Book Review: Starters by Lissa Price

This book review is a special one: Lissa and I happen to share the same editor—Wendy Loggia from Delacorte Press/Random House. I’ll try not to let that fact affect the objectivity of my review (Confession: I’m caressing the book against my cheek at this very moment).

The blurb of Starters, from 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. . . .’

My completely objective verdict of Starters is in: this book was AMAZING! (Confession #2: I’m whispering sweet nothings to the beautiful, shiny cover at this very moment).

Now I have to admit, having read a ton of dystopian novels as of late, I was beginning to question just how one could be done in a way that I’d find intriguing. The answer to that below. 

Five reasons Starters intrigued me, despite it being a dystopian in a market saturated with dystopians:

1.     Body renting=creepy. I like creepy.

2.     The crackerjack plot. To say this book was action-packed would be a huge understatement—from murder, to political intrigue, to love triangles, there was constantly something new popping up that kept me turning the pages well into the night. An incredibly exciting read that would translate well to film.

3.     The brave, smart, and resourceful protagonist, Callie Woodland. I never get sick of reading about a kick-ass female.

4.     The whole thought-provoking-without-beating-the-reader-over-the-head-with-a-message aspect. Starters explored themes not common in YA, including our never-ending pursuit of youth and physical perfection, which I found incredibly refreshing, if not alarming, after my recent large purchase at MAC Cosmetics.

5.     It was just plain well written. An impressive debut.

Starters did leave me with a few unanswered questions (mostly backstory stuff regarding the Spore Wars), but that actually didn’t bother me. I don’t require an explanation for everything large and small and will gladly let myself me taken away by a great read. If you’re like me, then you’re in for a treat.

Waiting with bated breath for Enders, the conclusion of the series.