I remember that blackness. There were no walls, there was no up or down. I could have been living or dead. I listened to the other girls as they breathed around me, above me, inside me, and that was the whole planet earth.
Lauren DeStefano has created a world that is like ours, but so incredibly different at the same time. In the aftermath of World War III, the United States is the only place left on the entire planet. Every other continent rests below the great ocean. In this world, men age until twenty-five, and women to twenty, before succumbing to a virus that, inevitably, kills them.
Because of this virus, the structure of the civilized world changes very dramatically. Girls are snatched off the streets and out of orphanages at thirteen to become brides for wealthy men. People who are pro-naturalism (the ones who want to let the human race die out) bomb and attack the people who are pro-science (the ones who are looking for a cure to the virus). And Rhine and her twin brother are just trying to get by in the world when she is snatched and chosen to become a bride.
Wither is the first book in the Chemical Gardens trilogy and is, essentially, The Handmaid’s Tale aimed at a young adult crowd. There are slightly mature topics spattered throughout; talk of intercourse, violent death and attacks are fairly commonplace. If you enjoyed The Handmaid’s Tale, I definitely suggest this book. I devoured this book in about three days; it hooked me right from the beginning, and I was barely able to put it down.
Ms. DeStefano captured and held my attention right from the beginning of the book, and really didn’t let me go for a second. I found that the alternately timeline that she had created for our world was believable; I never once thought that what was happening was impossible or incredibly far-fetched.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed Wither and I am looking forward to the next installment in the series, Fever, which was released on February 21st, 2012.
Jennie Ivins
Julia Kitvaria Sarene