Starters by Lissa Price (Review + Giveaway)

Genre:	YA Dystopia
Publication.Date	March 13th 2012
Pages:	368
Published By:	Delacorte Books for Young Readers    |
Website	Lissa Price |
	Starters - Goodreads
My review copy:	Finished copy received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Where to get:	Barnes and Noble | Amazon | Indie Bound

     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)

“I need you to go talk to a girl who may have some information about Emma."
"Where is she?"
"Someplace you're not going to want to go."
(...)
"I give up. Where?"
"Institution 37."
I felt a hitch in my breathing. I leaned back against the wall.
"Could I pick hell instead?”

Did Cinderella ever consider fessing up to the prince, that night she was enjoying herself in the fancy ball gown? Did she even think of telling him, oh, by the way, Prince, the coach isn’t mine, I’m really a filthy little barefoot servant on borrowed time? No. She took her moment. And then went quietly away after midnight.

 When hawks cry, time to fly.

   

     Lissa Price's debut YA novel, Starters, is an interesting and ultimately creepy tale of survival, sacrifices and fractured society, one that highlights human vanity, greed and stupidity. It's a readable and entertaining dystopia that provides the reader with a fascinating premise and provocative storyline full of secrets and plot twists. Fast-paced and disturbing, Starters is a book easily devourable in one sitting.

     Set as a first person narrative, Starters tells the story of Callie, a teenage girl, who has lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She, her younger brother, Tyler, and their friend, Michael, are now living as squatters, sleeping in abandoned buildings, stealing water and food, doing everything in their power to survive. Determined to get enough money to provide her brother with food and shelter, Callie signs a contract with Prime Destinations, becoming a donor. Prime Destinations, run by the mysterious (and creepy) Old Man, is a private organization that hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders (wealthy seniors, desperate to feel young and pretty again). The donors undergo a surgical procedure to insert a neurochip to the back of their heads. The chip allows the renter to control the donor's body via a wireless connection. A little bit over a month of being a puppet, which to Callie will feel like nothing more but a long, refreshing dream, and the payoff will get them their own house and a year worth of food. It seems like a harmless and easy way to secure their future. What could possibly go wrong? Well, everything. Prime Destinations' plans are more twisted and evil than Callie could ever have expected, and the secrets she's about to learn will put everyone she cares about in mortal danger.

      It's no secret that I have always loved reading post-apocalyptic/dystopian fiction - and the creepier the story, the better. So when the opportunity presented itself to read and review Starters, I jumped at the chance. Fascinated by the intriguing premise, the creeptastic, edgy cover, and the promise of an experience similar in intensity to The Hunger Games, I was giddy with anticipation. I expected a lot from this book, and although I did enjoy it quite a lot, I couldn't help but feel a little bit disappointed with some aspects of the story. Starters is not perfect. Clunky in parts, sketchy on the details of the world building, and sometimes borderline nonsensical when it comes to the characters and their weirdly motivated (or not motivated at all) decisions, it's not quite what I thought it would be when I picked it up. As much as I liked the premise, the plot line had more holes than a Swiss cheese. Some things were easy to overlook, other made me cringe and frown. Ultimately, though, I felt quite frustrated with how the story unfolded, how the characters behaved in certain situations, and how unnecessarily twisty the plot line got towards the end of the book. I didn't understand why the vaccine was given to the elders and children only, condemning the rest of the population to a certain death. It didn't make sense to me. If your country is being attacked with a biological weapon, you'd think you would want to save some of the vaccine for people who will be able to keep the society from totally falling apart: scientists, government officials, military force, health professionals, etc.. In other words: people who matter. You certainly won't just save a bunch of kids and elderly people, and hope that everything will somehow work out. I didn't quite buy into the love story between Callie and Blake, either. It seemed a bit forced and out of place, and I'd be more than happy to have Blake's character entirely erased from the pages of Starters. At times I found myself wishing for the characters to be slightly more fleshed-out. I wanted to learn more about Callie, Tyler, Michael, and the families they've lost. Instead of reading about "z-mails" and "supertruffles", I wanted to find out more about the Spore Wars, and the post-war society. What exactly happened to Callie's parents and thousands of other people who did not receive the vaccine? Why didn't they receive the vaccine in the first place? Few questions were answered, and most of the time the answers were ambiguous at best.

      That's not to say that Starters is not a good book, because once you get past the sketchiness and the lack of chemistry between the main characters, you get a very entertaining and involving story. It's definitely an action-packed ride all the way to the end. The cliffhanger ending delivers quite a punch, so be prepared to be left dumbfounded and gaping. You will most likely end up re-reading the final passages, desperately trying to make sense of what just happened. For the most part Starters is well-written, although the overly simplistic language leads me to believe that there is still some room for the author to improve her prose and dialogues, to make them more vibrant and engaging. These are really minor issues, though, and they shouldn't prevent you from thoroughly enjoying this delicious dystopian treat. After all, who could possibly say no to this gorgeous, droolicious cover?

Random House Canada has generously offered 1 finished copy of Starters by Lissa Price for giveaway
I'm also giving away my finished copy of Starters to a lucky International reader!

Open to: EVERYONE

Giveaway ends March 15th

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About the Author

Evie is the Blogger behind Bookish. She enjoys reading many different genres, especially YA, Paranormal, Contemporary Fiction and Fantasy.

She loves talking to authors and is always happy to welcome them for interviews, and guest posts. She also likes spreading the love for awesome books and  chatting with fellow book-worms.

You can find Evie here: Twitter | Facebook | Goodreads | Shelfari | The Library Thing