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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
When the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty, the children without grandparents found themselves alone and without any means of supporting themselves (thanks to legislations that doesn’t allow young people to work). Now Callie must find a way to support herself and her younger, very sick brother. Could Prime Destinations, a company that would pay her to “rent” out her body to the ageing Ender population, be the answer? Or is their offer of enough money to support her and her brother too good to be true?
Rest of the review available here.
Rest of the review available here.
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved it! Starters is so complex- I have no idea how the author thought of this new world. I mean renters, spore wars, starters and Enders- the whole bit! At first, I thought the old man was her dad... Don't know why..... But at the end, when you find out he was Blake the whole time- kinda crushed my theory. And at the end, when she chose Blake (even though he is NOT the same guy she fell in love with!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) over Michael. We don't really know much about him, but I love him. He was with Callie and Tyler after their parents died and they were in love-kind of at least- before she went to the body bank. So she's basically choosing a guy she knows nothing about over the boy who is basically SAVING HER BROTHER. But I really liked the book!
*that feeling of reading a great book*
Whoa! Whoa! What a great book! It was different, exciting, intriguing, ahhh!! This book was so good, I loved it so much! I had a few very minor problems with it, but mostly I just wished there was more back story, or more explanation about what happened and how and why in better detail, to make the world the way it was in the book. But other than that, I really, really enjoyed it and I can't wait to get my hands on the second one!
video review coming soon!
video review coming soon!
The world in Starters is one that I don't completely understand, but know enough that I wouldn't want to live there. After a weapon takes out everyone between the ages of 20 and 60, children are left to fend for themselves on the street. For some reason, most of the old people who remain completely lose all compassion and maternal/paternal instinct and choose instead to spend all of their time "renting" the bodies of the young people (think Avatar) to joy out and party! There are some glaring similarities in Starters to many other YA dystopian books (like Fever, everything published in 2011, and of course the Hunger Games). What stands out is the writing, which is above par with only a few exceptions-what the hell is a "caffeine table"? and the characters, who were pretty decent. Callie, especially, was shown to be more kick ass and motivated than I expected. The secondary characters are all rather interchangeable.
Here's my problem, and it's not really with the book per se, but rather with the idea of the book: we live in a youth centered society that really values our young people, especially if they are good looking. The older generation in this story is portrayed in such a way to confirm what we want to hear: old people are gross and bad. Even the "loving" grandparents in this story (meaning the ones who claim and raise the offspring of their offspring) really only care about their own kids, and happily step over starving, homeless youth on their way to work everyday. In this world in which people live to 200 and the youth has zero rights, young people are expendable because the "Enders" still work and function as they have before (think 185 year old busboys at restaurants). There is no need for young people. No one seems concerned about the continuation of the species, no one seems to care about the planet at all (except for Beverly Hills, the country is a wasteland).
I'm worried that this would devalue our own elders in society even more. I think what this book has to say about our own current society is WAY more interesting than what it says about Callie's society. This felt like an outcry for respect from a youthful generation that has not proven itself yet. And one knows, if you don't give respect, you don't get it back. And that is truly why this would make a great book club choice.
Here's my problem, and it's not really with the book per se, but rather with the idea of the book: we live in a youth centered society that really values our young people, especially if they are good looking. The older generation in this story is portrayed in such a way to confirm what we want to hear: old people are gross and bad. Even the "loving" grandparents in this story (meaning the ones who claim and raise the offspring of their offspring) really only care about their own kids, and happily step over starving, homeless youth on their way to work everyday. In this world in which people live to 200 and the youth has zero rights, young people are expendable because the "Enders" still work and function as they have before (think 185 year old busboys at restaurants). There is no need for young people. No one seems concerned about the continuation of the species, no one seems to care about the planet at all (except for Beverly Hills, the country is a wasteland).
I'm worried that this would devalue our own elders in society even more. I think what this book has to say about our own current society is WAY more interesting than what it says about Callie's society. This felt like an outcry for respect from a youthful generation that has not proven itself yet. And one knows, if you don't give respect, you don't get it back. And that is truly why this would make a great book club choice.
AHHHHHHHH *runs in circles* Oh god. The ending. THE ENDING! It was perfect--not cliffhangery, but there's tension--and I CAN'T WAIT FOR THE NEXT ONE! And the characters were realistic and complex, with the world they live in falling apart under a war-torn America. I loved it!
