Wither: Book Review

Wither

by Lauren DeStefano

Publication Date: March 22nd

(This isn't really a fair rating, read on a see why.)

Why I picked this book?

Everyone was reading it.  I am a sucker for peer-pressure. Okay, and the little snipet about the book sounded interesting.

First Chapter: UGH, that is horrible.
Prediction based upon first chapter: (3)

Main Players: Rhine Ellery, Lindon Ashby, Gabriel, Cecily, and Jenna
Place: Florida

Early Impressions: Oh, my goodness.  This is so horrible. (In a horrifying way not writing or story weakness.)

This book made me sick to my stomach.  I wanted to throw up nearly the whole time I read this.  It made it really hard to pick it up and keep reading.  At the same time, I wanted to know how it ended and make the horrible feeling end.

Needless to say, I finished the story and it was well to hard to put into words.  It was awesome and terrifying.  I felt the horror taint how I thought in the real world.  I looked around me at my child and husband and couldn't but feel the horror I would be under if I lived in this book.

The villain in this book is perfect in every way.  Not once is there any real proof of his cunning and evil yet you can feel it everywhere.  Just in case you haven't caught on Rhine is very good to point out how bad she has it.  This villain is so spectacular that even in the end I didn't really believe what I was reading.  

I had to think what my life would have been like had I only lived so short a life and realized that just about everything of importance in my life has happened after that expiration date.  That was just one more impressive thing about the characters in this book.  Children now barely hold much skill or interest in providing for themselves.  Yet the children in this world show skills and knowledge far beyond their years.  It feels almost as if they are aging like dogs.  For every one year our time they have lived four and maybe that is what takes their physical lives.

I loved that their was to opposing sides in the issue that was plaguing their world.  Pro-naturalism and fix it, and they were really violent about it.  It made this world feel all the more real.

This was a really well written book with very real characters.  For those with really good stomachs and hope to fill the universe this will likely be a good read.

One thing that didn't make sense to me, is why do the males live five years more than the females.  As it stands now, female usually outlive males.  Why would this problem change that?  This might be something that is explained later in the series.


Spoiler Section:

Okay, now what horrified me the most in the book is that these girls are treated as queens and expendable.  It is so two faced and evil it was making me ill.  That doctor is so horrible.  I can only imagine what he has been up to in all those blacked out moments and so many others that it terrifies me.  There are reasons we shouldn't have a blanket statement that gives everyone no matter who a chance to terrify others for life.  I really wish that man were dead.  I really wanted to hate Lindon.  In the end I sure hate him a lot more than Rhine does.  I don't think it is a good enough excuse that his father has coddled him into this position.  How could you really be that blind?  And he just takes advantage of all these girls and doesn't have real kindness in him to want to get to know them.  It just sickens me.

I am sure this book is so well written that it deserves a five star rating.  It was more its power over me that relegates it to a three and a never reading that one again.  I sure wasn't satisfied with the ending.  In fact, I was so certain the villain would capture them and kill Gabriel that I was shocked when I turned the page and their was no more.  It leaves me with hope for some better life.  I definitely agree that no amount of money would make captivity anything but that.  Freedom even if it is wasted is still precious.