Wither by Lauren Destefano!

I finished yet another book this week, so I'll be reviewing that today. I'm pretty impressed that I've managed to read a book a week for the last few weeks, it's definitely making the pile of books I haven't read go down! Hopefully I can keep it up, so I can re-read a few of the favourites on my bookshelf!
Today I'm reviewing Wither by Lauren Destefano, which I'm giving 3.5 out of 5 stars. Here's the summary from Goodreads:


By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children. 
When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement. Her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next, and Rhine is desperate to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive. Will Rhine be able to escape--before her time runs out?
Together with one of Linden's servants, Gabriel, Rhine attempts to escape just before her seventeenth birthday. But in a world that continues to spiral into anarchy, is there any hope for freedom?

Favourite Character: The main character Rhine is my favourite, as I like her personality; she loves her brother and will do anything to escape and get back to him, and she doesn't give up, no matter what. 

Least Favourite Character: Vaughn, Rhine's father in law, is my least favourite character because he's the kind of villain who is evil to the core but tricks everyone into thinking he's nice, and I like villains who are outright villains!

Positive Aspects: I enjoyed the plot, and the story is based on a very interesting concept. It didn't quite 'hook' me but it did leave me wanting to know what happened at the end of each chapter. There were a lot of different characters in the novel, and they all had different personalities, and it was interesting reading about all of them, even the ones I didn't like. 

Negative Aspects: You don't get to see much of Gabriel, who is supposed to be Rhine's love interest in the novel (not counting Linden). I feel like I don't know him well enough as a character, considering he's a pretty important one. I'm hoping I see more of him and learn more about him in the next book. I don't like the fact that all girls die at age 20 and boys die at 25 - I find this weirdly specific, and not realistic at all. I also don't like the fact that America is the only country left in the world - very unrealistic. 

Overall, it was a good novel and I enjoyed reading it. 

As for Camp NaNoWriMo, I'm doing pretty well, I've been sticking to the minimum word count for each day so I've been keeping up quite easily. I wouldn't say what I've been writing is particularly good, but at least I'm writing! I've written 21000 words so far, which is pretty good for someone who struggles writing 500!

Comments

  1. That villain sounds like an interesting one, unfortunately manipulative villains end up being the kind that I actually like haha, too much as in, I want to see them win instead. Great review Laura, I'm really liking the sounds of this book.

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    1. Thanks! I'm like that sometimes, wanting the villain to win! I love it when villains are so awesome that you end up being on their side :)

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  2. That was a very thorough and well thought-out review. I enjoyed reading it. You just got yourself added to my "daily read" blog list. :)

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  3. I guess we have different ideals for villains because the father sounds like an asshole which is my perfect villain.

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    1. I know what you mean, but it's never really clear whether he is a villain or not, it's strange!

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