Starters - Lissa Price

Blurb

First, Callie lost her parents.

Then she lost her home.

And, finally, she lost her body.

But she will stop at nothing to get it back . . . 

My Review

I was pleasantly surprised by Starters. I thought it would reek of 'heard it all before' but it felt fresh and new. A world in which there are no adults has been done, but a world with teens, children (the Starters) and elderly people (the Enders) but with nothing in between . . . well. I've never heard of anyone do this before.

It was fascinating to see how their society worked after the Spore Wars had killed the adults, as they had not been vaccinated. The difference between the Starters with guardians and without was vast but completely believable. Price has crafted her world well as everything made sense to me.

If you haven't already gathered, I thought the plot was fantastic. There was a good mix of action, mystery and suspense the entire way through. It twisted and turned, continuing to keep me guessing. Also, I really liked Callie. She was brave and tried her best. She made rational decisions and wasn't stupid, which is always a bonus.

Though it started well, the reader asking lots of questions about this world, I was concerned that there would be a few more people in the world willing to help Callie. I understood why the Enders disliked the Starters and wanted to ignore them but I wanted someone to see that it was wrong. As the book went on, characters willing to help did appear but I felt perhaps a little bit too late. I know the world is cruel, but there are more kind people out there than this book suggests.

Also, I wanted it to start a little bit faster than it did. It wasn't impossibly slow but I needed to be thrust in more. It was far too easy to put the book down at the beginning. However, once it got going it was paced really well and I found it really easy and enjoyable to read.

I think the problem I had at the beginning was the lack of dialogue. It was there and it was in character and believable, I just wanted more of it. I think that's why I found it slow. I wanted less of Callie describing her surroundings and more of her talking to people. I understand things were being kept from me at the beginning to make me read on, but it would've been easier to immerse myself in this world had there been more dialogue.

Evaluation

Overall 8/10

Would I recommend it? Yes. I enjoyed it very much and was pleasantly surprised.

Would I look up the author? Yes. I've put the sequel, Enders, on my 'want-to-read' list. Whether or not I'll ever get around to it is a different matter.

Starters felt similar to books I've read before but the plot was entirely different and that's just what I'd wanted.

Molly Looby

Author / Ghostwriter / Editor / Blogger / Reviewer / Wrimo / Movellian / ZA Ready

molly.looby@hotmail.com