Review: Starters by Lissa Price

Starters by Lissa Price 
Published: March 13th, 2012 (Delacorte)
Pages: 368
Source: ARC via NetGalley
Challenge: Debut Author Challenge 2012
Series: Starters, #1
Buy the book: Bookdepository
Rating: ★★★★☆


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.

With a unique concept, Price knows how to draw a reader in and keep them there. With an intriguing plot and interesting characters, this debut will suck you in from beginning until the very end.

I loved the premise for this book, and I really like how that was used throughout the story. It sounds horrible, and most of all unbelievable, to be able to rent your body to an elderly person whose mind will occupy your head while you're unconsious - but somehow it was believable and I found myself flipping the pages faster to find out what would happen next.

Callie was an interesting character - she was a little stubborn and naive, but she redeemed herself once she found out what was going on and started making decisions to solve the problem or at least trying to do so. She was easy to follow around - as the reader, you are just as confused about what's happening as Callie is and I liked that. I would have liked to see a little more of Michael, but with that ending and the turn of events during the story, I'm sure we'll hear more about him in the second book.

There were some parts in the story where the writing was a little weaker, which made my attention waver a little, but overall I liked the way the story was told. There were plenty of twists and turns along the way and most of all, I was entertained the entire time and I pretty much cannot wait to see what will happen in the sequel, Enders.