Fiction | Book Chatter

Wither
Book #1 of The Chemical Garden Trilogy
By Lauren DeStefano
(Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing, Hardcover, 9781442409057, March 2011, 368pp.)

The Short of It:

As fun as a book about death and dying can be!

The Rest Of It:

In the not too distant future, women are dying at the age of 20 and males by the age of 25. Only the First Generation can outlive them, and although many have tried to come up with an antidote for the virus that takes their young, so far…no one has been successful. In an effort to save the human race, young girls are abducted and forced to be sister wives who share one husband. Their goal? To produce as many children as possible before dying.

After her parents are killed in a lab explosion, sixteen-year-old Rhine is abducted and forced to marry Governor Linden, who is twenty-years-old and approaching his twilight years. Rhine is a beauty with very unusual eyes. It’s because of her eyes, and her likeness to another girl named Rose, that she is chosen as a bride. However, when she arrives at the house she realizes that she is only one of three new wives and that a fourth is on her deathbed.

Although Governor Linden is actually quite likable, his father, Housemaster Vaughn is anything but! His presence in the house makes Rhine very uncomfortable and when one of her sister wives has a baby, Rhine becomes concerned over what is being done to the baby. Add to that her attraction to a handsome attendant by the name of Gabriel and Rhine finds herself conflicted over what she needs to do.

Polygamy is a loaded topic and DeStefano tackles it successfully. At times, the idea of young, pregnant brides is disturbing, but with the human race dying out as it is, somehow the idea isn’t so bad. The topic is handled delicately and there is nothing overly graphic or violent contained within these pages. I’d say that the target age range of 14+ is accurate.

From an adult perspective, I found the book utterly readable and fun. There’s the whole class struggle thing going on, as well as the conflict that being a sister-wife creates. It was a quick read, and the pages flew by and at the end I found myself looking forward to book #2. If you like to delve into YA now and then and like dystopian fiction but not necessarily the violence, then this might be a good book for you.

Source: Sent to me by the publisher.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

The Murderer’s Daughters
By Randy Susan Meyers
(St. Martin’s Griffin, Paperback, 9780312674434, February 2011, 310pp.)

The Short of It:

An impressive, fictional debut that had me in tears at one point. Beautifully told, sad at times yet ultimately hopeful.

The Rest of It:

The murder of Lulu’s mother and the near murder of her younger sister, Merry is hard enough for Lulu to understand, but at the hands of her own father? How does a ten-year-old child deal with the fact that her mother is no longer there for her? How does she accept that her father is a murderer and in prison? In addition to the enormity of the situation itself, Lulu feels responsible for her sister, who happens to still love her father, despite the fact that she almost died because of him.

This book did all sorts of things to me. It made me angry and sad and sometimes I hated the father, but other times I questioned myself. Would it be possible to forgive someone for killing your own mother? Does a child’s love run that deep? Although The Murderer’s Daughters deals with some really heavy themes, there is a brightness to it. It’s not all dark. In fact, much of it is hopeful.

I loved these sisters. I loved their relationship and I could relate to both of them. Meyers managed to create realistic tension between them, without it seeming forced. They were each complex in their own way, and each so different, yet close, very close and I admired the skill it took to make them that way. I also loved the touches of detail here and there that helped round out the story. It wasn’t too much. Not the “in your face” filler detail that you often see with new writers.

I’m not sure what I expected when picking this one up, but I think I expected a more melodramatic tale and I was so pleased that it wasn’t that kind of book. Book clubs would do well with this one. There is so much to discuss and much of it is still on my mind. I recommend it highly.

A note about the author:

The copy that I was given had a section on why the author wrote the book. Turns out, that the author and her sister had a similar experience with their own father. Their experience did not result in death, but Meyers was haunted by the “what ifs.” This explains why the story elements were so convincing.

If you’d like a chance to win a copy, check out the details below.

Source: Review and giveaway copy provided by St. Martin’s Press.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

GIVEAWAY INFORMATION

This giveaway is for one copy of The Murderer’s Daughters and is open to the US and Canada. A winner will be chosen randomly by me. The book will come directly from the publisher. Only one entry per person. Giveaway closes on April 15, 2011 (pacific). I will contact the winner for his/her mailing address.

To enter the giveaway, please click here. (Giveaway is now closed!)

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