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Wither (The Chemical Garden, #1)

Lauren DeStefano

Start date: July 1, 2013

Finish date: July 31, 2013

Discussion: Book of the Month (BOM)

Discussion leader: Tara-Jayne (♥ I Read, I Love ♥) Bell

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What Members Thought

May 23, 2011 Jessica (BookRockGoddess) Bolton rated it it was amazing

I was blown away by Lauren DeStefano's intense and vibrant world that she created, in what has to be one of the best dystopian debut novels I have read this year. Her writing talent is that of a seasoned pro. She has a way of drawing you in and not letting you go which, will place her among the best authors that YA has to offer..

This book deals with so many different taboos in our society such as polygamy, teen pregnancy, rape, kidnapping and death. Yet I believe DeStefano did a wonderful job of ...more

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Aug 01, 2010 Kaitlynne rated it it was amazing

Shelves: absolute-favorites

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 14, 2010 Annie McElfresh rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 5-star-awesomeness

It was easy to get sucked into the world WITHER creates. Rhine is a believable character who I wanted to succeed from page one. Rhine's attachment to her twin brother is a strong motivator for her to find her freedom and return to him because he is the only thing that matters in her crazy world. Her bother is all that she has. When she's stolen away and forced to become a bride, I felt her anger. I felt her disgust toward her new husband just like Rhine, but Ms. DeStefano did a great job at soft ...more

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Jul 17, 2011 Kailia rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2011, young-adult, ya-dystopia

Before reading this book, I’d read plenty of mixed reviews to mix up my thoughts. Did I want to read this book? What if I read it and I didn’t like it? That would be a waste of my time. What if I didn’t read it but I would have loved it? I finally decided to give it a try and I’m glad I did! I’m going to say that I absolutely loved it because I didn’t but I enjoyed reading it a lot.

Any other day polygamy would not be my choice of subject to read about but I did in this book and I enjoyed it. I Before reading this book, I’d read plenty of mixed reviews to mix up my thoughts. Did I want to read this book? What if I read it and I didn’t like it? That would be a waste of my time. What if I didn’t read it but I would have loved it? I finally decided to give it a try and I’m glad I did! I’m going to say that I absolutely loved it because I didn’t but I enjoyed reading it a lot.

Any other day polygamy would not be my choice of subject to read about but I did in this book and I enjoyed it. I liked reading this book and reading more about this world and what was happening in it. I have to give it to Lauren for not making polygamy the absolute main focus of this plot. To me, the main focus was on our protagonist Rhine and her feelings of where she currently was and what was happening to her. The plot moved a bit too slowly at times and some things seemed a bit repetitive and that really pulled me away. BUT the main thing that bugged me about this book was this: the world’s population is dying out. Guys live till 25 and girls till 20. YET, even after this fact, you kill a van full of young girls because they don’t meet the status quo? HOW does that make any sense to anyone? I get that you want the best traits for the new generation but really? Kill all those girls?

I think there are two things this book is, in my opinion, going to be known for: the gorgeous cover and the equally gorgeous, lyrical writing of Lauren DeStefano. I just loved, loved the feel and sounding of the words together. This book really, really came alive with her descriptions but the best part was that the descriptions weren’t overdone. They were just right! The feel of this entire novel is just so palpable. The emotions and the descriptions were just so darn real! Rhine in turn was an amazing protagonist! She’s a strong, fierce girl who knows what she wants but she’s human too.

There wasn’t a lot of romance in this book and usually I like a book to have a certain amount and I felt that this book didn’t necessarily have enough. Rhine’s relationship with Linden and Gabriel wasn’t developed enough to my liking but I hope that in the next book, it will get better.

Overall, I enjoyed this book a lot but some aspects didn’t work for me. I will read Fever when it comes out but I don’t think it will be right away. I think people should really give this book a try! ...more

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Dec 14, 2010 Kim rated it it was amazing

Shelves: advanced-reader-copy

Absolutely amazing!!!!!!......I could not put it down......not the style of book I usually read but I was enthralled from the first page. Loved the beginning, middle, and end ......I can not wait for this series to get started.

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