Apparently I read this in 2015, but I have no recollection, so assume I’m going into Wither fresh. Because that’s what it felt like. I ended up thinking about Wither differently with the new anniversary editions and the author forward. Keep reading this book review of Wither for my full thoughts.
Summary
Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. A botched effort to create a perfect humanity has left all males with a lifespan of twenty-five years, and all females with one of twenty—and the world has fallen into a state of panic. Geneticists seek a miracle antidote, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and girls are kidnapped off the streets and forced to serve as wives and bear children for the scions of the rich and powerful.
Despite her every precaution, Rhine is kidnapped and forced to become a bride. Kept under tight guard, and tossed into a glittering world of illusion, Rhine is given wealth and luxury beyond anything she’s ever dreamed. Her every need is met…every need except freedom. With the help of sweet, caring Gabriel—a servant in the manor—Rhine will do anything it takes to escape, go home, and reunite with her twin brother.
But Florida is a long way from Manhattan; her father-in-law, a scientist from the perfect, healthy “first generation” who is obsessed with finding a cure for this early death, is watching her every move and hoarding corpses in the basement; and her husband, Linden, is a far cry from the monster she imagined him to be. But in a world that continues to decay, and with only four years left to fight for, is there any room for someone like Rhine to choose her own path?
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
The Wither anniversary editions with the forward makes me re-think about this series. I was so ready to get back into my dystopian 2010’s era. But this new forward makes you think about the position of each of these girls. Of someone who is so young, so impressionable, and so caught up in the special, in being chosen. One who is resigned to the end, knowing that our clock is running out, and just trying to get through each day. And finally one who still feels the rage running through her veins, still sees the light at the end of the tunnel, and hopes things might be different. Looking at these girls, trapped in this house, and reading as an adult, made me feel differently about their story.
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It takes on more of a horror lens, a more dystopian story. As a teen I was wanting this fierce story about burning it all down, about the escape. And now as an adult, I see this more about knowing that survival can be resistance. That it’s not always about tearing it down for everyone else, that sometimes we just have to focus on escape. That these girls are so alone, so without allies, and trapped with just each other to try to rely on. It’s about hiding to stay safe, about being hidden in plain sight, and biding our time. Do we want a decadent nap or a dream of freedom? How this system and people break under the weight. Wither is a solid series starter which only whets the tongue with the dystopian world.
Find Wither on Goodreads, Storygraph, Bookshop. org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.