Wither by Lauren Destefano

Genre: Young Adult - Fantasy/Science Fiction-ish

Rating: 5 stars

Review: As you probably know, I had the case of an awful reading slump the past couple of weeks, and needed a fresh new book to cure it. Thankfully, I was able to pick up Wither from the library. First off, can I just say how much I love the plot line and its premise? It is so original and new, and it makes this story such a refreshing read. And the way the author executed the whole thing, I thought was simply flawless. The pace was on-point, the development was perfect, the writing was beautiful and flowed so well, and the entire setting was so great to learn more about and explore.

As for the characters, I really liked getting to know about them more. They aren't made up of stereotypical personalities and characteristics, which in itself, is a huge plus. But what I loved about the most was the narrator (the main protagonist). This may sound weird, but I actually didn't see her as a fictional character. Instead, it seemed as if she was actually me. I felt like I was in her situation, feeling all these kinds of things, going through all this stuff. It truly made the whole story realistic and believable, despite the fact that it's fantasy and science fiction.

So yes, I loved it. I enjoyed it thoroughly, and rooted for the characters all the way. I like the way it exudes 'darkness and sadness' in a very subtle (instead of contrived and forced) way. All in all, I just thought it was a very intriguing world to live in, even for a few hours. I highly recommend this to YA fans and readers looking for an original and fresh story line.