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STARTERS by Lissa Price



copyright date: March 2012
primarily marketed for: young adults (12 and up)

Starters by Lissa Price tells the story of Callie, a teenager living in a world where Spore Warfare has killed off anyone who was middle-aged.  When Spore Warfare was in use, the government gave the elderly (Enders) and those under the age of twenty (Starters) priority when it came to getting vaccinated because they were most at-risk.  So, it turned out they were the only survivors. 

Now, without her parents or any surviving grandparents, Callie is left to care for herself and her sickly younger brother.  She has support from a childhood friend, Michael, but that is not enough to keep them safe and well-fed. 

Callie is tempted to earn enough money to save her brother and friend by becoming a rental Starter.  She is invited to undergo a complete makeover, and earn a large sum of money simply for signing up to rent her body three times to Enders who want to experience what it is like to be young again. 

With no other options, Callie decides to sign-up.  She will have to go to the center where her mind will “sleep” in the body of an Ender for the duration of the rental, while her body walks out of the center with the mind the Ender controlling it.  

The problem is that during one of her rentals, she wakes up.  Her first instinct is to return to the rental center to report that things have gone awry, but then she hears a voice in her head that is not her own, telling her NOT to go back to the center and that the center is dangerous.  The voice is convincing and is enough to plant doubt in her mind.   However, before she knows it, she slips into her rental sleep again.  Things really start to get crazy for Callie when she wakes up again to find her body holding a gun. 

Callie’s story is not the best dystopian story I have read lately, but that is simply because the competition in this genre is so intense.  It is a really satisfying story with a whole different twist than anything else I’ve read. And I can't forget to mention that, of course, there is some well-written intense romance intertwined amongst the suspense.

While Callie’s story seems to be wrapped up at the end of this book, plenty of intriguing information is revealed to keep me guessing enough to make me want to read the upcoming sequel, Enders, due out in December.

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  1. ShannonJune 15, 2012 at 10:05 AM

    I've got a sampler of this at home right now. It does sound like something I would enjoy-especially if it has a twist that's not normal! Sometimes I wonder when authors are going to run out of new ideas-EVER? :)

    Shannon
    http://www.irunreadteach.wordpress.com

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