Wither: Book One of the Chemical Garden (Chemical Garden Trilogy, #1)

by Lauren DeStefano

A Handmaid’s Tale for a new generation…

Sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery has only four years left to live when she is kidnapped by the Gatherers and forced into a polygamous marriage. Now she has one purpose: to escape, find her twin brother, and go home – before her time runs out forever.

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 she trusts, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limited time she has left.

• ISBN10: 0007425473
• ISBN13: 9780007425471
• Publish Date: 4 August 2011 (first published 22 March 2011)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 30 January 2012
• Publish Country: GB
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Imprint: HarperVoyager
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 320
• Language: English
• URL: http://harpercollins.co.uk

Reviews

[KitsuneBae]

The slow pace and the plot that was as boring as my baby teeth are the reasons why this book only got a 2 star rating.

[nitzan_schwarz]

2013 cleaning my shelves challenge

If you've read this post, you know that I've recently realized I am not the biggest dystopian fan (read it to find out why). That being said, I've got to admit I've been greatly and pleasantly surprised by Wither; it was an engrossing, interesting read bound to enthrall many readers out there.

The story is set in a world where there are two kinds of people: Old Generation, and New Generations. The first is genetically perfect, and live long, full lives. The second, the Old Generation's children, suffer from a disease that kills all females at 20, and all males at 25. As such, to keep humanity alive, girls have to get pregnant at a very young age. There are no rules forcing them into it or anything, but there is a group who kidnaps suitable girls... and sells them to become 'Brides' to the rich and famous. Those Brides are not allowed to say no (unless they want to meet an early end in an already short life), and they are expected to carry on their husband's line.

Here come Rhine...
To read the full review, got here, to my blog. Thanks! :)

[Chelsea]

This book didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. The whole idea that science has created the perfect children is really silly and I thought it was a stupid idea. Lets make the whole world perfect! Oh wait it’s not actually working, big surprise. Did scientists get stupider? I might have while reading this book. Girls die when they hit 20 and guys 25. First of all why different ages? Second of all I’m pretty sure it’s unrealistic that you could die exactly when you hit a certain age. That doesn’t make any sense. When people get sick now and doctors say you have so much time to live, it’s not down to the exact day. I don’t think science can evolve that much. So basically the author needed to check her scientific facts a little bit here. And apparently America is the only place that survived this huge war, every other continent was reduced to tiny islands. What can destroy entire continents? Really though? How does America survive whatever completely killed the rest of the world? None of the facts in this book are correct at all. They live in Florida and it snows, hurricane season starts in June not October and anything history related was completely wrong.

Next, this girl gets kidnapped from her basement where she lives with her brother and gets sent to this luxurious mansion and immediately she’s like nope I need to leave. You could barely find food and you aren’t even going to try and like this place you got sent to? I know one guy turns out to be crazy but I’m sure she could have enjoyed herself until she figures this out. I dunno maybe it’s just me. The characters were all just so stupid. I hated all of them. Nothing about this book appealed to me at all.

More reviews here!
http://bftreviews.wordpress.com

[violetpeanut]

I really loved this one. I loved the characters and I loved Rhine. There were a few things that didn't sit well with me and thus the 4 star rating instead of 5 stars. It didn't make sense that the virus would kill women at 20 and men at 25. What is this virus? Is it a virus or something genetic? I would like to know more about what this virus is, why it does what it does and where it came from. Those questions may be answered as the series continues.

[Jack]

So much happens in the first few pages of the book, its baffling. Everything happen so quickly, yet we barley get any information regarding the going ons, or even what Rhine is feeling. Her character had me seething with anger and thats something I never do. I don't remember one time when I was ever mad at a character, or didn't like one.

I really don't like Rhine. I'm growing attached to Linden cause he seems like an ok guy. Gabriel alright in my book.

Not much really happens for most of the book, its only at the end where it really picks up, where so much bad starts to happen. Things start to spiral downhill pretty quickly. Rhine goes to places she shouldn't, sees things she shouldn't, tries to escape.

All the while, she's complaining how much she hates the lavish life style she's living in. Where she can do whatever she wants as long as she stays on her floor. I think her and Linden could have been a really good couple. Especially since he really cared for her, and it seemed like she was starting to like him.

I wanted Rhine to like where she was staying, to accept her fate, to love Linden, but she couldn't. She was angry and bitter about living in such luxury. Linden was nothing but kind, and she was surrounded by people that loved her, and all she could do was hate where she was, she didn't even try to like it.

