Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Wither
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (a part of Simon & Schuster)
Release Date: March 22, 2011
Edition: ARC
* Picked up at ALA Midwinter.

When Rhine is kidnapped by Gatherers, she knows what's coming next. If she's lucky, she'll become a bride and be married to a wealthy man. However, if she's unlucky, she could be forced into prostitution or even worse, killed. Luckily, she's selected as a bride for a young man by the name of Linden and from there, her life changes... significantly. She goes from living in New York with her twin brother, Rowan, in their parents' house (with burlap curtains and sleeping in the basement) to Florida, living with two other girls, and living in the lap of luxury (a glorified prison for the girls). She'll have to stay focused if she wants to return home--with the help of Gabriel, a servant--and Linden isn't making it easy for her.

Wait, no, I'm not trying to make Linden out to be the bad guy. To be honest, he has no idea how the girls are acquired and I think he's sort of sweet. Naive, but sweet. The real bad guy? His father, Housemaster Vaughn. His father has every intention of finding a cure seeing as how he'd like for Linden to live beyond twenty-five. I know that doesn't really sound very menacing, but once you read Wither, you'll see what I mean by this. Then there are the other two sister wives--ie. the other two girls that ended up getting married to Linden. There's Jenna, the oldest girl who seems quite reserved at first and I'm not going to say anymore about her because that's something that you should really read about; you know, in the book. And lastly, we have Cecily, the youngest girl who seems quite pleased with her predicament, although she has no idea just what the other two girls have been through. Oh! I haven't mentioned Gabriel yet! So, maybe he's not my choice for Rhine, but he seems like a nice enough boy--although he obviously doesn't get a lot of alone time of Rhine.

Other than that, I adored their domestics; for the record, domestics are responsible for dressing the girls and the outfits in Wither? Stunning. I'd love to have a domestic! I'm absolutely hopeless when it comes to doing my own make-up and well, someone who knows how to dress me would be most welcome. And in general, how crazy would it be to be dead by the age of twenty as a female or twenty-five as a male? Unless of course you're a part of the first generation, in which case it must be depressing to watch kids die so young. But let's move on, shall we?

I loved the plot and Rhine really is a strong female character. It's more strength of will then physical strength though, I think. And then there's the ending! Honestly, it was perfect. It left off in a way that gives the reader closure for Wither while enticing you to be on the lookout for Fever (which will be out February 21, 2012). Also, confession time! I've read Wither three times now and I still have problems articulating just how much I enjoyed it. Lauren's writing style was wonderful and on the off chance that you haven't read Wither yet, I'd definitely suggest it to you.

Overall Rating:  ★★★★★