Book Review: Starters (Starters #1)

Starters (Starters #1) by Lissa Price

Format: e-arc
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 13th March 2012
Pages: 352
Main Characters: Callie, Blake
Date Started: 17th March 2012
Date Finished: 22nd March 2012
Rating Given: ****

Netgalley:
A major book for spring 2012—Starters is the first in a high-concept, two-book, futuristic thriller teen project by newcomer Lissa Price—a tremendous bestselling author in the making. Every major publisher wanted this book on their list.
    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. . . .

The first thing that drew me in to this book was the cover as I absolutely loved it, it's one of my favourites so I knew I had to try it. When I read what it was about I found it sounded very interesting and was glad that I had requested to read it.

It started off a little slow and confusing. Nothing interesting was happening but the more I kept reading it the more things started to happen and the more I got hooked to it. At one point it kind of reminded me of The Host by Stephenie Meyer which I didn't mind as I enjoyed that book as well plus this one was done in a different way.

I loved the fact that by the end you're not quite sure who you can trust as so many things happened at once which gives me the feeling that something huge is going to happen in the next one to make me change my mind on who to trust.

Callie's character is a strong girl which she needs to be as she has her sick younger brother to look after and they are also living on the street. I could definitely understand why she did the things that she did as it was the only way they could survive. Everything she does is for her brother which is such a selfless trait that it is admirable.

I did like Blake he seemed like a kind person to Callie considering they never really knew each other but then something happens towards the end that just turns everything on it's head in a way that I am not sure who Blake as a person really is.

There is some really likable side characters which are so sweet I just hope that doesn't change in the next one. There was also another male character called Michael who I liked to start with but then he does something that made me change my mind about him as it quite a selfish thing to do.

Overall a stunning debut by Lissa Price and I can't wait to find out what is going to happen next in this series.