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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
THINGS I LIKED:
1) The idea of old people taking over the bodies of young people is really cool premise for a book. I was loving the book in the beginning. The first disc (I listened to the audio) was really disturbing as this future world was being set up. It was exciting when Callie got mixed up with Helena and her problems. I was liking it. At least in the beginning.
2) When the book finally ended. When I listen to audio books, I get much more emotionally involved with the story than when I read them. About half way through I was getting frustrated with where the story was going and I knew that it was time to pick up the book and just read the second half. However, there was a long wait list at the library for the book, so I decided to continue listening. It was a relief to FINALLY reach the end.
THINGS THAT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE:
1) Old people, aka Enders, can live up to 200 years. We meet a Starter's great grandma who is close to two hundred, and the great grandson is only 16. So in this future do they only have kids when they're in their fifties? There should be innumerable generations alive if Enders are living to such an age. But there aren't. There are just four, in two hundred years. Have they somehow irraticated teen pregnancy? Or even pregnancy in people who are 20-40 year old?
2) The Spore Wars. There isn't much information given about this event. But from what I gathered, the US knew that the flinging of spore bombs might happen, so they gave vaccines to the weaker of the population: children, teens, and the elderly. The reasoning being that like the flu, they would be more prone to getting ill and suffer from side effects. This would have been a smart move IF spores were like the flu. Except unlike the flu, it seemed pretty obvious that the spores killed, didn't just make people sick.
In a flashback, Callie remembers overhearing her parents talk about not having the vaccine, and that if they didn't get it, then their children would be left orphans. And the scientists knew enough about the spores to make the vaccine. So why are they sentencing to death the middle age with families? Or really, everyone between the ages of 18-80?
So not only was I disgusted with the government for their stupid plan on dispensing the vaccine, I was also disgusted with the older population. I have a problem with 200 year old grand-parents accepting the vaccine, all the while knowing that their grandchildren would not be getting it, meaning if a spore bomb was launched, they were killing their grandchildren.
So in the novel, there are a lot of grandparents who became the legal gaurdians to their grandchildren because their children did not get the vaccine. why didn't they give up their own share of vaccine so that their children could live? What a bunch of selfish, old people.
Really, there were very few Enders that were charitable in this novel. Most of them were selfish and mean. And I don't buy into all the police being so mean to the teens. And locking them up. The enders were the ones who caused the problems by killing the parents, they should have come up with a better way to solve the problem they caused.
THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:
1) Callie. She did such stupid things. With each disc, I liked her less and less. I can appreciate characters who get into messes and struggle to get out of them. But Callie got herself in her own messes because she made stupid decisions, then got in bigger messes because she kept making stupider decisions. I wanted to shake some sense into her. I couldn't feel for her plight, because it was of her own making. I could count the ways, but I'm trying to make this a spoiler free review. So just two broad examples.
Near the beginning of the story Callie is given information. I was intrigued by this information. I wanted to know more. But Callie did not. She ignored it. She did everything she could to get away from the information instead of finding out more, seeing if it was true. I had questions I wanted her to ask, but she ran away, humming and with her fingers in her ears, intent on remaining as ignorate as possible.
When she finally stopped running and took her fingers from her ears, she tried to share the information that was forced upon her. Instead of starting from the beginning and sharing in a cohesive and orderly way, she jumped into the middle of her story, give no pertinant information to her listeners, and expected them to trust her when she had given them no real information. It drove me bonkers.
There was an event that reminded me of a Rue/Katnis moment, but instead of being sad, I rolled my eyes because if Callie had intelligence, she would never have gotten into the situation she got into.
2) The ending.
Why are they tearing down a perfectly good building? Just sell it and use it for something else!
The last decision Callie made in the novel was completely stupid. What's to say that the old man can't get to her again in the same way as before? Because of Callie's track record of doing stupid things, I shouldn't have been surprised that she would continue on in the same way, but I was still disappointed.
It was a very unsatisfying ending.
1) The idea of old people taking over the bodies of young people is really cool premise for a book. I was loving the book in the beginning. The first disc (I listened to the audio) was really disturbing as this future world was being set up. It was exciting when Callie got mixed up with Helena and her problems. I was liking it. At least in the beginning.
