Just Finished Reading Wither by Lauren DeStefano

Lauren DeStefano is an author of young adult fiction...she wrote the dystopian series Chemical Garden Trilogy.  Wither, the first book, was published in 2011 and I just finished reading it.  Once again, as is the case in other series of this sort like Divergence or The Hunger Games, we see a nightmare scenario for the future after cataclysm has wrecked the social fabric of society...

It is sometime in the future, after a terrible world war has decimated the world, basically leaving only North America intact.  But science marches on, and advances in medicine have cured cancer, with a disease-free generation of humanity...dubbed the "first generation"...full of hope for the future. But a terrible thing has happened: a fatal virus has been universally genetically transmitted to their offspring, with men succumbing to it by age 25 and women by 20. This causes a complete disruption of societal norms, especially with the proliferation of children orphaned by their parents dying so young.  A by-product is the abduction of teenage girls to be sold onto marriage to the sons of wealthy families...which is the predicament of the protagonist, Rhine Ellery.  Will she be able to escape and be reunited with her twin brother Rowan?  Guess you'll have to read it and find out...

Although Wither is generally depressing, Rhine, her two sister wives Cecily and Jenna...and even her unwanted husband...are sympathetic characters, each victims of their own peculiar circumstances.  The author also was skillful at keeping me in a state of suspense through most of the story. At the end, there was a conclusion of sorts but also a lot of mystery left and uncertainty about the future...so I'm definitely committed to reading this series to its end...