Wither (The Chemical Garden, Book 1)

Lauren DeStefano

Aug 2011 · The Chemical Garden Book 1 · HarperCollins UK

About this ebook

A stunning debut YA novel, destined to blow the dystopian genre wide open – The Handmaid’s Tale for a new generation.

Sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery has only four years left to live when she is kidnapped by the Gatherers and forced into a polygamous marriage. Now she has one purpose: to escape, find her twin brother, and go home – before her time runs out forever.

What if you knew you exactly when you would die?

In our brave new future, DNA engineering has resulted in a terrible genetic flaw. Women die at the age of 20, men at 25. Young girls are being abducted and forced to breed in a desperate attempt to keep humanity ahead of the disease that threatens to eradicate it.

16-year-old Rhine Ellery is kidnapped and sold as a bride to Linden, a rich young man with a dying wife. Even though he is kind to her, Rhine is desperate to escape her gilded cage – and Linden’s cruel father. With the help of Gabriel, a servant she is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in what little time she has left.

Ratings and reviews

Lauren's plot was very unique, intriguing, haunting, though her choice of settings were dark and solemn, she managed to capture the hearts of her readers by a sequence of whirlwind and of course not to mention romance that would allow the readers to ponder, to imagine. Stunning book cover that reflects the author's vision and emotion. The mood of the whole novel was slow and tensed, impatient readers would not love this, for it had no action or thriller or whatsoever. In a nutshell, it was moderate in a good way, a book worth reading for, and for book collectors out there, a book worth collecting for.

I.LOVED.IT. It was simply amazing even through you could kinda figure out what's gonna happen at the end, part of the book make you doubt it and guess over and over again. It was great for me because I loved the main character even though she is kind of too overprotective sometimes. The rest of the characters were awesome too they blend in with the story so well. I honestly don't know why anyone would hate this book, it's such a sweet romantic-ish story. Overall I just love it so much that I would kill someone for the next book to come out right now!!

This book is amazing and beautiful. Its the kind of book you never want to end, I got lost in the world. Highly Reccomended.

About the author

Lauren DeStefano earned her BA in English with a Concentration in Creative Writing from Albertus Magnus College in Connecticut in 2007. The Chemical Garden Trilogy is her first series.