor. He has no idea that the girls were snatched and sold to him, he thinks they were trained and that they came willingly to him. I hate ignorance in characters and stupidity, but at the same time, I can see why he is the way that he is because his father leaves him clueless or misleads him into believing things that aren't true. I found that Linden was a fairly weak character and was a little bit of a cry baby. However, as a whole, I liked him as a character.

Housemaster Vaughn is Linden's weird dad who is trying to find a cure for the virus. He is a first generation of people who live longer, the second and further generations are those who have the virus. I am not going to lie - He creeps me out. Literally. His whole manner and attitude toward people and the things he does behind the backs of the other characters is creepy and strange and mean. He is literally a crazy doctor. He is trying to find an antidote to save his son, so you can kind of understand why he is so desperate. But this doesn't completely excuse his actions.

I liked the way in which this book was written and I am looking forward to reading the next book.

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Ana Sofia Sala

Not the best

Reviewed in Italy on February 3, 2015

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Cute, but not the best.
I am in dystopian trilogies, but this is not one of my favorites.
Nice if you don't have anything else to read

Sandra Richardson

Brilliant dystopian/futuristic book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 23, 2012

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MY REVIEW
I purchased the hardcopy of Wither from The Works for a great price of £2.99, so a bargain price for a hardback.
The cover doesn't make much sense to me prior to reading the book. It features a girl in a very expensive looking dress. Upon reading the book you can imagine the character on the front being Rhine or even Jenna.
So this book is set in futuristic/dystopian setting. People are either very old known as "first generations" or under 20 for females and 25 for males. A virus kills females as they reach 20 years old and males when they are twenty five. So pro-creating is a prominent urgency for the reach who literally buy themselves a bride, or a few brides. People exist called Gatherers, they snatch girls from anywhere and everywhere, they are then paraded in front of the rich male, who will pick who and how many he wants.
Rhine has been captured by the Gatherers and finds herself bought and taken to Linden Ashby's mansion, where his first wife is dying of the virus. Linden chooses three girls, Rhine, Cecily who is younger than Rhine and has beautiful red hair and is very young and eager to please in any and every way. Jenna is the third girl, she was grabbed with her sisters. Her sisters are disposed of and that is something that Jenna can never forgive or forget. Jenna only gives in to what she has to when she absolutely has to.
It's a strange set up that they are living in. The first wife is dying and yet her replacements are just living down the hallway.
Rhine has only one thought on her mind.."escape" she is always looking always ready for the opportunity. Rhine desperately want to get back to her twin brother Rowan.
I really did enjoy reading this book, you really get an insight into each of the girls characters and their feelings towards the ailing first wife, each other, Linden and of course Linden's sinister, and dangerous father Vaughn.
Rhine befriends one of the "servant" Gabriel and they start planning an escape then suddenly Gabriel isn't around any more. Rhine has to work out a way to get to Gabriel to see if he is ok and finds out someone has been telling Vaughn about their friendship, so now Gabriel is in danger too. Who has told Vaughn of their friendship? Will they ever escape? Can they escape together? Where can they go? What will happen if they are caught?
Vaughn is supposed to be working on a cure for the virus...but he has been working on it for years and is unable to save the first wife. He is a very sinister, shady character who can be quite cruel and heartless even towards his own son. So does Linden know all of what his father is up to? Well you would say surely yes because they live under the same roof, Vaughn even has a lab in the house basement.
Well I have tried to give you a "feel" of the book, without giving away spoilers and I truly hope it encourages you to go out and buy it!
So did I enjoy the book? Yes. Would I recommend the book? To all dystopian fans this has to be a must read. Would I read bk#2? Yes please! Would I read more by Lauren DeStefano? Definitely would take a look at anything else wrote by her.

Jordan

"Une lecture palpitante et émouvante, qui nous laisse déguster le vrai goût des rêves et de l'existence."

