Review: Starters

Starters (Starters, #1) by Lissa Price
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Format: eGalley
Source: For review by publisher
Release Date: March 13th, 2012
Amazon |  Goodreads
★★★★☆

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 was fantastic! It was a refreshingly original dystopian read . Filled with twists, it kept me on my toes from page one.

Imagine having someone "rent" your body: You wake up having no clue where you have been or what you have done. Lissa made this chilling concept easy to imagine. You are dropped into a world where trust is thrown out the window. No one is what they seem. Creepy right? Well, It gets creepier.

The situation Callie, Michael, and Tyler are placed in after their parents' deaths is bad enough. But when you toss The Old Man and Prime Destinations into the picture it becomes one heck of a scary beast. After agreeing to be a renter, Callie's neurochip malfunctions and she is thrown into a conspiracy she never could have imagined. Yet, even when lives were hanging in the balance, Callie remained a relatable and true character.

Callie's voice pulled me into the story easily and brought a certain realness to it. From the beginning it was clear that she was not afraid to make the necessary sacrifices for Tyler and Michael. Not only was she a selfless character, but she was quick to think and act even in the most desperate of times. Poor Callie never had a break in this book.

Lissa did an amazing job with the pacing! Just when I was starting to feel comfortable with the world, she would throw another twist at me. I was constantly on my toes! I did, however, find Starters lacking  in the detail department. It would have been nice to see the world fleshed out a bit more. Perhaps that's something I can look forward to in book two!

Starters is a smart, thrilling, and action-packed dystopian read. The ending will leave you desperate for the next book!

If you liked Unwind by Neal Shusterman then you will like Starters by Lissa Price.