Book Review: Starters by Lissa Price

Starters

Lissa Price

352 Pages

Published March 13th, 2012

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 takes place in a strange society with some serious issues. As a citizen you are either extremely poor and live a life full of hardship, always running from authorities, or you're rich and have access to everything you ever could have wanted. Our main character, Callie is a minor in the first category, always running from place to place looking for shelter with her younger brother Tyler and good friend Michael.

When the situation grows worse for the trio, Callie knows she will do anything to keep those she loves safe and secure. She turns to Prime Destinations, a shadily run operation that allows rich seniors to "rent" out the bodies of unfortunate minors who have no family and no other way to make money to live. She agrees to 3 rentals.. and the first two go off without a hitch, almost too easily. Callie begins to gain hope, thinking that this is their way out of the streets and extreme poverty they have been subjected to for years. However, the third rental makes things.. interesting.

Callie was a strong character with a big heart. She puts her brother in front of all else, subjecting herself to something she is terrified of doing. Even when things go awry and she wakes up during the third rental, able to communicate with her renter, her thoughts still stray to her brother. She had a strength about her that you don't usually see in these types of novels, and she thinks for herself, not easily swayed by the actions of others.

The mysteries behind Prime Destinations for so shady that it was a bit spooky. I found myself shivering at times, disgusted at others. The drive for power and money behind the Old Man (leader of the organization) was so strong that he'd do anything to get what he wants, even promising young children a bright future and then ensuring that they never wake up again. The Old Man was mysterious, never showing his true identity. I have a few suspicions as to who he is, but the author has done a good enough job masking him that I'm not certain in my suspicions in any way.

Starters was a great beginning to this duo-logy. The story had me on the edge of my seat for a good portion of the pages, always trying to figure out what the hell was going on, and why. so many questions were asked, and though many were answered, I'm still left with so much I need to find out. I can't wait until my next trip to the bookstore so I can pick up Enders and dig right in!

Book Review: A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan

A Long, Long Sleep

Anna Sheeden

342 Pages

Published August 9th, 2011

It should have been a short suspended-animation sleep. But this time Rose wakes up to find her past is long gone -- and her future full of peril.

Rosalinda Fitzroy has been asleep for sixty-two years when she is woken by a kiss. Locked away in the chemically induced slumber of a stasis tube in a forgotten subbasement, sixteen-year-old Rose slept straight through the Dark Times that killed millions and utterly changed the world she knew. Now, her parents and her first love are long gone, and Rose -- hailed upon her awakening as the long-lost heir to an interplanetary empire -- is thrust alone into a future in which she is viewed as either a freak or a threat. Desperate to put the past behind her and adapt to her new world, Rose finds herself drawn to the boy who kissed her awake, hoping that he can help her to start fresh. But when a deadly danger jeopardizes her fragile new existence, Rose must face the ghosts of her past with open eyes -- or be left without any future at all.

A Long, Long Sleep is about a girl named Rose who pretty much spent her life going to hell and back, over and over and over again. Her overbearing parents repeatedly put her into a coma-like state through a process called stasis, in which she lost huge chunks of her life. She watched a childhood friend grow from years younger than her to being older than her.

If that wasn't bad enough, imagine this poor girl waking up after a stasis session that lasted over 60 years. She is woken by a boy named Bren, one whom she is instantly drawn to for unknown reasons. Her friends and family are all long gone, perished during a period of time she slept through, dubly named "the dark times". She must find out how to survive in this new society, all while avoiding everyday troubles like everyone thinking she's a freak.. and much darker issues like a human-like thing that has been programmed to murder her.

Obviously, Rose doesn't deal with this too well at first, constantly thinking of her past life and of Xavier, her childhood friend turned lover. It saddened me that she couldn't see all the abuse her parents had put her through, how she thought sleeping away years of her life at a time so they could go off and vacation was good. She honestly thought that this was normal, loving behavior from her parents.. and that really sucked for her.

Other than that flaw, she was a pretty decent character. She had wit and charm that kept me smiling, and I loved how we got to know about her love of anything artistic. Her unique abilities are what made me life her, and I loved how she was kind to everyone, even the strange alien-type boy Ottto.

Otto.. he was probably my favorite character, ever. Period. He was SO different that some people may have found him creepy, or unrelatable, but I really connected with him since he was the outcast. I felt his pain, though I know there has to be more to his story. I felt like he and Rose would have been good together.. was I the only one that thought that?!

I hope that someday there will be a sequel, since there were some loose strings that I felt could have been tied up. I won't give it away but... there are some pretty big things left open. A Long, Long sleep was full of mysteries that shocked even me once they were finally solved. Definitely a 2013 favorite!