Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Review of Wither by Lauren Destefano



Goodreads Synopsis:


At age 16, Rhine Ellery has four years to live. Thanks to a botched effort to create a perfect race, all females live to age 20 and males live to age 25. On the cusp of her 17th birthday, Rhine attempts to flee, but what she finds is a society spiraling out of control.


(To Expand on the Goodreads synopsis)


Rhine is forced to marry a baron--one of two other girls kidnapped for this polygamous marriage. At first she wants to hate this man, but the closer she gets to him--the more she sees that there may be other forces at work. And she comes to know her sister wives and a certain servant in ways she never imagined.  


My Take:


I loved the premise of this book. I also LOVE the cover. Anything to do with genetics and  I'm very interested. Unfortunately, this book didn't deliver as promised. Some people love quiet novels like this. I for one--don't. Though this could be a matter of taste. I really really wanted to love this book, sadly, I merely liked it. It's not to say that the book is terrible, on the contrary I find the world that Destefano creates to be quite intriguing and different from the usual dystopian society. The problem was that Destefano only touched upon specific aspects of her world, but never truly explained them. I felt like a major plot point was left out at the end of the book--something I wanted more of. Also, the love interest is absent for a good portion of the book, to the point where I found myself wondering what the main character saw in him. It was as if he was out of her thoughts for most of the book. I actually stopped 3/4 into this book and read Obsidian then came back to finish Wither. Granted, the idea is ambitious and perhaps because much of the book is set on a restricted floor of a mansion we don't get as much of the outside world as we should. Still, I may pick up the second book just to see. I still really loved the concept.


My rating 3.6 stars


Cheers,


Elizabeth



9 comments:

Kelly Hashway said...

I've been wanting to read this but haven't gotten around to it yet. I don't really like quiet novels. I live a fast paced read. I think I'll still give it a chance though.

Regina said...

I really loved this book and look forward to Fever.

Elizabeth Prats said...

Oh I'm still picking up book 2. I love the premise of this story. I just think it lags a bit in the middle but I feel like that is probably because they were stuck in one place for so long. :)

Kelly Hashway said...

I gave you an award on my blog today. Stop by to claim it.
http://kellyhashway.blogspot.com

Ruth Schiffmann said...

Oh, I hate it when a book doesn't live up to the expectations we have. Bummer =( I tend to like quiet stories, so this I might like it more than you. We'll see. . .

New follower here.

Katja Weinert said...

I'm hoping to start on Wither soon, wonder what I'll make of it. Thanks for the review :)

Katja Weinert said...

Thanks for the review, am just about to start on this one.

Elizabeth Prats said...

Hey inlovewithwords. Thanks for the new follow! :) And yeah I had such high hopes kuz I LOVED the premise. I have a feeling book 2 gets more into the heart of the world.

Elizabeth Prats said...

Rk :) Thanks. Maybe you'll like it more :) Everyone's tastes are diff. I've heard some good things.