Wither by Lauren DeStefano
(The Chemical Garden, #1)
Release Date: March 22, 2011
Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 358 pages
I'm not going to lie, I was a little disgusted by the idea of this story. If you don't open your mind set to this is not taken place in OUR time, its a little easier to grasp. But the thought of 13 year old girls being forced into marriage and having kids is disturbing. But, its a way for them to survive and if we lived in this time period, this idea wouldn't seem so nauseating. That being said, after I got over the whole idea of this, I was captivated by this story and by Rhine.
Rhine lives in New York City with her twin brother, Rowan. Both of their parents were killed in their lab while looking for a cure. Rowan is all she has left and their bond is as strong as any other bond you see between twins, they even have the same eyes; one brown and one blue. She is tricked into what she thinks is going to be a good job, one that will help her and Rowan but turns out to be a way to lure young girls into being sister wives. Rhine is kidnapped and taken to Florida where she and two others are chosen while the other 'rejected' girls are put back into the van. There we are introduced to Gabriel, a sixteen-year-old house servant and Rose, twenty-year-old wife of Linden. Rose and Rhine connect quickly as Rose is living on borrowed time, seeing as she's twenty and girls do not live past that age. It's a sweet friendship and frankly, too short lived. But that's alright because we're introduced to the other two girls Rhine was taken away with, eighteen-year-old Jenna and thirteen-year-old Cecily.
Cecily is hard to like. She's thirteen so she's at that age of adolescence plus she's so determined to make the best wife for Linden. Out of the three wives, Cecily is the only one happy to have been forced into this marriage. I tweeted Lauren while I was reading this, voicing my opinion on Cecily. She told me to give it until the end of the book, my opinion should change. Unfortunately for Cecily, it didn't. She was a bit easier to swallow but not by much. Now when it comes to Jenna, I absolutely adored her. She and Rhine became very close and Jenna had her back, no matter what. To have a friend like that is something special, a lot of people never experience a friendship as true as this.
I adore, absolutely adore the relationship between Rhine and Gabriel. She connected and confided in him almost instantly, it was the first friendly face she came across in her new life. On the other side of the table, the relationship between Rhine and Linden was sweet, as well. You couldn't help feeling sorry for Linden, for his suffering and his loss and how taken he was with Rhine, instantly.
I am eagerly awaiting February for when Fever is released to see what happens in the next installment of the Chemical Garden Trilogy. If you like Dystopian novels, you'll love this! But remember, do keep in mind that this is not our time period.
(The Chemical Garden, #1)
Release Date: March 22, 2011
Publisher: Simon & Schuster; 358 pages
Obviously, something went terribly wrong. Genetic mutations have festered, reducing human longevity to twenty-five, even less for most women. To prevent extinction, young girls are kidnapped, mated in polygamous marriages with men eager to procreate. Sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery, a recent victim of this breeding farm mentality, has vowed to break loose from its fetters; but finding allies and a safe way out is a challenge she can only hope she will survive.
I'm not going to lie, I was a little disgusted by the idea of this story. If you don't open your mind set to this is not taken place in OUR time, its a little easier to grasp. But the thought of 13 year old girls being forced into marriage and having kids is disturbing. But, its a way for them to survive and if we lived in this time period, this idea wouldn't seem so nauseating. That being said, after I got over the whole idea of this, I was captivated by this story and by Rhine.
Rhine lives in New York City with her twin brother, Rowan. Both of their parents were killed in their lab while looking for a cure. Rowan is all she has left and their bond is as strong as any other bond you see between twins, they even have the same eyes; one brown and one blue. She is tricked into what she thinks is going to be a good job, one that will help her and Rowan but turns out to be a way to lure young girls into being sister wives. Rhine is kidnapped and taken to Florida where she and two others are chosen while the other 'rejected' girls are put back into the van. There we are introduced to Gabriel, a sixteen-year-old house servant and Rose, twenty-year-old wife of Linden. Rose and Rhine connect quickly as Rose is living on borrowed time, seeing as she's twenty and girls do not live past that age. It's a sweet friendship and frankly, too short lived. But that's alright because we're introduced to the other two girls Rhine was taken away with, eighteen-year-old Jenna and thirteen-year-old Cecily.
Cecily is hard to like. She's thirteen so she's at that age of adolescence plus she's so determined to make the best wife for Linden. Out of the three wives, Cecily is the only one happy to have been forced into this marriage. I tweeted Lauren while I was reading this, voicing my opinion on Cecily. She told me to give it until the end of the book, my opinion should change. Unfortunately for Cecily, it didn't. She was a bit easier to swallow but not by much. Now when it comes to Jenna, I absolutely adored her. She and Rhine became very close and Jenna had her back, no matter what. To have a friend like that is something special, a lot of people never experience a friendship as true as this.
I adore, absolutely adore the relationship between Rhine and Gabriel. She connected and confided in him almost instantly, it was the first friendly face she came across in her new life. On the other side of the table, the relationship between Rhine and Linden was sweet, as well. You couldn't help feeling sorry for Linden, for his suffering and his loss and how taken he was with Rhine, instantly.
I am eagerly awaiting February for when Fever is released to see what happens in the next installment of the Chemical Garden Trilogy. If you like Dystopian novels, you'll love this! But remember, do keep in mind that this is not our time period.
[...] Fictional Distraction … Rhine lives in New York City with her twin brother, Rowan. Both of their parents were killed in their lab while looking for a cure. Rowan is all she has left and their bond is as strong as any other bond you see between twins, they even have the same eyes; one brown and one blue. She is tricked into what she thinks is going to be a good job, one that will help her and Rowan but turns out to be a way to lure young girls into being sister wives. Rhine is kidnapped and taken to Florida where she and two others are chosen while the other ‘rejected’ girls are put back into the van. There we are introduced to Gabriel, a sixteen-year-old house servant and Rose, twenty-year-old wife of Linden. Rose and Rhine connect quickly as Rose is living on borrowed time, seeing as she’s twenty and girls do not live past that age. It’s a sweet friendship and frankly, too short lived. But that’s alright because we’re introduced to the other two girls Rhine was taken away with, eighteen-year-old Jenna and thirteen-year-old Cecily. [...]
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