Yet she decides that she's gonna run away with Gabriel, whom she barley knows anything about, I don't get the connection they have, I don't understand what its based on seeing as they didn't spend much time together.

I wanted to like this book, but so much was glossed over, skimmed over and just didn't make a whole lot of sense. I'm not sure if I'm gonna read the other two books in the series.



[What I felt immedietly after finishing the book.]

Done, and I feel a mix of emotions. Anger, sadness/sorrow, a slight tinge of joy and hope. But mainly anger and sadness.

I wanted Rhine to like where she was staying, to accept her fate, to love Linden, but she couldn't. She was angry and bitter about living in such luxary. Linden was nothing but kind, and she was surrounded by people that loved her, and all she could do was hate where she was, she didn't even try to like it.

Hated Linden's father, he reminded me of the Doctor from American Horror Story: Assylum.

I'm not sure if I want to read the rest of the books in the series because I'm not a fan of Gabriel and Rhine. But we'll see.

[elysium]

DNF page 136

I was just so bored and couldn't connect with the characters at all.

[Jo]

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

I'm a little late to coming to this series. I was put off quite a bit by the kinapping and being forced into a marriage. I was imagining all kinds of horrors I just didn't want to have to face, but after reading a few raving reviews, I knew I had to give Wither a go. Now I wish I had picked it up much sooner!

Scientists have advanced in genetic engineering to the point where they can create babies with no health problems. These babies will never have cancer, STIs, even a cold. They are completely healthy, and will all live to a ripe old age. Well, that was the case for the First Generation of these babies. But something has gone wrong. Now their children are dying at the age of 20 for females and 25 for males. A virus is triggered once they hit that age, and they cough themselves to death in bed with a high fever. Scientists and doctors are working hard to find an antidote to this virus, but are failing. This is the world Rhine lives in - and is why she is kidnapped.

Wither reminded me slightly of a fairy tale, a woman locked up by an evil person - could be Rapunzel. But unlike Rapunzel, 16-year-old Rhine isn't alone. Linden, her husband, picked her and two other girls from a bunch to become his wives. With his current wife, Rose, on her death bed at 20, and being four years from death himself, he needs to remarry, because he is running out of time to have children. But unlike Rapunzel, Rhine can't sit around waiting to be rescued, she has to rescue herself.

You have to admire Rhine's determination to escape and get back to her twin brother, Rowan. Unlike other dystopian novels, although fast-paced, Wither is not very action packed. Where in a number of dystopian novels, the Event that makes life go from bad to worse tends to happen after a few chapters, maybe several. The Event in Wither - Rhine's marriage to Linden - happens very early on, and she's trapped. She's stuck on the wives floor of Linden's mansion with only her Sister Wives for company, and the few attendants that look after her needs. The only way out for Rhine is to gain her husband's trust, so that she becomes First Wife - the favourite, the one who's allowed a little more access of the house and - and has a little more freedom, more chance of escape. She has to play the waiting game, simper and smile, and tell her husband what he needs to hear in order for him to make her First Wife. It takes time - a lot of time. But what else can she do? Sit back and accept her fate?

The characters in this book are just fantastic! Rhine herself is so strong, but because she has to be. Life was hard, but she led a relatively normal life for a girl her age before she was kidnapped. Now, for her sanity's sake, she has to keep on believing she'll get out, keep on trying her hardest to plan, to find any way of getting Linden's favour. I loved her relationships with her Sister Wives, Cecily and Jenna. Cecily is 13-years-old, and is ecstatic to be Linden's wife. She lived in an orphanage before, and now she has a rich husband, a luxurious home, and attendants who will wait on her, hand and foot. She's a spoilt little girl, but eager to please the man who has given her this great life. 18-year-old Jenna, however, had a family. She had sisters who were with her when she was picked. Sisters who were left with the Gatherers. She hates Linden with a passion for what has happened to her, for what's happened to her sisters. She doesn't do anything to please her husband at all, but has come to accept that this is her life now. With two years left to live, there are worse places to die, right? The relationships between all three girls is just so sweet. They are just like sisters, they come to care and love each other, and try to look out for one another. It's nice to see some light in what is a horrible situation.

