STARTERS (Review)

Title: STARTERS

Author(s): Lissa Price

Edition: ARC, 386 pages

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: March 13, 2012

Source: Received from the Ambuzzador Program through Random Buzzers

Buy: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Book Depository

The Summary

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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. . . .

(Goodreads)

My Opinion

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As an Ambuzzador, I help promote specific books for Random House through Random Buzzers (this is their awesome YA book site).  This time around I was able to have the opportunity to help promote a great debut novel, STARTERS by Lissa Price.  Unfortunately, with my life being so very hectic recently, I didn't get my review up in time for the release, which was on March 13, but better late than never.

STARTERS is set in a United States ravaged by biological warfare.  The young and the old were inoculated against the threat, leaving everyone else in between susceptible to the spores.  Unfortunately, this course of action leaves millions dead, children parentless, and grandparents responsible for their grandchildren, creating the two definitive groups, Starters and Enders.  Scary right?  This is a great premise for a dystopian book.  This procedure is the exact course of action which the United States takes now, for example with the Swine Flu.  So it is very likely that this could one day happen, which makes the book that much more menacing.

But what really makes this epidemic even more jarring was the fact that medically, this society is very advanced.  The Enders (the elderly of the book) are living well into their hundreds.  To think that the government didn't do anything to prevent such a large chunk of the population from dying out makes me wonder what Price has up her sleeve for the sequel novel ENDERS (coming out December 2012).  This combination of mystery, thriller, and dystopia is really what made me gravitate towards the book in the first place.

Callie is a great protagonist to have guiding you through what's happening.  She is strong, full of heart and fierce protection of her younger brother Tyler, but at the same time she is still only a teenager.  Because of this there are moments of confusion and vulnerability.  This adds a needed layer of humanity because, for me, if a character is too strong or capable it often reads as false.  Every one has something that scares them or makes them feel vulnerable, but being able to push through it is what matters.

The antagonist of this story is multi-layered: there is Prime Destinations, the Old Man himself, and the police who round up the children who have no guardians.  Each, in their own way, work to hurt Callie and other Starters like her.  It is a great use of layering because it shows the complexity of the world, and how there isn't just one person with the title "Villain".  Of course the most compelling one was the Old Man, and the way Price wrote this character makes you even more intrigued and terrified.

Overall, STARTERS was one book I couldn't put down once started to read it.  The writing was fast-pace, the plot compelling, and the tone pitch-perfect.  This is an amazing debut for Lissa Price, and definitely deserves to be up there with Divergent, The Hunger Games, and Delirium.  I can't wait to read ENDERS, and am excited to read the first short story of three, The Portrait of a Starter, that fleshes out Callie's life  If you love fast-pace thrillers with a great mix of dystopia, love, and murder then you really need to grab a copy of STARTERS by Lissa Price!!

(PSST - I'm holding a giveaway for a finished copy of STARTERS: enter HERE)

Extras

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SHORT STORY: The Portrait of a Starter - Learn about Callie and Michael before STARTERS
Amazon, Barnes and Noble

Final Rating

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Book Cover: 3/5
Book Title: 5/5
Plot: 9.5/10
Characters: 9/10
Writing: 9/10
Ending: 9/10
Overall: 44.5/50: B+

Disclaimer: I received a copy of STARTERS by Lissa Price from Random House as a part of their Random Buzzers' Ambuzzador program.  I am not getting paid for either the review, or subsequent giveaway, and all views are my own

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