2) When the book finally ended. When I listen to audio books, I get much more emotionally involved with the story than when I read them. About half way through I was getting frustrated with where the story was going and I knew that it was time to pick up the book and just read the second half. However, there was a long wait list at the library for the book, so I decided to continue listening. It was a relief to FINALLY reach the end.
THINGS THAT DIDN'T MAKE SENSE:
1) Old people, aka Enders, can live up to 200 years. We meet a Starter's great grandma who is close to two hundred, and the great grandson is only 16. So in this future do they only have kids when they're in their fifties? There should be innumerable generations alive if Enders are living to such an age. But there aren't. There are just four, in two hundred years. Have they somehow irraticated teen pregnancy? Or even pregnancy in people who are 20-40 year old?
2) The Spore Wars. There isn't much information given about this event. But from what I gathered, the US knew that the flinging of spore bombs might happen, so they gave vaccines to the weaker of the population: children, teens, and the elderly. The reasoning being that like the flu, they would be more prone to getting ill and suffer from side effects. This would have been a smart move IF spores were like the flu. Except unlike the flu, it seemed pretty obvious that the spores killed, didn't just make people sick.
In a flashback, Callie remembers overhearing her parents talk about not having the vaccine, and that if they didn't get it, then their children would be left orphans. And the scientists knew enough about the spores to make the vaccine. So why are they sentencing to death the middle age with families? Or really, everyone between the ages of 18-80?
So not only was I disgusted with the government for their stupid plan on dispensing the vaccine, I was also disgusted with the older population. I have a problem with 200 year old grand-parents accepting the vaccine, all the while knowing that their grandchildren would not be getting it, meaning if a spore bomb was launched, they were killing their grandchildren.
So in the novel, there are a lot of grandparents who became the legal gaurdians to their grandchildren because their children did not get the vaccine. why didn't they give up their own share of vaccine so that their children could live? What a bunch of selfish, old people.
Really, there were very few Enders that were charitable in this novel. Most of them were selfish and mean. And I don't buy into all the police being so mean to the teens. And locking them up. The enders were the ones who caused the problems by killing the parents, they should have come up with a better way to solve the problem they caused.
THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE:
1) Callie. She did such stupid things. With each disc, I liked her less and less. I can appreciate characters who get into messes and struggle to get out of them. But Callie got herself in her own messes because she made stupid decisions, then got in bigger messes because she kept making stupider decisions. I wanted to shake some sense into her. I couldn't feel for her plight, because it was of her own making. I could count the ways, but I'm trying to make this a spoiler free review. So just two broad examples.
Near the beginning of the story Callie is given information. I was intrigued by this information. I wanted to know more. But Callie did not. She ignored it. She did everything she could to get away from the information instead of finding out more, seeing if it was true. I had questions I wanted her to ask, but she ran away, humming and with her fingers in her ears, intent on remaining as ignorate as possible.
When she finally stopped running and took her fingers from her ears, she tried to share the information that was forced upon her. Instead of starting from the beginning and sharing in a cohesive and orderly way, she jumped into the middle of her story, give no pertinant information to her listeners, and expected them to trust her when she had given them no real information. It drove me bonkers.
There was an event that reminded me of a Rue/Katnis moment, but instead of being sad, I rolled my eyes because if Callie had intelligence, she would never have gotten into the situation she got into.
2) The ending.
Why are they tearing down a perfectly good building? Just sell it and use it for something else!
The last decision Callie made in the novel was completely stupid. What's to say that the old man can't get to her again in the same way as before? Because of Callie's track record of doing stupid things, I shouldn't have been surprised that she would continue on in the same way, but I was still disappointed.
It was a very unsatisfying ending.
I liked the premise and the book surprised me a few times. I'm hooked d
Dang. I hate when I read an awesome book and then find out the sequel isn't out yet!!! augh. Another YA dystopian novel, I know it's an overdone genre, but I could NOT put this one down. What a concept. If you like the genre, this is your next book.
I love this book.I Found this very original and interesting.
I will be honest, I was pretty sick while I was reading this so I have no idea what I was reading. I remember a lot of parts where I was like, "This makes no sense and is dumb" and a few parts where I was like "this is all right" but I did want to read the next one so.... I was under the impression that Callie would wake up in Helena's body, and that didn't happen, so I was kinda disappointed. Otherwise, generic dystopia scenario that doesn't make a whole lot of sense but is fun enough to go along with anyway. Didn't hate it.
