I’m obviously on a dystopian novel kick lately because it seems this genre is taking over the book-turned-movie industry. Only the best are chosen, and I consider “Wither” by Lauren DeStefano one of the best.

“Wither” takes place in what we know as New York City and Florida after humans tried to perfect the human race. Something went awry, so boys only live until they are 25 and girls live until they are 20. Rhine Ellery loses her entire family, but knows her twin brother is still alive. She goes out to look for him, but is captured for the older, healthier generation to either buy for a bride or sell into prostitution. She is bought to be the bride of Linden, whose father is manically working for a cure to save his only son. Rhine is introduced to a world of wealth she is not used to, but also realizes the dirty secrets the elite keeps.

I had a few problems with this book. The first was the polygamous marriages that take place. Linden’s father wants him to have as many brides as possible so he has multiple grandchildren to experiment on to create a cure. So, yeah, really creepy. The next thing that irritated me about this novel is the angsty love triangle. I’m over triangles, as I’m sure everyone else is as well. Plus the indecision of the main character makes her immature. I’m not a fan of reading about messing with other character’s feelings, especially the characters I like.

I did enjoy the variety of personalities. Everyone is so different and it’s wonderful. There are always stereotypical characters, but this novel does a good job of escaping that. Rhine is struggling with the loss of her family, her new identity as number one bride, her impending death, her relationship with the other brides and first love. I adore Linden. He’s sweet, innocent and broken. He doesn’t know any of the evil things that happen under the roof he lives under. So many things are kept from him, and he’s just likeable. The second love interest, Gabriel, is also very likeable. He attempts to help Rhine figure things out and eventually attempt to escape the mansion. He’s warm and sensitive. Rhine gets close to her sister-bride Jenna. Jenna is 19 — only a year away from her death. Jenna is from a totally different world than Rhine has ever known, and Jenna’s background shapes her position in the novel. The last sister-bride is Cecily. I cannot stand her. She’s very young, and her ideals of this marriage are crap. She fantasizes the relationship with Linden and the other girls, but I guess it could be a good thing to get a different view other than Rhine’s.

There is a gigantic cliff hanger and I nearly died waiting for the sequel. You don’t have to wait because it is already out, with the last installment to be released in February. There are a lot of bad reviews of this book, but I think it’s original, minus the love triangle. I also liked that the book wasn’t focused on the love aspect of the plot. It was more of Rhine coming to terms with her situation, then thinking “No, this won’t work for me” and changing her outcome in life. Her writing is eloquent and intriguing. DeStafno’s writing is very real. I don’t think she tries to apologize for the negative things in the novel, but just tells it how it is from the main character’s perspective. Parts of the book are depressing, so the writing style reflects that. Other parts of the book are slow and easy, so the writing and the scenes aren’t rushed.

There are no plans that I am aware of that this will become a movie, but if it were, here’s my dream cast.

-Bella Thorne – Cecily

-Anna Sophia Robb – Rhine

-Willa Holland – Jenna

-Matthew Goode – Linden

-Logan Lerman – Gabriel