Amazon Description: "After being kidnapped from the home she shares with her twin brother, Rhine is "sold" to a rich man, Linden, along with two other girls, Cecily and Jenna. Their polygamous marriage is seen as necessary, for Linden’s father is a scientist trying to find a cure for the "virus" that strikes down youth, and he needs new subjects for his experiments — subjects in whose DNA, he hopes, a cure can be found.The day-to-day lives of Rhine and her sister-wives — parties, pregnancy, babies — contrasts starkly with the shadow of death that looms over every action. Even Rhine’s growing romance with a servant, Gabriel, could lead to vicious punishment for them both — as could her repeated attempts to escape her gilded prison. This story, the first of a trilogy, leaves us with a glimmer of hope but no easy answers."
My Review: I liked Wither quite a lot! It didn't have a lot of action, like most dystopian books do, but it was written beautifully, and the setting was very eerie, almost creepy in its ethereal beauty and darkness. Rhine was an okay character; she didn't shine nor was she dull. She did have her good moments, however. The supporting cast of characters was very good. The sister-wives were brilliant, and I thought that Rhine's relationship with Linden---and Linden as a character himself!---was far more interesting than her and Gabriel, but maybe that's just me? The novel definitely creeped me out (which, I'm sure, was DeStefano's purpose) and it hook me, making me read very quickly to the end. I'm also pretty excited for the next book, so that's something. The only complaint I have with it was that there definitely some slow parts and some irrelevant scenes that I didn't know what to make of. But all in all, it was a good book, with a really interesting look at what our future could be.
Cover: I'll admit it: I judge books by their covers. Not ALWAYS; a good book can certainly have a hideous cover. But a nice cover draws me in, and that's just what Wither's cover did. The colors and tones were beautiful and the whole scene---girl with a feathery dress with chemicals and beakers all around her---was beautiful and eerie, like the whole book was.
Overall Grade: B+
To be honest, I did not like Wither at all. The cover was amazing but the book itself was actually really dragging, dreary, and dull. It seemed too short but yet too dragging. Also the characters weren't very attaching and the beginning was too fast, confusing, and not hooking. In my own opinion, I would rate it a D+. I do not look forward to the next book one slight bit. Even the ending was very random. DeStefano does not know how to write romance or action at all!
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