Title: Starters (Starters #1)Author: Lissa Price
Release Date: March 13, 2012 (hardcover)
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pages: 352
Source: Copy provided by publisher
Overall: 3.5 Stars
Summary:
HER WORLD IS CHANGED FOREVER.Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man.He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie's head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator's grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations' plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined....
My Thoughts:
The cover for Lissa Price's Starters seriously freaks me out. There's something about the stark white and metallic grey cover, and the girl's unnatural eyes that makes me want to look away, only to stare right back at it again. With so many dystopian novels being unleashed onto shelves lately, I was rather weary at first about reading Starters, but its fresh concept and science fiction influence still managed to spark my curiosity!
Lissa Price has envisioned a terrifying world in her debut novel where a deadly weaponized spore has wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty... and forced Starters, young teenagers, to rent out their bodies to the wealthy seniors called Enders who wish to recapture the feeling of youth. When Callie first walks through the doors of Prime Destinations, she only has the desperate intention of getting enough money to help her younger brother Tyler, their friend Michael, and herself, lead a better life. But everything goes wrong on what should have been Callie's final time giving up her body when her chip malfunctions. Her renter, a rich Ender by the name of Mrs. Winterhill, has been looking into Prime Destinations suspicious dealings... but their plans are more sinister than anyone could have imagined.
While I really liked the premise and how it expands on modern concerns such as the lengths people would go to avoid growing older, I did think there were some inconsistencies with the storytelling. The romance came across as rather weak, and I didn't really understand why Callie would go out on a few dates with a handsome boy named Blake when she had such greater problems resting on her shoulders. While we later realize that Blake being the son of a senator plays an important factor in the novel, the relationship between Callie and him could feel so awkward at times for me.
If you're looking for a fast-paced dystopian novel which ends with a twist, then I'm sure you'll be loving Lissa Price's debut novel Starters! There may have been a few areas that could have been more fleshed out, but I can't deny the novel was quite addicting to read once I began. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this two-book series will conclude when Enders is released later in the year. Callie is not out of danger yet and there are still more questions that need to be answered.
Thanks so much to Random House Canada for providing this review copy!
*****
Giveaway! I have an extra finished copy of Lissa Price's Starters, so I'm going to be giving it away to a lucky follower!
- please fill out the Rafflecopter form to enter
- giveaway is INTERNATIONAL
- giveaway will end at 12:00 a.m. on May 2, 2012
- winner will be contacted by email afterwards
- do not leave your email address in the comments
Giveaway is closed.
Congratulations to Lindsay A.!
