Wither (The Chemical Garden, #1) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

Oct 15, 2011 Nairabell rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: 5-star, read-in-2011, teen-ya-dystopian, favorites, read-in-2012

In an attempt to perfect the human genome, DNA engineering has created a horrifying genetic flaw - females die at 20 and males die at 25. Young girls are abducted and forced to breed in an attempt to prolong humanities existence until a cure is found. Rhine Ellery has been kidnapped and sold as a bride to Linden to replace his dying wife. Placed in a gilded cage Rhine is determined to escape with the help of a servant Gabriel, but Rhine hasn't counted on catching the attention of Linden's cruel In an attempt to perfect the human genome, DNA engineering has created a horrifying genetic flaw - females die at 20 and males die at 25. Young girls are abducted and forced to breed in an attempt to prolong humanities existence until a cure is found. Rhine Ellery has been kidnapped and sold as a bride to Linden to replace his dying wife. Placed in a gilded cage Rhine is determined to escape with the help of a servant Gabriel, but Rhine hasn't counted on catching the attention of Linden's cruel father...

I'd heard great things about this book but even after I picked up a copy I wasn't really drawn to read it. Then when I did I managed to finish it in a single day. The plot is brilliant with a clever pace that sucks you in and keeps your attention glued to the page. The conflict between the normal lifespan first generation (born with perfect genetic profiles) and their tragically shortlived children is outstanding. As a science nerd, the genetic aspect was especially fascinating.

I found the dystopia to be well developed and despite what I'd heard from other readers the young age of death is explained, albeit rather briefly. That said I don't necessarily want an in-depth pseudo-science discussion in the middle of such a great character driven novel. The book is an emotional rollercoaster and any overly long explanations would have severely damaged my enjoyment. As this is the first in the Chemical Garden trilogy, there is much room to expand the history of the world in later books.

Rhine is an amazing lead character who is really independant and capable which is a refreshing change from some heroines who fall apart by themselves. She even manages to form friendships with the other two Linden's wife Rose and his other two brides, quiet Jenna and idealistic Cecily. Polygamy is a new subject to me as a reader but I felt it was well handled and believable. The other wives are really well fleshed out characters each with their own unique pasts and motivations.

I was a little nervous of the potential love triangle between Rhine, Linden and Gabriel but it soon became clear that Rhine had no interest in Linden and rather than the now standard YA 'who should I pick?' Rhine's dilemma was more about whether she would begin to believe her own lies. Rhine has to pretend to be happy with Linden to win his trust but it is clear that her interest lies solely with Gabriel who is the perfect romantic hero, constantly doing little things to make Rhine happy and carrying all the consequences himself.

All in all this was an awesome read and I can't wait for Fever.

Plot: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Cover: 9/10

Overall: 49/50 ...more

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Aug 05, 2010 Melissa-The Book Addict rated it really liked it

Hmmm...How to start this one? I didn't LOVE this one but I sure liked it a whole lot! I wasn't sure going in if I was going to like this one or not, I have watched sister wives on tv and can't stand the show so going into this book I was a little on the fence. I have to say thought I did like it. I really liked Rhine, I can't imagine at 16 being in her situation and handling it like she did. I also liked the sister wives, the dynamic between the girls really impressed me. I also admire Rhine's a ...more

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Nov 14, 2010 Samantha rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2011, ya

3.5-stars
I was really excited to start this one since I was in the mood for some dystopian goodness. I don't know exactly what's between these pages, but after reading I wouldn't call it dystopian per se. I had to suspend quite a bit of disbelief to enjoy this one. The premise is that humanity is slowly dying after a failed utopian-type experiment to produce a generation of humans without disease. Every child born after the golden "first generation" is dying too early. Girls live only twenty yea ...more

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Apr 05, 2011 Paula Phillips rated it it was amazing

Review: Wither - Book #1 : The Chemical Garden Trilogy- Lauren DeStefano- March 2011
I had been in two minds about Wither as I had seen it advertised and reviewed on other blogs and some of the new contemporary dystopian novels I have enjoyed whereas others have tended to be a bit weak, so I wasn't too sure what to expect with Wither but OMG it was one of the best books I have ever read , I loved it tremendously and could not put it down and when it ended I was like "I wish Lauren would write a b ...more

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Apr 24, 2011 Kaity rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, library-book, dystopia, science-fiction

Review originally posted on Bitten Books and given 4½ stars.

