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. Outcast13 August 2012 at 23:02

    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.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laura Clipson14 August 2012 at 10:01

      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 :)

      Delete
  2. The Geeks Paradise14 August 2012 at 14:30

    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. :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. DWei15 August 2012 at 04:16

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

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Laura Clipson15 August 2012 at 09:24

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

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WEP August - Change of Heart

Image
So I actually wrote this piece for April's WEP, but I was ill so didn't get to post it in the end. I'm quite glad, as it suits this month's theme so much more. Change of Heart ‘Are you ready for this?’ Paul asked. Brian nodded, trying to steady his shaking hands. ‘You’re the only one who can defeat him,’ Molly said. ‘We believe in you.’ She stepped back to join Paul. Brian balled his fists as he looked at the huge stone doors before him. He took a deep breath and pushed them open. Before the doors closed, Brian glimpsed Paul and Molly turn and begin to walk away. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the darkness inside. With a whispered word he created light in the palm of his hand, raising it so it would light up the room. It was empty apart from another doorway, much smaller than the first, hidden away in the corner. Brian marched through it and found himself in a large chamber, lit by many flickering candles mounted along the walls. Someone stoo...
Read more

IWSG

Image
The Insecure Writer's Support Group was created by Alex J. Cavanaugh as a place where writers can talk about their insecurities once a month, and receive encouragement and support from other writers. It's such an amazing group, it even has its own website now, which you can visit here . This week I'm a co-host! Be sure to go to Alex's page and visit the other people who are co-hosting.  I had such great plans for my writing this month, but not one of them came through. There were three short stories I wanted to get written, and I also wanted to get back to my NaNo edits, but none of that happened. I still have a little time for one of the short stories, though; it's for Kyra Lennon's cat anthology , and it's due Friday! Not much time to do it, but I made a commitment and I will follow through with it!  Even though I haven't got much writing done in the last month (or the couple before that!) I'm not going to let it get me down. I...
Read more

A is for Arachne and Arlee!

Before I get to my Greek Mythology part of this post, at the request of Alex J. Cavanaugh  (great idea by the way, Alex!), I'd first like to thank Arlee Bird for coming up with the challenge in the first place. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't be taking part in this amazing experience every year. Thanks, Arlee! This is one of my favourite tales from Greek mythology, so naturally I chose it for my first letter. Arachne was the daughter of a shepherd, and was famous for the beautiful tapestries she weaved. Nymphs would travel from all over to see her work, and to watch her weave. One day, a nymph asked her if her talent was a gift from the goddess Athena. Arachne protested, saying her skill was all her own, and that her weaving was better than Athena's. Athena heard of this, and challenged the girl to a weaving contest. Both sat at their looms and began to weave, nymphs gathering round to watch. Athena weaved a tapestry based on the glories of the gods, showing the...
Read more