Title: Wither
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Publication Date: March 2011
Summary: When scientists engineered genetically perfect children, everyone thought it would ensure the future of the human race. Though the first generation is nearly immortal, a virus causes all successive generations to die early: age 20 for women, 25 for men. Now, girls are kidnapped for brothels or polygamous marriages to breed children. Rhine is taken from her hardscrabble life and sold with two other girls to Linden Ashby. Though they live in a palatial Florida home surrounded by gardens and treated like royalty, the girls are sequestered from the outside world, and Rhine longs to escape. Her growing affection for her sister wives, her pity for Linden, and her fear of Housemaster Vaughn, Linden's manipulative father, keep her uncomfortably docile, until she falls for servant Gabriel.
Wither is a blend of 1984 and A Handmaid's Tale. Considering that these are two of my favorite books I was thouroughly excited to read this novel. Overall, the story was very good. The plot was interesting and unusual with the right amount of suspension and mystery. Likewise, the message was powerful and poignant and was definitely a social commentary on the exploitation of women. However, when I finished the novel I felt the end was anti-climactic. I am looking forward to the second novel to revive the series for me.
Theresa
The Book Nook
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