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We Ew 409085227f522 — 70 years after genetic engineering cured cancer but cursed new generations with a much-limited lifespan–20 years for females, 25 for males–16 year old Rhine is kidnapped from her life with her twin brother Rowan in New York and sold into a polygamous marriage 1000 miles away. Now married to the weak House Governer Linden of her own generation and under the watchful eye of his pre-disease father, the sinister Housemaster Vaughn, Rhine must navigate the politics and agendas of her sister-wives and captors if she’s to have a chance of escape. But with only 4 years of life remaining, is Rhine sure she wants to abandon her comfortable prison, or will she find love in her new life after all? Dystopias–and dystopian trilogies–are in right now. Based on the ARC synopsis, I assumed Wither would be along the same lines as Awaken or Delirium, a romance about a girl’s choice to love or act in defiance of the rules of her progressive, emotionless society. But Wither is different. Unlike the faux utopias of those books, the world of Wither is broken. People are dying too young to maintain civilization as we know it. Members of the last generation to age naturally are still alive, but most children are orphaned early and left to fend for themselves. Powerful men have the luxury of kidnapping wives. If a cure is not found–and not everyone wants one to be–it’s easy to envision the future as successive generations of Lord of the Fruitflies. Despite its heroine wrestling with her feelings toward her new husband Linden and the house servant Gabriel, Wither is not a romance novel. Reading it brought to mind Wuthering Heights (the name association between Linton and Linden helped) and Jane Eyre, with its introspective young woman trapped in a mansion of secrets and desire. Wither is more about personalities, and how each of the sister-wives responds or adjusts to her captive marriage and new social situation. Although the story seemed to slow at times, I liked that Rhine’s feelings for both Linden and Gabriel are sometimes conflicted, and that she doesn’t lose her personality or agenda to their pheromones. The sense of menace of the house and villain are palpable, and other characters, even sympathetic ones, perpetuate iniquities through either willful or oblivious ignorance. The science fiction aspect of the series seems underdeveloped and even extraneous. The science of and social response to the crisis seem glossed over at best, although they may be further explored in the continuation of the trilogy. While the age-limiting disease helps to explain the reason for Rhine’s kidnapping, this feels more like a book about captivity that could take place at any time: future, past, or even in today’s present. Consider the same synopsis as above, with a few omissions: 16 year old Rhine is kidnapped from her life with her twin brother Rowan and sold into a polygamous marriage 1000 miles away. Now married to the weak Linden and under the watchful eye of his father, the sinister Vaughn, Rhine must navigate the politics and agendas of her sister-wives and captors if she’s to have a chance of escape. But is Rhine sure she wants to abandon her comfortable prison, or will she find love in her new life after all? The future setting does distance the horror of Rhine’s situation, as well as appeal to the current YA dystopian trend. But does it really need to? In The Hunger Games, Awaken, and Delirium, there is a real sense of rebellion. In Wither, other than her captors, there’s no government or establishment to rebel against (or if there is, we don’t know enough about it). The focus is instead on how a group of individual characters deal with their own lives under the oppression of a single household–and by extension, how we might approach our own–and that’s enough.

Kristen Mendez _mendez — This book was surprisingly good, very unusual theme and very well executed. Very enjoyable.

Wilm Harde wilmharde — Story of an over-the hill gay man living in Paris during the '80's and early '90's. He is HIV positive, though asymptomatic. He falls in love with a man half his age, who contracts AIDS and dies. Well-written story, some very good observations/descriptions, up in the air ending that's somehow appropriate, as his life continues even with his friends dying.