Saturday, May 4, 2013

Wither by Lauren Destefano


Hi everyone! The twentieth book is Wither by Lauren Destefano! This novel was extremely intriguing for me, instead of the usual end of the world plot line, it had a certain twist to it. In this novel, males lived to the age of 25, and females lived to the age of 20. When they reach those age limits a virus would set in, and slowly, or sometimes rapidly, kill them. The First Generations, those who are able to live well into their eighties, are trying to find an antidote. While they are trying to find this antidote, the First Generations, who are wealthy as heck, send out Gatherers to find potential brides for their sons. It is common for the sons to have multiple wives at one time. The theory behind this, was to keep the offspring coming in hopes that the antidote would be found, and the First Generations could watch their grandchildren grow to old age. The story centers around three wives, their husband, their father-in-law, and a little dose of romance. Jenna, the oldest wives, has the most resentment towards Linden, the husband, because of what happened to her sisters. Rhine, the middle wife, wants to find her way back to her twin brother, but also knows how to play to the game, so she plays the affectionate, but yet resistant wife card. And finally Cecily, the youngest of the three wives, who is excited to bear as many children as Linden wants, and to take advantages of all the luxuries provided. 

About the Author: 
Lauren Destefano

  • Has a Bachelor's Degree in English from Albertus Magnus College.
  • Enjoys to thrift shop, play on her Nintendo, and playing with her cats in her free time.
Awards/Nominations:
  • Nominated for ALA Teens' Top Ten in 2012.
What to Expect in This Book:
  • Polygamous marriage
  • Disease
  • Survival 
  • Dystopia
  • Holograms
Rating:
  • Four out five stars
    • I highly enjoyed this book. It was a quick read, but what really stood out to me was the futuristic characteristics that this book had. Those specific scenes in the novel really made me wonder if these holograms and such could actually become a realistic thing in the near future. The characters were strong, and developed through the progression of the novel. 

Stork by Wendy Delsol


Hello!! I'm going to just jump right into it. The nineteenth book is Stork by Wendy Delsol. It's basically about this girl who finds out that she has this special power/gift that makes her a human stork. She gets to choose which vessel, or potential mother, gets to conceive the baby. The main character, Katla, runs into a boy from her childhood that she has no recollections of, but they end up re-connecting and finding out things from their past as well as from their present. It was a novel that allowed you to read, and not have to be constantly thinking about different aspects of the plot. 

About the Author:
Wendy Delsol

  • Stork is her first novel.
  • Was born in Canada.
  • Has a Masters degree from California State University, Orange Beach.
  • Married with two sons.
Awards/Nominations:
  • Won the Voya Perfect Ten Award in 2010
What to Expect in This Book:
  • Folklore
  • Myths
  • Pregnancy issues/scares
  • Fantasy
Rating:
  • Three out of five stars
    • I only gave Stork three stars, because there was nothing that had me turning the pages rapidly. I felt like I could predict some of the events that took place. However, I still thought the book was very well-written, and has great potential.