Linden is lovely, strangely. He's clueless, and has no idea what's really going on. He is completely in love with his current wife, and is devastated that she's going to die, but he needs to have children. Despite how he came to have his new wives, I found I couldn't hate him. He's such a nice guy, and genuinely wants his wives to be happy. But there are some things he does that are just so scarily disturbing. Part of me understand why, but the other, louder part screams at how wrong it is. It's sickening! However, it's Vaughn, Linden's father, who is so scary. He is an old man, and seems benign enough, smiley and polite, but under the surface... oh, he's just so sinister! Linden may be clueless, but Vaughn is aware of everything. Vaughn is the one who's really in charge, and it's what he's doing - what is he doing? - behind closed doors that is just so frightening. He's the one that's really keeping the girls captive, and really not a guy to mess with. But then there is sweet, sweet Gabriel! Oh, he's just so lovely! I do like him!

There's not really much else I can say about this story without spoiling it, but ooh, it's good. The revelations! The discoveries! The ending! I am so excited to read the sequel, Fever, but also so scared. But it's going to be awesome, I know it! If you've yet to try this series, go pick up a copy of Wither now!

[inlibrisveritas]

Oh wow…wow…how do I even begin to describe how much I enjoyed this book? Perhaps the cover is the safest place to start, maybe then I won’t fangirl all over the review. Personally I think this cover is striking, and I love the graph like way thing’s are connected and pointed out. I do think the dark blue makes the girls hair look at tad green though, but for once it’s a cover that relates directly to the storyline.

So now that I’m calm, let’s move to the story. I really enjoyed the style of writing and tone for this book, it flowed in a way that I’m not use to seeing in YA books. It had a more “literary” feel too it, it was rich and well structured, and it pulled me into the story with no effort at all. The conversations were realistic no matter who was talking, and the characters were brought out in such a way that I truly felt for them. The storyline is a rather interesting one that I found to be really promising. The thought of a virus causing humans to die off and the fact that it was brought on by humans is nothing surprising, but what really got me was just how short their lives are and the drastic means in which they try to prevent their deaths. Each new generation hopes to find a cure but their life spans are so desperately short that it seems little progress is being made. There is something chilling about a world where those who are merely kids in our eyes are suddenly adults and must act like it or die. It’s even more disturbing when humans who think they are doing things for the greater good take the lives of others away from them without a second thought. For those of the younger ages, or looking for their kids this does have quite a few topics brought up but not a lot is put into detail and there is no language to be wary of.

The main character, Rhine, was very easy to relate to and I ended up really enjoying her. She starts off so fiercely determined to have her own life and she never truly wavers from that, though there are some challenges along the way. Her situation was so upsetting and the more you find out the more stifling and conflicted you feel, you connect to her internal struggles. Her sister-wives Jenna and Cecily are also enjoyable in their own ways. I loved how each of them had a different personality and looked at their lives through such different scoops. It really gives you a well rounded view of the situation. Linden was such a great character and even though he was placed in such a position that makes you want to hate him, I never really could. He’s such and innocent kind of character that I ended up really feeling for the guy. There were times when I just wanted to smack him a few times but I could never bring myself to truly hate him. Vaughn is one of those characters that just came off as cold, calculating and…well slimy. He was a wonderful character but he’s also one of those characters that I hope meets a terrible end. I liked Gabriel as well, he seemed to truly care but I did feel that everything that occurred with him came a tad too fast. I think maybe it was the time skips that did it but I wasn’t as invested in him as I would have liked to be.

I do have somethings that irked me just a bit but I did manage to brush aside because the story was so great. First, why is it that the US is always the sole survivor? Honestly, there are a lot of countries out there that would have a better chance of surviving a war than we do. I had problems with there being snow and super cold weather in Florida, but I chalked that up to something occurring with the weather patterns..maybe the bombs dropped did it but I found it weird. Also while it was pretty shocking and sinister, I’m not sure that people would willing kill something that could bring a good amount of money. These are really the only things that bothered me, and I didn’t let them bother me for long.

So overall, I thought this was a fantastic book and despite a few little issues I would certainly recommend this. I’m already trying to figure out how I’m going to get the second one before I drive myself crazy.

[lizarodz]

I must be the last person in the universe to read Wither. I also have a confession to make: I started reading Wither and only couldn’t get pat to the first few chapters because I thought the pace was too slow to hold my interest. A few months later I decided to check the audio book from the library and give it another chance. I’m glad I did.


As you know, Wither is a dystopian and I do love this type of book (who wouldn’t love The Hunger Games and Divergent, for example?). The premise of the book is very different, depressing and catastrophic, I mean, it’s like walking around with an expiration date. There are many things that I liked about this book. For example, I like Rhine, Cecily and Jena. These characters were literally thrown together in a very difficult situation and each chose to handle it in a different way. I don’t want to give much away, but I think their backgrounds and their ages have a great impact in how they deal with the situation.