Reviewed in France on April 2, 2011

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Ouaw. Qu'est-ce qui vient de se passer ?! Je viens de clore le roman Wither, et je crois qu'il va me falloir un petit moment avant de quitter son univers... Il est addictif, saisissant... Je ne sais plus trop quoi dire, sauf que faire mon avis sur ce livre va être compliqué je pense !
Wither... Depuis combien de temps je vous en parle ? Que ce soit sur Facebook ou sur le blog, je pense que les personnes qui me suivent n'ont pas pu y échapper. Depuis plusieurs mois déjà, je ne cachais pas mon désir de lire ce livre. Maintenant que c'est chose faite, je regrette de l'avoir terminé si vite. J'aurai dû m'en douter.
Et vous savez pourquoi je suis dans tout mes états là, maintenant ? Parce que Wither est spécial. C'est un roman dystopique, d'accord, mais il ouvre une nouvelle porte à ce genre littéraire. D'habitude, mes lectures ne me mènent pas dans un monde si nouveau, si puissant et si surprenant. Vous voulez sûrement savoir de quel genre d'univers je parle...
L'histoire se passe dans un monde où une maladie tue les femmes à vingt ans, et les hommes à vingt-cinq. Durant cette vie de courte durée, les femmes sont enlevées pour être forcées à des mariages polygames, à la prostitution, ou tout simplement tuées. Ces trois actions n'ont pour objectif que deux choses : permettre à l'humanité de ne pas s'éteindre ( comme les femmes tombent enceintes avec ou sans leur consentement ) et permettre de trouver des corps dans lesquels on tentera d'injecter un antidote pour éviter aux humains de disparaître totalement de la surface de la Terre.
C'est dans cet univers noir et terriblement choquant qu'on suit Rhine, une adolescente de seize qui va être enlevée et conduite dans un manoir magnifique, grand, plein de richesses. Mais comme tout dans le roman, cela n'est qu'une illusion. Rhine va être contrainte à se marier à Linden, un homme qui n'a plus que cinq ans à vivre et dont la première femme est mourante. Elle va découvrir que deux autres filles vont devenir ses "sœurs de mari". Jenna et Cecily. Elles sont respectivement âgées de dix-neuf et de ( seulement ! ) treize ans.
Au fur et à mesure de l'histoire, on va apprendre à connaître ces personnages, et à se lier à Rhine. C'est une héroïne attachante et touchante. On comprend ses sentiments et on n'hésite pas une seconde à se ranger à ses côtés.
Bien sûr, cette dernière va vite se rendre-compte du mensonge qui l'entoure, que tout n'est que tromperie et
imposture. A cause de cette révélation et surtout du fait que Rowan, le frère jumeau de Rhine qui n'est pas au courant que sa sœur a été enlevée, lui manque atrocement, Rhine va tout faire pour s'enfuir. Mais avant qu'elle ne trouve un moyen de s'échapper, elle va apprendre à vivre dans cette nouvelle et immense maison.
Durant des mois, Rhine va profiter des jardins à couper le souffle, des chambres aménagées spécialement pour elles trois, et des serviteurs qui leur sont offerts. D'ailleurs, un des élément clé de l'histoire est caché dans cette catégorie : Gabriel. C'est la personne qui va tout faire basculer. Aussi bien Rhine que nous.
Je ne vais pas vous en dire plus sur l'histoire, car elle est trop belle pour être racontée et spoilée. Elle est belle, fascinante... Je pense qu'on ne ressort pas indemne de cette lecture. Les mots parfaits pour la qualifier serait sûrement qu'elle est... Magnifiquement gênante. Gênante... Ce mot résume tout. Elle a beau être superbement écrite, on a beau comprendre tous les personnages, l'intrigue n'en reste pas moins désagréable, mais au sens difficile à lire tant on a de la peine pour les personnes que l'on suit.
Alors oui, je ne peux que vous conseiller Wither. Les pages que recèle le roman sont aussi splendides que l'image de la couverture. Chaque ligne est à délecter, à apprécier jusqu'au bout tant chaque mot sonne comme une parcelle d'espoir, de lumière dans un océan de noirceur.
Une lecture palpitante et émouvante, qui nous laisse déguster le vrai goût des rêves et de l'existence.

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