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A review by livloveslibros
Starters by Lissa Price
3.0
EDIT Upon reviewing my list of read books, I'm changing this to three stars simply because it was not very memorable. Seriously, I know I read a lot of books but I barely recall reading this! o.O
About three-quarters of my way through the book I was set on a three-star rating for this book, but the plot twist at the end convinced me that this book deserved four stars.
The basic idea for the plot (spore wars destroy everyone between the ages of 20-60) was interesting, but not all that realistic. The whole society that develops afterwards is a little odd, however. Many children are left parentless, and instead of doing anything productive about it, the government decides to ban them from working and round them up into an institution, which makes absolutely no sense.
The kids-on-the-run scenario isn't totally original, but I suppose it's believable in this story, because they have no one to look after them. I liked the idea of Prime Destinations - renting out teenage bodies to the elderly is a fascinating concept, and brings up an interesting ethical question as well.
I didn't mind Callie as a character, but she wasn't particularly interesting or smart. I question some of the decisions she makes in the book, such as her romance with Blake, and her decision to shoot the senator in the hand.
The whole situation with Blake was what originally made me want to rate this three stars. I kind of thought something fishy was going on with him from the start because of the way he was so incredibly interested in Callie. I mean I get the fact that she's extremely good looking and a new face in the club or whatever, but in the beginning she didn't give him that much to go on and it seemed like he was a little to into her.
The only other thing that wasn't great about this book was the fact that some of the characters were a little flat. Michael, for example. He was supposedly her neighbor/friend, but he's randomly gone at times and there were some traces of romance with Callie. He also never really develops-- he joins Prime Destinations because Callie did and because it was a good way to earn money.
The two characters I did like were little Sara and the Old Man. Sara was pretty realistic because of her young age and sweetness. I also liked how she originally was excited to be chosen and how Callie had to physically beat her so she wouldn't get chosen. The Old Man is also an excellent villain. He always seems to be one step ahead, and is fantastically creepy in the fact that he purposefully switches his face into the most disturbing profiles.
Overall I really enjoyed this book! There were several minor things that I wasn't too fond of but mostly I was hooked because it had a fast-paced plot and and interesting topic that made me want to read more. I would recommend if you like mild dystopias. Not sure if I'm going to read the sequel or not, but this was definitely a worthwile book.
About three-quarters of my way through the book I was set on a three-star rating for this book, but the plot twist at the end convinced me that this book deserved four stars.
The basic idea for the plot (spore wars destroy everyone between the ages of 20-60) was interesting, but not all that realistic. The whole society that develops afterwards is a little odd, however. Many children are left parentless, and instead of doing anything productive about it, the government decides to ban them from working and round them up into an institution, which makes absolutely no sense.
The kids-on-the-run scenario isn't totally original, but I suppose it's believable in this story, because they have no one to look after them. I liked the idea of Prime Destinations - renting out teenage bodies to the elderly is a fascinating concept, and brings up an interesting ethical question as well.
I didn't mind Callie as a character, but she wasn't particularly interesting or smart. I question some of the decisions she makes in the book, such as her romance with Blake, and her decision to shoot the senator in the hand.
The whole situation with Blake was what originally made me want to rate this three stars. I kind of thought something fishy was going on with him from the start because of the way he was so incredibly interested in Callie. I mean I get the fact that she's extremely good looking and a new face in the club or whatever, but in the beginning she didn't give him that much to go on and it seemed like he was a little to into her.
The only other thing that wasn't great about this book was the fact that some of the characters were a little flat. Michael, for example. He was supposedly her neighbor/friend, but he's randomly gone at times and there were some traces of romance with Callie. He also never really develops-- he joins Prime Destinations because Callie did and because it was a good way to earn money.
The two characters I did like were little Sara and the Old Man. Sara was pretty realistic because of her young age and sweetness. I also liked how she originally was excited to be chosen and how Callie had to physically beat her so she wouldn't get chosen. The Old Man is also an excellent villain. He always seems to be one step ahead, and is fantastically creepy in the fact that he purposefully switches his face into the most disturbing profiles.
Overall I really enjoyed this book! There were several minor things that I wasn't too fond of but mostly I was hooked because it had a fast-paced plot and and interesting topic that made me want to read more. I would recommend if you like mild dystopias. Not sure if I'm going to read the sequel or not, but this was definitely a worthwile book.