Title: Starters (Starters #1)
Author: Lissa Price
Release date: March 13, 2012
Publisher: Delacorte
Pages: 368
Source: ALA

HER WORLD IS CHANGED FOREVER

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. . . .

Starters is a fabulous debut novel and one unique dystopian story.  It’s beautifully written, full of wonderful characters, and a chilling story.  Dystopian fans will adore this one.

Callie is a strong heroine.  She lives on the streets, she takes care of her little brother, Tyler, and she’s not afraid of a fight every now and then.  She was fierce, protective, and loyal but also loving and sweet with her little brother.  She very clearly cared for him a lot and she was willing to risk everything for him.  Michael, Callie’s friend, was also willing to go to great lengths for Callie and Tyler.  He wasn’t very well-developed and I was a little confused about their relationship but he was definitely a good guy.  Blake was also a good guy but not well-developed. I hope to find out more about both of them in the sequel.

As for the villain in this book: there seemed to be quite a few.  Tinnenbaum and Doris were clearly hiding things but they were definitely not the masterminds.  The Old Man was the one behind everything.  He was the worst!  There were time when he didn’t seem so bad and that is what made him so scary.  Everyone was able to believe that he was a completely normal man.  He is very powerful though and that power really messed him up.  He was very twisted and creepy.

The plot is unlike anything I have read.  Prime Destinations rents out teenage bodies (Starters) to elderly people (Enders).  During the rental the Starters have no control over their bodies and no idea what is going on.  However something goes wrong with Callie’s rental.  She becomes involved in an assassination plot and uncovers a very scary secret about Prime Destinations.  The book is seriously non-stop action and plot twists.  It’s amazing gripping!

Overall, Starters is one awesome book and the sequel is high on my wishlist.  The ending wasn’t really a cliffhanger but I’m still excited to see where everything progresses in the next book and find out how everything is going to end.