Published: March 2012
Publisher: Delacorte Books
Pages: 368
Copy Provided by: NetGalley
Summary: Goodreads
Summary:
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. . . .
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. . . .
Review:
I had been reading some buzz on different blogs about this one so I thought I'd give it a try. I managed to snag a copy from NetGalley and one of the things that piqued my interest even more was the Editor's letter at the beginning of the ARC raving about the concept of this book.
The idea of Enders and Starters was very interesting. Imagine having a population of young people and seniors. What a challenge! Lissa Price didn't get into much about industry but it started my wheels turning and I had all sorts of questions about who would be working and making money. How do you survive without a middle working class? The concept of it all is baffling and left me with many questions as I was reading. Not necessarily a bad thing but I wanted to know more about the society and more about how people lived. It seems like a world that Ms. Price could certainly pull other storylines from.
There were many different ideas that this book touched upon! Renting bodies, children squatting on the street, children taking on a parenting role, class variances...I admired Callie for her bravery in working with Prime Destinations and risking so much to take care of her younger brother. She was a great heroine and the story's pace moved quite quickly. It faltered just a little at the end and I'm eager to see what Ms. Price comes up with with her follow-up, (smartly titled) Enders.
For me, this book is hard to discuss until you've read it. The story becomes quite complicated with multiple characters but like I mentioned before, the pace was incredibly quick and I found it hard to put down. I have very little time to read but I definitely lost sleep because I would start reading in the evening and just couldn't seem to stop.
It was recommended to fans of the Hunger Games but I feel that EVERYONE is referencing the Hunger Games right now to cash in on the series popularity. Honestly, I feel tht if you had enjoyed Matched by Allie Condie or even XVI by Julia Karr, you should enjoy this one.
Favourite quote
(I read the ARC so the quote might be slightly different in the published edition)
I had been reading some buzz on different blogs about this one so I thought I'd give it a try. I managed to snag a copy from NetGalley and one of the things that piqued my interest even more was the Editor's letter at the beginning of the ARC raving about the concept of this book.
The idea of Enders and Starters was very interesting. Imagine having a population of young people and seniors. What a challenge! Lissa Price didn't get into much about industry but it started my wheels turning and I had all sorts of questions about who would be working and making money. How do you survive without a middle working class? The concept of it all is baffling and left me with many questions as I was reading. Not necessarily a bad thing but I wanted to know more about the society and more about how people lived. It seems like a world that Ms. Price could certainly pull other storylines from.
There were many different ideas that this book touched upon! Renting bodies, children squatting on the street, children taking on a parenting role, class variances...I admired Callie for her bravery in working with Prime Destinations and risking so much to take care of her younger brother. She was a great heroine and the story's pace moved quite quickly. It faltered just a little at the end and I'm eager to see what Ms. Price comes up with with her follow-up, (smartly titled) Enders.
For me, this book is hard to discuss until you've read it. The story becomes quite complicated with multiple characters but like I mentioned before, the pace was incredibly quick and I found it hard to put down. I have very little time to read but I definitely lost sleep because I would start reading in the evening and just couldn't seem to stop.
It was recommended to fans of the Hunger Games but I feel that EVERYONE is referencing the Hunger Games right now to cash in on the series popularity. Honestly, I feel tht if you had enjoyed Matched by Allie Condie or even XVI by Julia Karr, you should enjoy this one.
Favourite quote
(I read the ARC so the quote might be slightly different in the published edition)
- 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.
Hi Christina! I liked your review. I agree that referring to The Hunger Games has become more and more frequent since the movie. I've read mixed reviews on Starters. But I did like Matched. So I might go for this one.
ReplyDeleteThanks Precious! there were so many interesting things about this word that was created. I think it would make an excellent ISU or book talk. It could really prompt a lot of discussion for a book club.
ReplyDelete