Book Review: WITHER by Lauren DeStefano

This review was originally posted on GoodReads. I’m re-posting it here for the benefit of my non-GoodReads readers.

After reading a number of Lauren’s comments on Twitter, and her responses to questions on her blog, I really wanted to read one of her novels. I picked WITHER because the premise intrigued me. Often, the main character in a novel is put in a life-or-death situation, and over the course of the novel/series s/he must battle the odds to survive. Rhine, the heroine of this story is of a generation of people who, due to well-intentioned scientific experimentation, don’t live past early adulthood. She is sixteen and not expected to see her twenty-first birthday. In this dystopian society, the only adults older than 25 are “first generation” adults–the ones responsible for the state of affairs. It’s not uncommon for teenage girls to be pulled off the streets and married to wealthy teenage boys to keep the human race going. People don’t have time for long engagements and planning for a future. It’s also not uncommon for a wealthy teen to have multiple wives, increasing the odds of producing offspring.

Early in the story, Rhine is separated from her twin brother and, along with two other girls, forced to marry Linden, a boy about her age. They all live together in a mansion belonging to Linden’s father, a scientist who is conducting experiments to find a cure for this life-limiting plague that is afflicting the current generation. The house is run by a number of servants, among them Gabriel, who has captured Rhine’s heart in a way Linden never could.

While Rhine would love to escape her luxurious prison, she has become attached to her “sister wives”, and is treated well by the kind but naive Linden. But she knows something’s not right in the house, and she’s afraid the plague may be the least of her worries…

The story has a Gothic-y kind of vibe which I enjoyed. It’s very much focused on the relationships, so don’t expect an action-packed adventure. Lauren puts us into the head of a girl facing death in four years, trapped in a world that, on the face of it isn’t bad–certainly better in a material sense than the one she left. But it’s not the place she wants to be when she dies. And, as nice as most of the people are, she would sooner spend her last four years with her brother.

I don’t recall much, if any, profanity, and while sex happens in the story, it’s never detailed. All things considered, I’d give the book a PG-13 rating. This is not a light read, and there’s little humor to the story. But it is a good story, elegantly written. If you like dystopians, and you like stories with a bit of a Gothic twist to them, then check it out. Four out of five stars.