Wither by Lauren DeStefano

#1 in the Chemical Garden series

Published in 2011 by Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing
3 Stars
DAC 2011

Goodreads Review
What if you knew exactly when you would die?

Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.

When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.

But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.

Review:  Wither was a very difficult book to review.  First I love the cover, so it gets at least 2 stars for the art alone. But then it loses stars for the completely ridiculous science/economic/social inconsistencies that make the premise for the life of the characters. But then it gains stars for the characters themselves, which I really loved. It also gains stars for the descriptive and impressive writing style. I'm torn!

ok after much consideration here's how the star math goes. (Don't read if you don't want spoilers)

+2 for the cover art
-1 for the illogical end of the world scenario
-1 for the illogical "virus" that comes from genetic manipulation
+1 for pretty dresses (whatever, don't judge)
+1 for addressing polygamy in a way that isn't 100% vile
+1 for a female character sticking to her ideals
-1 for not consummating the marriage (doesn't make any sense)
+1 for Jenna being a bad ass prostitute
+1 for elements of subterfuge and conspiracy theory (just what exactly was going on in that basement?)
-2 for then not answering questions raised by said subterfuge and conspiracy theory.
+1 for making me want to read the next book in the series.

TOTAL= 3 stars

Overall, this book is an awesome romance/Stockholm syndrome book, but pretty poor science fiction book. However, I think the positives of the narrative outweigh the pretend science.