Starters by Lissa Price

Thank you Netgalley.com and Delacorte Books for Young Readers for allowing me to review an ARC copy of Starters by Lissa Price in exchange for my honest review.

Synopsis:

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. . .(Synopsis taken from Goodreads)


My review:


I really enjoyed this! I didn't think I was going to but I sure was wrong. The idea just didn't strike me as something that I would enjoy, boy was I wrong!  This book was very original and kept me on the edge of my seat.  It was creepy and in a wonderful way. It was more plot driven and fast paced, especially the last 20%. Price did a wonderful job with pacing, I kept turning pages and then wham!, out of nowhere, something completely unexpected!


Callie as a character, I really enjoyed her. She was headstrong, resourceful and a fighter. I understood why she was willing to allow her body to be rented out, she was hopeless and this was a chance for her and her little brother who she was so responsible for. I did have issues with some of the details in this book.  I felt as if I knew more I would have enjoyed the book even more.


The plot was great! It revolves around Callie realizing that her "renter" is plotting murder against someone.  She tries to find out who the "ender" wants dead and from this point  there were so many twists and turns that I just didn't expect and I never saw them coming.  I'm definitely excited for Enders to come out in December, Lissa Price has set this ending up to be a hit!

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers (March 13, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385742371