Wither - Lauren DeStefano

[goodreads]

Title: Wither
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Genre: Dystopian
Rating: 2.5/5
# pages: 256
Date read: December, 2011

Obviously, something went terribly wrong. Genetic mutations have festered, reducing human longevity to twenty-five, even less for most women. To prevent extinction, young girls are kidnapped, mated in polygamous marriages with men eager to procreate. Sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery, a recent victim of this breeding farm mentality, has vowed to break loose from its fetters; but finding allies and a safe way out is a challenge she can only hope she will survive.

I really enjoyed the first half and was really annoyed by the second half. Wither had such potential, but instead of making the most of that potential, Lauren DeStefano ended up with a book with bland characters and no plot to speak of. It's the first book in a series in the worst sense of the word, in that everything that happened led up to the last few pages, and nothing was resolved but instead left for the next book to pick up on.

DeStefano's writing appealed to me, so I enjoyed the book while I was reading it (until I got far enough into it that I could see the writing on the wall that nothing would be resolved anyway), but looking back at it, there are a lot of plotholes and stereotypes.