The future is bleak...World War III has devastated the earth as we know it...to the point where only the continent of North America survived (I'm sorry, I rolled my eyes a little at that one - but that was the only eye rolling for the rest of the book, so I can overlook that "flaw"). Because of genetic manipulations, a virus has infected the population so that every girl born, dies at the age of 20; boys at the age of 25. To try and save the human race from extinction, rich first generation men (those who were born prior to the virus and therefore live past 25) kidnap young girls and sell them as wives whose responsibility is to procreate.
Rhine Ellery is one of those kidnapped and sold into slavery. Although she is pampered and treated well by her captor, she is a prisoner. She longs to escape and find her twin brother (her parents, both geneticists who were searching for an antidote, were killed years earlier). While imprisoned in the mansion, she falls in love with one of the house servants, Gabriel. They are both in danger...will they manage to escape? What other secrets lurk behind locked doors, controlled by her father-in-law?
Although Wither was a little slow at the outset, it still managed to hold my attention. The premise is interesting, the characters are becoming more developed, and I do want to see where it leads. That being said, it wasn't particularly earth-shattering or new. I did enjoy it, and think others will too, but I'm afraid that because The Hunger Games is so hugely successful, publishers are going to inundate us with so many dystopian novels that we'll get sick of them. I give Wither a 3.5/5 on the Rez Recommends scale.
Wither is book one in the Chemical Gardens trilogy - and is on this year's list of Teens' Top Ten nominees. Book two, Fever, is also available - I just put a hold on it at the KPL and am looking forward to reading it.
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