Find my reviews on Blogger ~ Reviews by Bookish Sarah 
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 3.5 stars 
 Wither is set in a future America where genetic engineering gone wrong has doomed all of mankind to an early grave. Men live to the age of 25, and women live the age of 20. This is when the "virus" takes hold and they begin to die a rapid and painful death. The population is waning, and young women are sold to become wives of polygamist men who will, hopefully, impregnate them as much as possible throughout the marriage - thus helping to repopulate. 
 16-year-old Rhine Ellery is a part of this future. Rhine is kidnapped by the "Gatherers" and taken away from her home in Manhattan (not to mention the only family she has left, her twin brother). She and two other young girls are sold to a wealthy young man called Linden - they are to be his new brides. After being gassed to sleep on the journey to her new home, Rhine wakes up in a lavish mansion. Even so, her first thought is of escape. It quickly becomes clear that escape is going to be next to impossible. The only solution is to become "first wife"; the favorite, and possibly gain more freedom as a result. 
 Rhine must compete with her new "sister wives" for the attention of the man she loathes. 19-year-old Jenna is a beautiful and silently observant girl who seems to hate being there almost as much as Rhine, and yet doesn't want to escape. 13-year-old Cecily is a misled orphan who couldn't be happier to be there. She wants nothing more than to have babies and be the perfect little wife to Linden. As Rhine tries to gain her freedom, she gets to know some of the workers in the mansion and slowly falls for a servant boy named Gabriel. Life becomes increasingly confusing as Rhine develops a case of Stockholm Syndrome and learns that her father-in-law is up to something terrible in the basement. Rhine knows she must escape before she, too, becomes one of his genetic experiments. 
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 I originally gave this book 5 stars. I am glad I thought on it for awhile because, as I did, the shock value of the novel wore off and the holes in the story became more clear. After much consideration, I decided 3.5 was more accurately the way I felt about the story. 
 It reminds me of a V.C. Andrews novel - only much more insane. It's like a V.C. Andrews novel on crack. I love my V.C. Andrews, so that's not really a bad thing. I think mixing it up with dystopia didn't quite work out though. There were definitely holes in this story, and it didn't seem as much a dystopian as a twisted present-day story. 
 The world building was lacking. The virus was not fully explained or explored. The focus was more on the relationships and drama than the world it was all placed in. You can't really half-ass dystopia. It's the author's job to take readers into a world that shouldn't be possible. Certain things about this novel could really bug a person. Polygamy, teen marriage, a 13-year-old girl having sex and going through pregnancy, women being sold and used as baby factories, etc. If the author had created the setting properly, made us believe it - maybe these things wouldn't have caused so many low ratings and bad reviews for the book. It was too much like it was happening in the here and now - not a dystopian future. 
 I think the author conveyed what Stockholm Syndrome is like extremely well. As Rhine tries to gain the position of first wife, the lines between love and hate quickly begin to blur. In the end, I wasn't ever quite sure what Rhine's ultimate decision would be. Stay or leave? Linden or Gabriel? The almost-love-triangle was believable. It wasn't insta-love with Gabriel. It took a lot of early morning talks, discussing of dreams, fears and life in general for them to get to where they were as far as their feelings for each other. Rhine's confusion over Linden was the same; believable and quiet. It was like a whisper transformed into a shout, and eventually she realized that Linden may be as much a victim as she. 
 The characters were built up much better than the setting. Each personality rang loud and clear, and I remember them all very well. Each one has a small place in my heart (well, except the father-in-law). Rhine was a strong heroine; a determined and headstrong young woman. Cecily was petulant and annoying, but not a bad person. A poor, misled child who grew up in a world where she had no hope of winning. Jenna was hard, tough, and steadfast in her resolve. She broke my heart a little. Gabriel was quiet, caring, and brave. As for Linden, well it was hard to hate him in the end when it turned out he may just be ignorant. I feel just as confused about him as Rhine was. 
 Final words: 
 I enjoyed this book greatly. It has flaws. It has holes. I am giving DeStefano the benefit of the doubt in assuming that these holes will be filled in the sequel. It was easy to get attached to the characters. It took me literally no time at all to finish this book. Entertaining? Very! I also enjoyed that DeStefano didn't leave us with a cliffhanger. The end was wrapped up nicely enough - it didn't feel like a rip off. The story takes a look into the flaws of humanity and how they can change the world. It's a story of love, spirit, freedom, the need for connection and commune, and most of all - survival. This book isn't for everyone, but I enjoyed it despite the flaws. I'd recommend it if you have an open mind and the ability to look past the surface of a story to what lies beneath. 
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 Book source: Personal collection 
 Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing