The Chemical Garden Trilogy

Hello, readers!

Today is dedicated to Lauren DeStefano. The book we’ll be covering is actually her first book ever. It’s the starting book in a series called The Chemical Garden Trilogy. The book itself is called Wither. The second book will be coming out next month, so I figured it'd be a good reading pick for this month. :)

This book is about a girl named Rhine who lives in a world where, due to the failure of modern science and medicine, women don’t live past the age of 20, and men the age 25. A vicious disease, virus, really, overcomes everyone without fail, and they die, young. Because there is an adamant demand for populating a world that is slowly falling apart, women are a hot commodity. They are so hot a commodity that it is not uncommon for the pretty ones to be kidnapped and sold off to men called Governors, men who have stables of wives to make for them little sons and daughters for a future world that seems to be forever searching for a way, a cure, to live past the time allotted.

Sixteen-year-old Rhine is stolen from her New York home, taken in the night from her sleeping twin brother. She is married off, whether she chooses it or not, to a twenty-one-year-old named Linden. Three other girls are married to him as well. One is named Rose. She’s been with Linden forever. The other two girls arrive at the same time Rhine does. Rhine and the new arrivers, however, are quick to pick up on the fact that Rose is dying. They will be Linden’s replacements to get over her.

Rhine looks for a way to escape this new life she’s been thrown into. With the help of a servant named Gabriel, she plans to escape the world she’s been trapped in, a world of lies and illusions, to get back to her brother. The mansion she is a prisoner in is looked over by Housemaster Vaughn, Linden’s father. It is the Housemaster she must look out for as she pretends to be someone she is not in order to get what she wants, sneaking around at every chance she can get. It is apparent Vaughn is a man with a dark past and, perhaps, an awaiting darker future. He is willing, in the name of family and as a father, to go to any lengths to make sure his son is happy. He is willing to, in the name of science and as a doctor, go to further lengths, lengths even his son does not seem to know about, lengths Rhine wants to get very, very far away from. In a house of sister wives and no freedom, Rhine must be careful about not only what she does and how she manipulates her husband Linden. She must be wary of who she trusts, and, perhaps most importantly, she must be careful that she doesn't let the illusion of having everything she wants at the push of a button fool her if she ever hopes to return home.

There is a moment when you finish a book and you set it down and breathe. You sit there for a minute— let the story and its ending sink in. Then you flip to the last page and read it five times over. That is the endless moment where you let the words someone else wrote slip into your head and fester. The moment where you stare at the wall and realize someone came up with the novel sitting your lap, the novel lying down on your couch arm, your bed. Someone came up with the story, the characters, the images, the words, the entire fictional world. That moment is a rare moment that some books are not allowed to ever be a part of. That moment is a moment the reader, no questions asked, gets with Wither by Lauren DeStefano.

Oh. My. God. I’m all about having a favorite series author. It started when I was young with J. K. Rowling. Next, I got addicted to Cassandra Clare. Most recently, I got addicted to Suzanne Collins. Now there’s a new addiction in town. Freaking Lauren DeStefano. Oh. My. God. Stunning. Gorgeous. Phenomenally staggering. OhmyGod.

Okay, I’m done with my incoherent speech patterns. I’ll do some actually talking here. UGH! The book was flawless. First, the way it’s written is simply to die for. Here’s a quote, just to give you a sample of the amazing that has me drooling:

“And here we are:

two small dying things,

as the world ends around

us like falling autumn leaves.”

Um, yeah. That’s a single sentence in a heap of quote after quote. Seriously, the way this was written, the way so much thought was put into it, the imagery, damn, it makes me jealous that I’ll never be able to write that way. It’s freaking poetry page after page, and it NEVER gets old. It’s written in first person, which always makes everything seem more poignant and now and urgent. Rhine is a beautiful girl with beautiful memories and a beautiful voice that calls out hauntingly to readers and draws them in, word by word. This book is emotive, unforgettable, and, all the way through, tragic. The writing is just one small little part of what makes these things all the more possible.

Moving on: conflict, motivation, and character likability. It’s done with grace, like this isn’t the first book DeStefano has ever published. It's shocking, really. You hate people, then you like them, then you hate them again. It’s a game of tug-of-war, a constant struggle, a never ending battle, and it’s done well. Every character is simultaneously flawed and brilliant and believable. It makes you suspicious whether or not DeStefano has been writing books for years and just hasn't bothered to have any of them published. Especially because she's young. Like... 20's young. Amazing.

Moving on: overall story. Everything happens for a reason and at the right time, and there are so many secrets, there are so many small stories in a big one waiting to be uncovered. There is so much pain, but it’s all so beautiful, it’s all so inspiring. DeStefano breaks your heart and leaves you empty. Then she fills you up.

Rating?

Fiction or Literature?

0% Fiction, 100% Literature

Good or Bad?

100% Good, Can I give a negative percentage for the “Bad”?

Read this. Read it, read it, read it. I’m going to recommend this book to everyone because it’s that good. God, I’m so glad this is the first book in a series. I’m so in love with this book that, even though I bought a digital copy on my Nook, I’m going to go out and buy a REAL copy of it, new and hardback if I can find it. Same thing with the second when it comes out in February!

Till next time,

Alex