Wither

A stunning debut YA novel, destined to blow the dystopian genre wide open – The Handmaid’s Tale for a new generation. This edition will contain a sneak preview of Fever, and a brand new short story by Lauren DeStefano: “The First Bride”. Sixteen-year-old Rhine Ellery has only four years left to live when she is kidnapped by the Gatherers and forced into a polygamous marriage. Now she has one purpose: to escape, find her twin brother, and go home – before her time runs out forever. What if you knew you exactly when you would die? In our brave new future, DNA engineering has resulted in a terrible genetic flaw. Women die at the age of 20, men at 25. Young girls are being abducted and forced to breed in a desperate attempt to keep humanity ahead of the disease that threatens to eradicate it. 16-year-old Rhine Ellery is kidnapped and sold as a bride to Linden, a rich young man with a dying wife. Even though he is kind to her, Rhine is desperate to escape her gilded cage – and Linden’s cruel father. With the help of Gabriel, a servant she is growing dangerously attracted to, Rhine attempts to break free, in what little time she has left.

A ‘harrowing debut . . . DeStefano has an observant and occasionally pitiless eye, chronicling the cruelties, mercies, and inconsistencies of her young characters. . . . It will be intriguing to see how DeStefano develops [the larger world] as this promising trilogy progresses.’– Publisher’s Weekly starred review ‘Lauren DeStefano crafts an all too believable future. I loved the world, the romance, the writing – exactly the kind of book I've been craving to read.’–Carrie Ryan, New York Times bestselling author of THE FOREST OF HANDS AND TEETH ‘Wither is an exceptional novel that begins with a bang and doesn't let you go–it's gut-wrenching, shocking, incredible, and completely and utterly absorbing all at once…. DeStefano is a fearless writer, and though it is firmly its own book, Wither will remind readers of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale.’—TheCompulsiveReader.com

Lauren DeStefano earned her BA in English with a Concentration in Creative Writing from Albertus Magnus College in Connecticut in 2007. Wither is her first novel.