New Release: Wither

Wither (The Chemical Garden Trilogy #1) by Lauren DeStefano is a type of YA book I have yet to venture into - dystopian/post-apocalyptic. I've read post-apocalyptic books before, such as The Road, World War Z (great books, by the way. The Road I actually read on a road trip, in the dark with a book light so it was extra creepy, and World War Z gave me effed up dreams for a looong time), but never something geared towards young adults. If you're familiar with the popular The Hunger Games, then this is supposed to be similar.


The story: In the future, genetic engineering has royally messed things up for future generations. Girls don't live past the age of 20 and guys don't live past the age of 25. Because of this, many young girls are kidnapped and sold into marriage where they are forced into having children to populate the dying-off of the human race. Sixteen-year-old Rhine is one such girl who is kidnapped and sold into a polygamist marriage. Her young husband, Linden, is the son of a rich man, Housemaster Vaughn, a "mad" scientist working hard to come up with a cure for the virus that causes young people to die so young, and needs new test subjects. Though Rhine and her "sister-wives," Jenna and Cecily, are treated quite well, Rhine is still suspicious, and longs to escape and find her twin brother.

The story sounds interesting, but it reminded me of this story I read when I was in middle school. Day of the Barney.

That's right, I said Barney, and I meant that purple freak familiar in so many childhoods. Though I haven't read it in years, Day of the Barney by Brian Bull is one scary ass story about the evilness that is Barney the Purple Dinosaur.

The story is about how Barney gets all of the children of the world to kill off the adults, and pretty much becomes king of the world. He then uses the young girls to grow his offspring inside of, and murders the boys when they turn thirteen. I always knew Barney was too happy to be genuine! I couldn't find the old website I had originally found the story on (doesn't surprise me, since it was like 10 years ago), which is sad since there were other stories I can't remember the names of, as well as pictures.

Anyway, Wither. There are many mixed reviews about this story - that the world in which it takes place needs to be better developed, and that there are holes in the story. But everyone seems to agree that the characters are really well done and that they really come to life. Being as this book is the first in a trilogy (of course it is), I won't be rushing out to read it (but I plan to someday).

Wither doesn't come out until March 22nd, but you can read Day of the Barney now! In fact, I plan to.




I couldn't find a cool evil Barney video, so here's the trailer to The Road. I haven't seen the movie yet, but I'm sure the book was better. Warning: BBQ babies. Don't wanna know? Don't read the book.