Wither

People who really know me have realized that I have a mild case of paranoia.  I’ve been known to utter the phrase “until the machines rise up” in casual conversations.  (And yes, I do think the machines will eventually take over.  I can see the Matrix.)  It’s odd, then, that dystopian fiction is my favorite genre.  (I became a fan when I read Fahrenheit 451 in the eighth grade.)  Well, my latest read, Wither by Lauren DeStefano, is an all-too-believable view of the near future.  No, the machines have not risen up yet, but society’s desire to wipe out all disease and have perfect, healthy children has backfired in a major way.  The science presented in this book is totally plausible, and I fear that some of it may cross the divide between science fiction and science fact if we’re not careful.

In mankind’s quest for physical perfection, time has become the ultimate scarce resource.  Yes, the world is virtually disease-free, but the side-effect of such health is the untimely death of all people born in the new generations.  No male lives past the age of twenty-five, and no female lives past the age of twenty.  In essence, people are ticking time-bombs from the moment of birth.  First generation doctors and scientists (who kind of started this whole mess) are trying to find an antidote for the virus killing their children and grandchildren, but time is always working against them.  Humans are quickly becoming an endangered species, and some will go to any lengths—including kidnapping young girls and forcing them to be “breeders”—to keep the population from dying out.  That’s where sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery’s story begins…

Rhine, along with about a dozen other girls, is taken from her home—and her twin brother—in Manhattan.  She’s transported hundreds of miles so that a wealthy young man, Linden Ashby, can choose those he desires to be his wives.  That’s right…wives…as in plural.  Both Linden and his father are struck by Rhine’s unique features, so she is chosen as a bride.  She is joined by two sister wives:  Jenna, a girl who has less than two years until her twentieth birthday and who makes her disgust of this situation very clear, and Cecily, a thirteen-year-old girl who was seemingly groomed for this life in an orphanage and is weirdly excited about everything that awaits her.  Rhine, like Jenna, is also disgusted with her fate, but unlike Jenna, who is just counting down the days until her death, Rhine plans to do something about it.

Almost immediately upon arriving at the mansion that is to be her new home, Rhine begins to think of escape plans.  While there appear to be no immediate solutions, Rhine is sure that an opportunity will eventually present itself.  Rhine bides her time, gets to know her new husband, and grows closer to her sister wives.  She also forms an attachment to Gabriel, a servant in her new home who may have his own reasons for wanting to escape.

As Rhine looks for ways to escape this life she never wanted, she also becomes a participant in it.  She grows closer to Linden and realizes he’s not the monster she’s made him out to be in her head.  She develops real bonds with her sister wives and worries about their fates should her quest for freedom prove successful.  She discovers horrifying things about her father-in-law Vaughn, the dictatorial and terrifying Housemaster, that make her want to expose him for the liar and murderer he is.  Through all this, though, Rhine’s primary goal remains the same—to escape to freedom, get back to her brother, and, possibly, start a new life with someone who is coming to mean a lot to her.  Will she find a way out, or will she remain a prisoner and spend the rest of her short life withering away?  Read Wither, the first book in the Chemical Garden trilogy by Lauren DeStefano, to learn the truth.

I was engrossed in this book from page one, and I highly recommend it to teen readers who enjoy dystopian fiction.  (Some of the subject matter is probably a little too mature for middle-grade readers.)  Wither presents an interesting and eye-opening look at polygamous relationships, and it shows readers that science may not be the ultimate answer for all of the world’s problems.  The “solutions” to these problems may be more dangerous and life-threatening that the problems themselves.  For those who often contemplate what the future may hold, Wither provides a conceivable glimpse into life for generations to come.  Join me in the paranoia, won’t you?

The second book in this trilogy, Fever, is already out, and I plan to read it once I’ve fully processed what happened in Wither.  The third book is currently untitled, and it is scheduled for an April 2013 release.  You can also check out an eBook, Seeds of Wither, which contains details of the world Lauren DeStefano created in Wither, a new short story titled “The First Bride,” a map of the wives floor, and more!