Book: Starters
Genre: YA
Type: Audiobook
Book rating: ☆☆☆☆
Narration rating: ☆☆☆☆
Review
Sleep on a floor in a derelict house?
Struggle to feed yourself every day?
Are you underweight due to the lack of food you are eating?
Do you hate being unclean and smelly?
Do you want to be beautiful?
Then all YOU need to do is pop down to PRIME DESTINATIONS and we can solve all of your problems.
Small print …….Prime Destinations will insert a microchip into your brain and hook you up to another person so they can be you, the other person is an “Ender” (an old rich person who age is on average 100 yrs old). Here the Ender will leave their body wired up and enter your body, becoming you for a week/month/year……however long you signed up to rent your body out for. You will of course be paid well for this “donating” and we will also make you beautiful again. Your new body user will sign a contract to make sure that they use your body in the best possible way without damaging it at all
Come on down to PRIME DESTINATIONS to make your dreams of being rich a reality.
Callie is aware of Prime Destinations (the body bank for short!) Her and her brother Tyler are starving, and he is really ill, she finds that she has no choice but to donate her body for a time to get money to pay for her little brothers treatment, and to get enough money for them to maybe buy a home for them both…………This was a bad mistake, she knew it as soon as she leaves Prime Destinations, she knows it as soon as she starts to black out, she definitely knows it when she wakes up with a gun in her hand.!
Good book with a story that kept me engaged all the way through, a couple of good twists too that I didn’t see coming, I will definitely look out for the 2nd book in the series to find out what happens.
Genre: YA
Type: Audiobook
Book rating: ☆☆☆☆
Narration rating: ☆☆☆☆
Review
Sleep on a floor in a derelict house?
Struggle to feed yourself every day?
Are you underweight due to the lack of food you are eating?
Do you hate being unclean and smelly?
Do you want to be beautiful?
Then all YOU need to do is pop down to PRIME DESTINATIONS and we can solve all of your problems.
Small print …….Prime Destinations will insert a microchip into your brain and hook you up to another person so they can be you, the other person is an “Ender” (an old rich person who age is on average 100 yrs old). Here the Ender will leave their body wired up and enter your body, becoming you for a week/month/year……however long you signed up to rent your body out for. You will of course be paid well for this “donating” and we will also make you beautiful again. Your new body user will sign a contract to make sure that they use your body in the best possible way without damaging it at all
Come on down to PRIME DESTINATIONS to make your dreams of being rich a reality.
Callie is aware of Prime Destinations (the body bank for short!) Her and her brother Tyler are starving, and he is really ill, she finds that she has no choice but to donate her body for a time to get money to pay for her little brothers treatment, and to get enough money for them to maybe buy a home for them both…………This was a bad mistake, she knew it as soon as she leaves Prime Destinations, she knows it as soon as she starts to black out, she definitely knows it when she wakes up with a gun in her hand.!
Good book with a story that kept me engaged all the way through, a couple of good twists too that I didn’t see coming, I will definitely look out for the 2nd book in the series to find out what happens.
Obviously, I was looking forward to Starters, because it includes the magic word in its description: dystopia. However, I wasn't nearly as pumped about it as about a lot of others (The Selection for example. Why? Because the cover seriously gives me the heebie jeebies! Most dystopias go for the gorgeous covers to lure the reader in, but they definitely didn't here, even though they could have justifiably. I admire that they did their own thing here, but I still don't want to stare at this cover for too long!
Starters grabbed me from the very beginning. From the first words, both Callie and the society she's living in come alive. Callie is an amazing narrator, strong and sassy, even when completely at wit's end. Actually, all of the characters are incredibly awesome, full of depth and personality. I really like Blake, but, hey, I also love Michael. Heck, I even like Tyler, and I don't usually much like moppets.
When I first read the description above, I already knew that the book was about old people (Enders) borrowing the bodies of young people (Starters), so I was really confused about the whole Spore Wars business. I was worried it might be overkill; some dystopias try to make everything that can possibly go wrong all happen all at once, which can end up just being ridiculous. Anyway, Price builds a firm foundation for her world of Enders and Starters with the Spore Wars. Excellent world building! The one thing I would really like to know more about in particular is how the Enders are able to live so long, and also how the society still functions the same with so many people gone.