The story is told in the first person, from Rhine’s point of view. Rhine is a character with a strong set of believes, smart and a tender hearted. She tried to hate both her marriage and her husband (Linden) and at first glance I guess I would have too. However, she grows fond of her sister wives (the very concept makes me shudder), the staff at the mansion and even of her husband. To me Linden is a victim of his father, and his upbringing; in short, he doesn’t know any better. It is hard to miss something that you never had or to question something when there is no doubt in your mind. However, Linden was weak, but nice, he really did care for is wives in the best way he know how and tried to make them happy. I’m sorry to say that I didn’t care for Gabriel much. I think the reason is because I didn’t get to know him well. Gabriel is almost a slave (yes, he was purchased) and hardly has time to talk to Rhine. He is shy, careful, reserved; I just can’t find it in me to like him. On the other hand Linden is constantly in the story and there is much more depth to his character. Vaughn is our villain, and he is indeed the typical bad guy, again we don’t get to really get a feel of what exactly is going on, although there is a lot of guessing from Rhine’s part (and mine as well!)


As I mentioned before the story is good and original. I think the biggest appeal of Wither, at least for me, is the writing. Lauren DeStefano sure knows how to put a sentence together. Although the story is indeed very slow paced and there is no much action, I can see the appeal such beautiful writing has on the reader.


I had a lot of personal issues with the world of Wither. For example, if there were so many orphans and even “bride schools” why was there a need to steal girls? Why couldn’t they ask for volunteers? I’m sure that Rhine would have been much more open to the idea of being a bride if given a choice and if she was able to bring her brother along. Why did the wives had to be locked up all the time? Why did Linden and Rhine’s relationship seemed much more stronger than her relationship with Gabriel? And what on earth is Vaughn doing in that basement? I will definitely read Fever as soon as I can.


About the cover: This cover is a work of art. The link between the wedding ring and the caged bird is obvious. The colors and font are also beautiful

[celinenyx]

Set in a world where girls die when they are twenty years old and boys when they're twenty-five, Rhine is abducted and sold to be one of the three new brides of Linden. There is only one thing on her mind - escape. But as the months fly by, the luxurious life she's leading now begins to ensnare her.

I was drawn to Wither by the premise. A dystopian where people don't age above puberty? Sounds like a good ground for an action packed novel! I was sorely disappointed by that aspect. Absolutely nothing happens. At the start, when Rhine is getting kidnapped, I was very excited, but after that she just sits around. She jumps on a trampoline with fellow brides. Rhine goes to a party. Rhine eats sweets. Rhine reads a book in the library. Wither is almost four-hundred pages long, but it could just as well been one hundred. Ms DeStefano has a very distinct writing style, often called "haunting" and "beautiful". For me it felt more like "lifeless". Every page is written in the same way. There is no speeding up, no slowing down.

I get what Ms DeStefano was trying to accomplish in Wither. The big action isn't important, it's the little details. It's in the little ways the brides rebel against their captors. On me, all this detailing was completely lost. That only works when you're invested in the characters, but I never felt that sorry for Rhine. She sits around for months doing absolutely nothing but eating and sleeping and having fun. The reason she wants to escape so bad is her twin brother, but as he only gets mentioned by Rhine herself, he feels more like a convenience than an actual character.

Even the ending, for which I was hoping that it would shock me and make me go, "Whoa, this is awesome!" was a huge anti-climax. They waited a year to do that? Really?

One last thing I would like to point out is Ms DeStefano's extreme love for her country. I quote from page 55 of the paperback version:

"All we were taught of geography was that the world had once been made up of seven continents and several countries, but a third world war demolished all but North America, the continent with the most advanced technology."

Most advanced technology?! Ha, they wish! The continent with most advanced technology is clearly Asia. Ever seen a documentary on Japan? If there is a country with advanced technology, it's Japan. Unless Ms. DeStefano calls weapons of war "advanced technology", then I guess she's right. The whole book is filled with remarks towards America's superiority over the other continents. As a European, this rubbed me completely the wrong way.

I know a lot of you have loved and will keep on loving Wither, but this wasn't for me. I think that if you go in expecting a subtle novel, you will very much enjoy this one. I will read Fever (mostly because I already bought it) and see if I like that one better.