Huge parallels to Hunger Games and The Uglies - not quite as succinct as either of those, but a cool premise: IN A WORLD WHERE the elderly and teens/kids are the only survivors of a horrible war that killed the rest of its inhabitants through disease, an exclusive (and secret) company has popped up - Prime Destinations, where the elderly (Elders) can rent the body of a teen (Starters) to relive their youth. Callie, an "unclaimed minor" (and therefore forced to squat in abandoned places with her brother to avoid being turned in to a scary place called The Institution) enrolls herself at Prime to earn the money she needs to help her brother. BUT of course... things aren't what they seem at Prime and she finds herself wrapped up in a risky operation and a lot of dangerous choices, etc, etc.
Not my FAVORITE of this genre.... but also not bad. I probably would have liked it a lot more if I hadn't read a bunch of really awesome dystopia novels first. Someone did mention, though, an interesting political timeliness to it, what with rich old white folks running the town and young people being denied a lot of basic human rights... and that is a cool spin.
Has a huge cliffhanger ending with a sequel on the way this winter.
Not my FAVORITE of this genre.... but also not bad. I probably would have liked it a lot more if I hadn't read a bunch of really awesome dystopia novels first. Someone did mention, though, an interesting political timeliness to it, what with rich old white folks running the town and young people being denied a lot of basic human rights... and that is a cool spin.
Has a huge cliffhanger ending with a sequel on the way this winter.
The premise to this story was really interesting- a future society where youth face dire poverty and discrimintion, to survive they sell their bodies to be rented out to the rich elderly people. But the world building was really sketchy. The setting is an indeterminate time in the future, far enough away that science has gone pretty far in the quest for imortality and someone living to 150 or 200 is common place. There was some sort of war in which the enemy released some sort of bioweapon to the american population, and then everyone between 20 and 60 died. So now the youth who are left without older living relatives have no rights and are institutionalized and abused if they are found.
Callie is a squatter, trying to take care of her younger brother Tyler, who has a serious illness. In desperation, she goes to Prime Destination, a clinic that she heard of from another street kid. She is given an offer. She will be given a large sum of money if she does three body rentals. A chip will be implanted into her brain. She will be put to sleep, and the consciousness of an 'Ender' or a wealthy old person will inhabit her body. They will control it for the time of the rental and will be free to do all of the crazy youthful things that their bodies will not allow them to do. Callie is hesitant, but her brother needs food, shelter and medication. So she signs up.
Her body is then perfected through various treatments until she is flawlessly beautiful. The first two rentals go smoothly. Callie falls asleep and when she wakes up, she is in the same place. a few days have gone by and the only thing she remembers are some strange dreams. Then she learns that her third rental will be longer- an entire month. She is worried about leaving her brother for that long, but she is bound by her contract. This time, Callie goes to sleep and wakes up in a nightclub.
From here, Callie begins to discover dangerous secrets about the progression of Prime Destinations and its vision for the future. She tries to balance her own desires with the voice of the Renter that she sometimes hears inside of her head. Callie also finds herself developping feelings for Blake, a regular wealthy teenage boy whose grandfather is a Senator, and who has some sort of connection with the woman who rented Callie's body. The stakes are high, and Callie must figure out a way to survive, not just for herself, but also for her brother.
Callie is a squatter, trying to take care of her younger brother Tyler, who has a serious illness. In desperation, she goes to Prime Destination, a clinic that she heard of from another street kid. She is given an offer. She will be given a large sum of money if she does three body rentals. A chip will be implanted into her brain. She will be put to sleep, and the consciousness of an 'Ender' or a wealthy old person will inhabit her body. They will control it for the time of the rental and will be free to do all of the crazy youthful things that their bodies will not allow them to do. Callie is hesitant, but her brother needs food, shelter and medication. So she signs up.
Her body is then perfected through various treatments until she is flawlessly beautiful. The first two rentals go smoothly. Callie falls asleep and when she wakes up, she is in the same place. a few days have gone by and the only thing she remembers are some strange dreams. Then she learns that her third rental will be longer- an entire month. She is worried about leaving her brother for that long, but she is bound by her contract. This time, Callie goes to sleep and wakes up in a nightclub.
From here, Callie begins to discover dangerous secrets about the progression of Prime Destinations and its vision for the future. She tries to balance her own desires with the voice of the Renter that she sometimes hears inside of her head. Callie also finds herself developping feelings for Blake, a regular wealthy teenage boy whose grandfather is a Senator, and who has some sort of connection with the woman who rented Callie's body. The stakes are high, and Callie must figure out a way to survive, not just for herself, but also for her brother.
