Wither by Lauren Destefano

                Wither by Lauren Destefano is a futuristic fiction novel with a very likeable main character: Rhine, is a sixteen year old girl who lives in a world where men only live until the age of twenty-five and women until age twenty due to a virus created by their parents and grandparents—mainly adults from earlier generations. In an attempt to cure the virus, girls are kidnapped, examined, and sold to either brothels or wealthy men, where they are wed or impregnated in order to keep the generations going before the mysterious virus kills them.

Having only four years left to live, Rhine is kidnapped, examined, and sent to a mansion where she experiences the horror the virus inflicts on girls at the coming age of death, whom she finds she is replacing. Faced with the difficulty to stay and support her sister wives and deal with the menacing love of her husband, Rhine constantly looks for a way out to be reunited with her twin brother.

                Despite it being simply written, it kept my attention. The idea that the virus kills everyone at certain ages, even in a world where disease and embryonic tampering have been perfected, is what kept me hooked in this novel. I read on to figure out what exactly happened, and was not disappointed with the outcome. At times the simplicity of the writing made the read a bit cheesy, but it didn’t throw me off to the point where I disliked the read. Although the writing seemed simple and the imagery a little bland, there were some instances where the descriptions left vivid and somewhat disturbing images. It was this aspect of the novel that I truly enjoyed.

                Wither is the first novel in Destefano’s series, and I’m looking forward to picking up the next two. It’s a book that I never thought I could get into due to my reading rut, but for a YAL book, it definitely grabs your attention and is worth the read.