Wither by Lauren DeStefano ★

Wither (Book 1)
by Lauren DeStefano
March 2011
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing

What if you knew exactly when you would die?

First off, I just have to say how extremely proud I am of myself for reading a book AND blogging about it in the same week it was published.  It isn't often that my reviews are very current, but I've been looking forward to this book's release for a few weeks now.  This is where things start to get a little strange, so bear with me while I try to describe the premise for DeStefano's fantastic debut novel for young adults.

In the not so distant future, a dystopian society has replaced the world as we know it today.  Through scientific advancements, humans have gained immunity to all diseases such as Cancer, AIDS, and to some extent, aging.  They paid for it, however, when their children were born as ticking time bombs.  All females die at age 20 and all males die at age 25.  No exceptions.  To cope with the threat of humanity's extinction, men who can afford it take many wives to ensure the survival of their families.  Many of these girls are kidnapped off the streets as soon as they are able to bear children and sold to the highest bidder.  They then spend the few remaining years of their lives in false marriages as baby factories with other women they call sister-wives.  Sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is one of these girls, captured by the Gatherers and paid for in an auction by her new husband.  Rhine knows she only has four years left to live.  But she's decided she's not going to spend it in a cage.

There is a lot of science in this book that makes no sense whatsoever, as well as a little history that isn't quite true.  For example, Rhine talks about the fact that Christopher Columbus proved the earth was round, which is only marginally accurate.  But I digress . . . despite a few misses with science and history, DeStefano has written a completely captivating account of a world that is rapidly falling apart.  The characters are very well written, and I found myself caring deeply for them and the situation they had found themselves in.  Wither is book one in what will be The Chemical Garden Trilogy.  There is currently no release date or information about future books, but I assure you I will be following up on Rhine's story in the future.

One last thing - kudos for the awesome cover!  Don't know why, but I loved it!