Reader Rising: Review: Starters

This review is one I wrote a year ago, before I ever created Reader Rising. I came across it on Amazon the other day and decided to edit the review and post it here. What do you think? I can tell my review-writing style has changed. It feels like someone else wrote this! It is also has more paragraphs, as a month or two ago I reverted to 5-paragraph reviews! Anyways, enjoy!

Starters by Lissa Price

Publication Date: March 13th, 2012
Genre: Science Fiction, Dystopia
Amazon/Barnes and Noble

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, by debut novelist Lissa Price, is one of those books that will leave you breathless.

At the beginning you feel sure of the plot, and where it's headed. Then, BAM, a new twist has been added or another unexpected factor reveals itself. I found myself pulled into the vivid, real world of starters and enders.

The book begins by introducing Callie, a 15 year old orphan, who is living on the streets with her friend, Michael, and her sickly younger brother. The USA, Callie's home, has just suffered a terrible biological attack. And the only people who survived are the ones that have been vaccinated, the young and the old. ('Starters' and 'Enders')

Callie needs money, and fast. She knows the chance of survival gets slimmer every day. When she hears about the body bank, and the generous amount of dollars it offers, she decides to take the job and rent out her body to Enders wanting to be young again.

Then, during her third rental, she wakes up in her own body. But she's not at the body bank. There was a malfunction with the rental process and she is cast into the life of her renter. Soon, Callie realizes her renter has some disturbing information about the body bank. Who can Callie trust?

The writing kept me interested the whole way through. And the characters never seemed dull or flat, Callie was a lively narrater. She was one of those smart heroines that you quickly come to admire. Also, there are many other key characters that jumped off the page, whether they were Callie's brother, friend (Michael) , an Ender acquaintance, or the mysterious Blake. Blake is a key character. And there is a large twist involving him. My favorite character, however, was Michael, which is a shame because we see very little of him in this book. I hope he is a more key character in Enders!

When I finished Starters, I immediately hopped on Amazon and looked up the sequel. I can't wait for it to come out! I absolutely love the world Price has created!I recommend this to anybody looking for an original dystopian novel. There are also some sci-fi elements, with the body bank premise, so fans of the genre should also enjoy Starters!

Note: There are two ebook short stories out about the world of Starters:
Portrait of a Starter: An Unhidden Story
Portrait of a Marshal: An Unhidden Story

What do you think of the new cover? I love it! Here is the old one:

Overall, this book earned