REVIEW: “<i>Wither</i>” by Lauren DeStefano

Rhine Ellery lives in an age where girls don’t live past the age of 20, and guys don’t see their 26th birthday. Society is trying desperately to find a cure for this “virus” that is taking their young, but in the meantime, girls are often captured and sold as young brides for the gentlemen so that the race can continue, and so that the first generation can find the ever-elusive cure.

Rhine is one of the girls that has been taken, and she finds herself in the home of — and married to — Linden Ashby, along with two other young girls, close to her in age. As Rhine tries to find a way out of her “prison”, she finds herself ever more drawn to one of the house’s many attendants, and developing a bond with her sister wives. But, she must constantly remind herself of where she’s come from so as not to get too comfortable with these new surroundings, and with the charm of her new husband.

While the stream-of-consciousness writing annoyed me, especially during Rhine’s conversations with Linden, I loved how well the emotions of each character were written. I could feel happy when Rhine was happy, and feel annoyed when she was annoyed, and feel depressed when she was depressed. I really came to care about her, as well as the other characters in the story (at least the decent ones — not so much for Housemaster Vaugn).

I have a feeling that this is a book that’s going to stick with me for a long time. I am pretty sure I’m going to request the second book in the series (“Fever“) from the library as soon as possible.

Recommended. Definitely!