- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Harper Voyager (4 Aug 2011)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0007425473
- ISBN-13: 978-0007425471
- Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.2 x 2.8 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 138,863 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Wither: Book One of the Chemical Garden (Chemical Garden 1)
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Product Description
Review
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.’
– Publisher’s Weekly starred review
‘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
‘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
Product Description
A Handmaid’s Tale for a new generation…
Sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery has only four years left to live when she is kidnapped by the Gatherers and forced into a polygamous marriage. Now she has one purpose: to escape, find her twin brother, and go home – before her time runs out forever.
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 she trusts, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
To be honest when I read the book blurb I wasn't blown away, I expected a wishy-washy tale that was part Logan's Run, part Teen angst. What unfurled however was so much better than the blurb led me to believe.
The writing was crisp, the prose outstanding and when added to well-rounded characters (those you'll love and those you'll hate) it really made the whole tale sing. It's cleverly written, the script wonderfully woven and when backed with a unique perspective it really made this a book to remember.
Finally add to this a lead character that the Teen market will be able to associate with as well as adults; it makes this a book that you really can't put down. Great stuff and I'll definitely be glued for other titles in this series.
The writing was crisp, the prose outstanding and when added to well-rounded characters (those you'll love and those you'll hate) it really made the whole tale sing. It's cleverly written, the script wonderfully woven and when backed with a unique perspective it really made this a book to remember.
Finally add to this a lead character that the Teen market will be able to associate with as well as adults; it makes this a book that you really can't put down. Great stuff and I'll definitely be glued for other titles in this series.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Wither is set in the not so distant future where the lifespan of humans stops at 20 for females and 25 for males (why the age is so precise is not explained but we'll let that go). Genetic experimentation to create the perfect race has resulted in a lethal genetic disease and as a result most of the world has descended into chaos. Girls are being abducted from the streets and forced to breed. One such abductee is Rhine Ellery and this is her story.
Rhine is kidnapped and forced into a polygamous marriage with the wealthy but insipid and weak in every sense of the word Linden (I really hope young readers won't think he's the romantic hero of the tale; he's nothing of the sort). Under the watchful eye of Linden's villainous father Vaughn, Rhine and her sister wives Cecily, an excitable, bratty 13 year old and 17 year old wary and world-wise Jenna, find themselves trapped in a huge mansion and kept away from the outside world.
The gorgeous cover along with the evocative title are what initially drew me to this book and the blurb also sounded promising. I found the novel a little too simplistic and while I enjoyed reading the book I'm not sure if I'll pick up the second part of the trilogy when it is released next year. More than likely it's my advanced age (late twenties, how horrible!) that prevented me from truly loving this story.
I had many questions as I read Wither. Why doesn't Rhine tell Linden exactly what his father is up to? Why were the girls who weren't chosen to be wives shot and killed if life is so valuable and they need women to increase the population? Why is America the only place left standing in a world decimated by war? Why would teenage girls, and boys barely out of their teens care about having children and keeping the human race going, particularly when they won't live to see their children grow beyond infancy?
Wither reminds me of the dark, gothic fiction of Virginia Andrews. I was reminded of Heaven trapped in the mansion in Dark Angel and the kids from Flowers in the Attic who were locked up for years. These characters were likewise forced to confront their sexuality too early. Despite all these questions I have, I flew through Wither which I have to say is written beautifully.
Rhine is kidnapped and forced into a polygamous marriage with the wealthy but insipid and weak in every sense of the word Linden (I really hope young readers won't think he's the romantic hero of the tale; he's nothing of the sort). Under the watchful eye of Linden's villainous father Vaughn, Rhine and her sister wives Cecily, an excitable, bratty 13 year old and 17 year old wary and world-wise Jenna, find themselves trapped in a huge mansion and kept away from the outside world.
The gorgeous cover along with the evocative title are what initially drew me to this book and the blurb also sounded promising. I found the novel a little too simplistic and while I enjoyed reading the book I'm not sure if I'll pick up the second part of the trilogy when it is released next year. More than likely it's my advanced age (late twenties, how horrible!) that prevented me from truly loving this story.
I had many questions as I read Wither. Why doesn't Rhine tell Linden exactly what his father is up to? Why were the girls who weren't chosen to be wives shot and killed if life is so valuable and they need women to increase the population? Why is America the only place left standing in a world decimated by war? Why would teenage girls, and boys barely out of their teens care about having children and keeping the human race going, particularly when they won't live to see their children grow beyond infancy?
Wither reminds me of the dark, gothic fiction of Virginia Andrews. I was reminded of Heaven trapped in the mansion in Dark Angel and the kids from Flowers in the Attic who were locked up for years. These characters were likewise forced to confront their sexuality too early. Despite all these questions I have, I flew through Wither which I have to say is written beautifully.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Well this was different, loved the interesting story line! Very crisp & to the point writing & either love them or hate them characters! The main character is a very mature 16 year old Rhine Ellery and I just loved her! I got so wrapped up in the world that the end of the book came very quickly!Some parts are very strange to say the least but I think added to the appeal of the book! An interesting an easy read & I am looking forward to reading the next instalment FEVER out 2012! :)
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Beautiful and disturbing.
*spoilers*
Lauren Destefano's writing is beautiful, almost poetic, and it carried the story along nicely. Read more
Lauren Destefano's writing is beautiful, almost poetic, and it carried the story along nicely. Read more
Published 28 days ago by Gemmy
Beautiful and Twistsed
Customer Video Review
Length:
3:58
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Published 1 month ago by SableCaught
A bravely told story
This book has been on my TBR pile for a fair while and then I received the sequel Fever in the post from the lovely people at Harper Collins so I thought 'Geez I better read the... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Sisterspooky
Beautiful writing - dumb plot
Ooh - this is a hard one. I liked the writing immensely. Interesting characters and a lyrical style which is easy to read and will appeal to the teen/YA market that's been feeding... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Debbie
Fairly average dystopian - Reviewed by Ali @ Winged Reviews
It's been a while since I've read a dystopian novel. I've mainly been sticking to fantasy and paranormal books for about 6 months, so when I picked up Wither, I was really looking... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Miss A. J. Murfitt
Wow!
My daughter got this book, and absoloutely loved it! She kept on talking to me about it, and how she stayed up all night trying to read it all! Read more
Published 1 month ago by redwellies
Pleasantly Surprised
The premise caught my eye, I thought it might be along similar lines of 'Bumped' or 'Awakened'. After reading the reviews I was a bit put off but I went ahead with the free chapter... Read more
Published 1 month ago by A. Rowe
If this was an adult book it would be amazing
My opinion on this series is quite simple; if this was an adult book it would be amazing.
The main line of the story was nice, the characters and story underneath them too,... Read more
The main line of the story was nice, the characters and story underneath them too,... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Fableofdreams
Review of Wither by The Mountains of Instead
The plot of Wither is actually fairly slight. Rhine is captured by the Gatherers, taken to Linden's mansion where she finds out all sorts of intriguing/horrible things about his... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Splendibird
A Thoughtful Dystopia
I've noticed, since racing through 'The Hunger Games' trilogy, that there's a lot of dystopian Young Adult fiction out there right now. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Greycat
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