By: Lauren DeStefano
Format: Hardcover, 358 pages
Published: March 2011, Simon and Schuster
Source: ARC from publisher, ebook from publisher
Challenges: Debut Author Challenge; E-book Challenge; Dystopia Challenge
Summary (from Goodreads): Thanks to modern science, every human being has become a ticking genetic time bomb—males only live to age twenty-five, and females only live to age twenty. In this bleak landscape, young girls are kidnapped and forced into polygamous marriages to keep the population from dying out.
When sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery is taken by the Gatherers to become a bride, she enters a world of wealth and privilege. Despite her husband Linden's genuine love for her, and a tenuous trust among her sister wives, Rhine has one purpose: to escape—to find her twin brother and go home.
But Rhine has more to contend with than losing her freedom. Linden's eccentric father is bent on finding an antidote to the genetic virus that is getting closer to taking his son, even if it means collecting corpses in order to test his experiments. With the help of Gabriel, a servant Rhine is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in the limted time she has left.
My Review: This book touches on so many subjects that are fiction taboo: slavery, polygamy, and teenage pregnancy. I was nervous when I started the book, because it would have been very easy for the story to be very, well, not suitable for teens. I was pleased that even with the mature themes, this is a book that I'd be comfortable giving to my sisters.
When you read this book, you'll be left thinking, 'what would I do in this situation?' Rhine is obsessed with freedom. Amy from My Friend Amy compared Rhine to Mary from The Forest of Hands and Teeth, and I absolutely agree. She will do anything to get free and return to her brother. She knows that she doesn't have much time left, and even though she has access to anything she wants, she is deprived of what she needs. They say that money can't buy everything, and that is certainly the case for Rhine. Her basic needs are taken care of. She has food, entertainment, everything. But instead of just living up short amount of time that she has left, she chooses to focus her energy on getting free.
My biggest complaint about the story is that there were some serious problems behind the science that brings about this disease. I had a hard time coming to grips with the idea that genetic engineering is to blame for everyone dying. However, the story was compelling enough that I was able to overlook some of the science.
I am very excited to read the rest of the series. If you like dystopian fiction, pick this one up.
My Rating:
