Book Review: Starters by Lissa Price

  Title: Starters                                                                 Pages: 368
  Author: Lissa Price                                                       Source: Netgalley
  Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers    Published: June 12, 2012
  Series: Starters #1                                                       Purchase: Amazon

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...

Starters is a great example of the wonderful dystopian novels that are coming out lately. It has heart, action, incredible sci-fi moments and an awesome, brave heroine.

I loved Callie. She had so much of her heart to give, especially to her brother. She loved him unconditionally and did anything it took to keep him alive, including selling her body to the Body Bank and the Enders that rented her. I loved how much she cared about everyone and how much ambition she had!

If you're looking for a highly romantic book, you will not find it with Starters. While it has romance in it, it is not in the forefront as most other novels. This did not bother me in the least and I thought Lissa Price did a fabulous job writing the romance.

The plot is really fast paced and just plain great. I loved it from the minute I started and did not once lose interest. Some of the twists I saw ahead of time, but there are a few that just blew me away.

While the ending was not totally wrapped up (because of there being a sequel!), I was greatly satisfied and I felt like it was partly resolved. To me, this is how all great dystopian novels are: book one introduces a "big problem" and a "smaller problem" that gets resolved by the ending, book two keeps the "big problem" going and introduces another "smaller problem" and depending on if this is the final book, both big and small problems get resolved. If a novel does not follow this formula, I am usually left feeling unsatisfied with the first book of the series.

Overall, I loved Starters and would definitely recommend it to any dystopian or light sci-fi fans. I will definitely be reading the sequel, Enders!

Pass or Read? Read right now!

Cover thoughts: This is by far one of the most unique covers I've seen. I mean, the girl is completely white except for her eyes! I've never seen that before and since it's so bright and unique, it can definitely attract attention in a book store!