On their own, Rhine and her twin brother must take any chance at making money that they can. Rhine, however, faces the very real threat of the Gatherers, men who kidnap teen girls to sell to rich young men as wives. The Gatherers exist because science and genetic perfection have brought disastrous consequences, men dying at twenty-five and woman dying at twenty. Rhine finds herself taken by the Gatherers and sold along with two other si Review originally posted on Bitten Books and given 4½ stars.

On their own, Rhine and her twin brother must take any chance at making money that they can. Rhine, however, faces the very real threat of the Gatherers, men who kidnap teen girls to sell to rich young men as wives. The Gatherers exist because science and genetic perfection have brought disastrous consequences, men dying at twenty-five and woman dying at twenty. Rhine finds herself taken by the Gatherers and sold along with two other sister wives to Linden. Her fate is marriage to a man she hates and her sole purpose in life is now producing children and entertaining Linden. As terrible as that is, the women who weren't selected as wives faced a much worse fate, being shot to death and then discarded like trash. Rhine cannot accept her new life even if Linden treats her well and seems to love her. She needs to escape, she needs to return to her brother.

Rhine was a wonderfully unique narrator. Her voice was very odd but after a little adjusting, I loved it. It did slow down my reading, however, not that I minded. The way Rhine thought and spoke was just so distinctive, it's one of the things that really stuck out to me while I read the book. When so many YA books are replicas of others, a fresh voice is something to truly appreciate.

It's been a while since a book totally wrecked havoc on my emotions. One moment I was loathing someone or something then a few paragraphs later I was suddenly questioning what I'd previously felt. It was like a tilt-a-whirl ride, I never knew how I felt or what was going to happen and even when the ride ended, I was still experiencing the emotional confusion. Good confusion though. I loved that DeStefano was able to draw those emotions and reactions from me. Usually I'm set in my opinions and feelings about characters at at least the halfway point of the book but while reading Wither, I was constantly adapting and changing my perceptions.

Wither was so much more creepy than I'd expected. It was creepy as hell at certain points. I enjoyed the creepiness but there were a few things that I honestly found just a little too disturbing for my tastes (mainly the young pregnancy/polygamy, so just personal preference aspects not anything gore/violent/etc related). I did think that everything worked very nicely with the dystopian world created though. That said, I wouldn't recommend Wither as a starting place for people looking to try dystopian. I think it's a wonderful representation of the genre and a fantastic book but for readers unaccustomed to the genre, I think they might not enjoy Wither as much.

Wither isn't just about the story and Rhine's struggle to be set free. It's about relationships and that little gray area between right and wrong. Wither draws you so far into the book that you'll be left feeling the aftershock of the experience days later. ...more

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Feb 06, 2011 Cheer Papworth rated it liked it

Shelves: dystopian, ya

I would give Wither 3.5 stars, but that is being generous. It is a well-written story, but a little slow. My issue with Wither is that I felt the characters needed further development in order for me to really be invested in the story. There are definitely some interesting characters, but the main character, as well as her "love interest," kind of bore me. Would I read the next book? Sure, I am mildly interested in what happens next, but if I never find out, that is okay too. ...more

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Mar 15, 2011 Jamie ~ Bad Boy Inspector rated it it was amazing

Shelves: genre-young-adult, genre-dystopya

4.5/5

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Apr 09, 2011 Deyara rated it really liked it

Shelves: young-adult, dystopian

I liked it, for the most part. Not sure whether I'm that interested in the sequel, while I'd quite like to see Rowan find out Rhine is alive, I'm not sure it needs a whole book. We'll see. ...more

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