For those who would like more information about Wither, the rest of the Chemical Garden trilogy, and author Lauren DeStefano, visit  http://laurendestefano.com/ and http://thechemicalgardenbooks.com/wither/.  You can also follow Lauren on Twitter @laurenDeStefano, on Tumblr at http://laurendestefano.tumblr.com/, and become a fan on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/LaurenDeStefanoFan. 

Still not enough?  Well, check out this awesome Wither book trailer produced by Simon & Schuster Videos.  Enjoy!

Dead to You

Last night, I finished reading Lisa McMann’s latest novel, Dead to You, and proceeded to spend the rest of the night thinking about the book.  (I didn’t sleep much.)  Dead to You, like McMann’s other YA novels (Wake, Fade, Gone, and Cryer’s Cross) kept my interest from the very beginning and kept me thinking long after I finished the book.  (I’m still processing how it ended.)  It was gripping, tense, and made me eager to turn the page.  Dead to You was a quick read with a sympathetic male protagonist, and is a perfect pick for reluctant male readers.  (There is some bad language in the book and a couple of rather frank depictions of, shall we say, what goes on in the mind of an adolescent male when confronted with an attractive female, so I would hesitate to recommend this book to anyone under the age of fourteen.)  Anyone who reads this book will be intrigued by the premise—a boy kidnapped when he was seven and returned to his family nine years later—and eager to see how this story plays out…

Ethan De Wilde went missing when he was seven years old.  No one had any clue about his whereabouts…until now.  Sixteen-year-old Ethan has returned to his family after nine years, and he’s totally unprepared for what his miraculous appearance truly means, especially since he can’t remember anything before his abduction.  His little brother Blake, though, remembers everything.  He remembers seeing Ethan get into a black car with two strange men.  Ethan has no recollection of that, but he does know that he lived with a woman named Ellen until she abandoned him at a group home a year ago.  After he left the group home, Ethan found out where he truly belonged and made his way back to his long-lost family.

Ethan is trying to recall memories of his first seven years, but he’s overwhelmed with all his return means.  His family—which moved on without him—is readjusting to having Ethan home.  His mom and dad are constantly fighting, Blake seems to be jealous of all the attention Ethan is getting, and little Gracie—the “replacement child”—doesn’t really know what’s going on.  Ethan is struggling with lost memories, going to school, feelings for the girl next door, and controlling his urge to run away from the madness his life has become.

Just when Ethan finally begins to feel safe and at home, something happens that throws his life into a tailspin once again.  Ethan doesn’t know what to do, how he can get past this, or what it means for his future.  But he does know one thing.  Unlocking the memories of Ethan’s first seven years will change everything, and no one will be prepared for the fallout.  Read Dead to You by Lisa McMann to learn what happens when things long-buried—memories, secrets, lies, resentments—rise to the surface and threaten to destroy everything.

I predict that Dead to You will be an easy sell in high school libraries everywhere.  The book’s length is not intimidating to reluctant readers, teen readers across the board will find something to identify with, and the story itself is so fascinating that all readers—teen and adult—will be riveted until the very end.  Also, the discussions that the ending will generate will be quite interesting.  (It almost makes me wish I still worked in a high school so that I could talk to teens about this book.)  Dead to You provides great opportunities for students to take the story and write their own endings.  What happens next?  I’m sure the answers would be as varied as the young adults who read this book.

If you’d like more information about Dead to You and other books my Lisa McMann, visit http://lisamcmann.com/index.html.  You can also follow the author on Facebook, Twitter, and even Pinterest.

For even more, check out this video from Simon and Schuster with Lisa McMann talking about Dead to You and what her readers can expect next!

The Missing Girl

Norma Fox Mazer’s The Missing Girl is kind of creepy.  It is the story of five sisters and a man that is obsessed with them.  Each chapter is a different character’s voice.  Most of the chapters are in the voices of the sisters, but some deal with the feelings of the man who likes to watch them.  It was weird to peer into the mind of a predator.  It’s not an experience I care to repeat.

As this book progresses, the reader can see that the man is becoming increasingly more bold in his interactions with the sisters, and it’s obvious that something bad is going to happen.  Well, something bad does happen.  (I’m not going to say what, but it is rather disturbing.)

The Missing Girl was an okay book, but it was hard for me to get into it at first, and the ending was a little too neat for my taste.