I find it really comforting that, despite the sheer mass of dystopian novels, with more on the way, authors can still find new, astounding things to do with the genre. Although Starters can definitely be compared to some other dystopian titles (Unwind for example), it definitely stands on its own two metaphorical feet as something unique. Her story is in no way just a reimagining of something extant or an awkward mishmash of several other dystopias (which Matched sort of was).
Even though I guessed some of the ending, I still loved it. Price didn't go for the easy cliffhanger; there's a resolution of sorts, although obviously there's still more to be done. Usually, a book is less fun if you figure out a twist early on, but I actually liked Starters more because of it, because the reason that I knew is that Price hid a clue. I love finding the one hint; it makes me feel so smart.
I think I may just have found a new favorite dystopia and possible new favorite author. My ARC informs me that Enders will come out in Winter 2011, but I'm assuming they meant 2012, haha. CANNOT WAIT. Okay, I should officially have been asleep for about a half hour now, but I just had to finish reading this. If you like dystopias, get this now. Actually, if you like good books of any sort get this now!
Starters grabbed me from the very beginning. From the first words, both Callie and the society she's living in come alive. Callie is an amazing narrator, strong and sassy, even when completely at wit's end. Actually, all of the characters are incredibly awesome, full of depth and personality. I really like Blake, but, hey, I also love Michael. Heck, I even like Tyler, and I don't usually much like moppets.
When I first read the description above, I already knew that the book was about old people (Enders) borrowing the bodies of young people (Starters), so I was really confused about the whole Spore Wars business. I was worried it might be overkill; some dystopias try to make everything that can possibly go wrong all happen all at once, which can end up just being ridiculous. Anyway, Price builds a firm foundation for her world of Enders and Starters with the Spore Wars. Excellent world building! The one thing I would really like to know more about in particular is how the Enders are able to live so long, and also how the society still functions the same with so many people gone.
I find it really comforting that, despite the sheer mass of dystopian novels, with more on the way, authors can still find new, astounding things to do with the genre. Although Starters can definitely be compared to some other dystopian titles (Unwind for example), it definitely stands on its own two metaphorical feet as something unique. Her story is in no way just a reimagining of something extant or an awkward mishmash of several other dystopias (which Matched sort of was).
Even though I guessed some of the ending, I still loved it. Price didn't go for the easy cliffhanger; there's a resolution of sorts, although obviously there's still more to be done. Usually, a book is less fun if you figure out a twist early on, but I actually liked Starters more because of it, because the reason that I knew is that Price hid a clue. I love finding the one hint; it makes me feel so smart.
I think I may just have found a new favorite dystopia and possible new favorite author. My ARC informs me that Enders will come out in Winter 2011, but I'm assuming they meant 2012, haha. CANNOT WAIT. Okay, I should officially have been asleep for about a half hour now, but I just had to finish reading this. If you like dystopias, get this now. Actually, if you like good books of any sort get this now!
adventurous
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a really, really good read!
It flowed greatly, it never had any downtime and the characters were believable.
With a few awesome twists toward the end! It left me FUCKING STARVING FOR "ENDERS" WHICH I WONT SEE BEFORE JANUARY!!!!! AAAHHH!!!
But, Lissa, your inspiration is showing. ;) I got a 'Dollhouse meets The Host'-vibe from this! But luckily Lissa Price has managed to make this genre and style her very own.
Good on you Lissa!
4.5 STARS from me!
It flowed greatly, it never had any downtime and the characters were believable.
With a few awesome twists toward the end! It left me FUCKING STARVING FOR "ENDERS" WHICH I WONT SEE BEFORE JANUARY!!!!! AAAHHH!!!
But, Lissa, your inspiration is showing. ;) I got a 'Dollhouse meets The Host'-vibe from this! But luckily Lissa Price has managed to make this genre and style her very own.
Good on you Lissa!
4.5 STARS from me!
I read this years ago and don't remember my actual thoughts. I just didn't think it was appropriate to have a 5-star book I couldn't recall anything about. ;)