Wither: Lauren DeStefano

I loved the cover of this book; ironically, the cover is indicative of the books contents.  The girl on the cover is the main character, Rhine, who Linden enslaved to be his bride. 
Rhine is a survivor, her parents died fairly long ago leaving only her twin brother to support her.  I admired Rhine's perseverance in escaping Linden and her determination to help her friends aka sister wives.    I was surprised by how well I knew Rhine at the end of the novel, I also enjoyed the author's other two sister wives.  With distinct personalities, one is somber and accepting of her fate while the other is childlike and demanding.  Rhine balances these two out with her will to live and her maturity in formulating her plan.  The reader also meets Linden, Rhine's oblivious husband, and Gabriel, Rhine's helpful love interest.  These characters are all well-developed and made to elicit certain emotions in the reader. 

The story begins with Rhine realizing she had been taken to become a bride.  In this dystopian society, due to scientific attempts to perfect the human race women die around their twentieth birthdays and men die on their twenty-fifth birthdays.  The result of these lives cut short: women are taken off the streets at random to become the brides of wealthy men to produce children.  Rhine is realistic about her situation after a mourning period, she adjusts to the finery of her new home and slowly begins to befriend her sister wives.  In the first few chapters of the book, Rhine begins to hatch an escape plan.  It is in the house that Rhine meets Gabriel, during one of her escapes from the confines of the wives' floor.  She also befriends Rose, Linden's first love and wife, who dies shortly after.  The book continues with exciting scenes and constant action. 

The author keeps the readers attention throughout the novel, I was able to finish the book in a day.  The words and actions flow, the events are exciting, and characters are well-known to the reader.  I would recommend this book to young adults (female).