I loved the idea behind this book. An interesting concept that makes for good reading for a novel that features dystopia themes. Although it’s not that much different from your usual themes (your usual plague ridden society, with the poor suffering, and the rich being..well rich) it was still worth a read and I rather enjoyed it. The world building and setting is well written and provides a good foundation for reading.

 

I can’t say I really like Callie though. Sure, who wouldn’t like to live the life of the Ender with all that luxury but she’s not that likable (and you just have those moments where you shake your head and think to yourself ‘really? REALLY? DID YOU JUST DO WHAT I THOUGHT YOU JUST DID?’) and Blake. I really don’t know what the appeal is with him. Sure Callie, he’s cute and all and he’s a lovely treat to look at. That’s ok right? Because poor Michael is back there at home with your suffering brother wondering where the heck you are. But that’s ok, you can walk all over Michael while you fawn over Blake like a lovesick cow.

 

I have no patience for that kind of stupidity. Really.

So aside from the characters that don’t really appeal to me, I still thought the book was worth the read.  It’s a good addition to one’s collection of dystopian fiction. Give it a try. I’ll be reading Enders (sequel to this) for sure just to see where the story ends up. (Also if my prediction ends up being correct..)

Well, for starters... I couldn’t resist, I’m sorry.

The Good:
+original concept with renting young bodies
+liked Callie for the most part
+liked Callie’s family
+wha….? ending that makes me want to continue

The Bad & The Other:
-fucking romance drama shit damn near ruined everything
=typical “humblebrag model gorgeous” female MC but it’s important to the story at least.
-fat shaming descriptions and ‘fat’ girls disregarded as candidates.
=backstory isn’t filled out but the gaps lend to ponderings and the continuation as a series. The more you think about it though…

I like the original aspects it brings: the renting of young bodies by the geriatric, and the death of adult resulting in such a large age gap. It does acknowledge the income issues, but not anything else.

However, two years is really quick for these kinds of changes and at least some adults should have survived the spore bombs. They are the least at risk, after all. Would some older folks bow out as well? Wouldn’t they prefer their kids to live for their grandkids?

I can see how the policies began with rounding kids up since they have no guardians anymore but…not allowing them to work or do anything else? Why vote for that? Wouldn’t they NEED them to work to fill in the roles of the deceased adults?

Admittedly, I might be missing something here, and if you can just roll with it, it doesn’t matter.

However, what almost killed the book for me was the romance. It dragged when she’s off with Rich Dude. And then of course, triangle time!!





It started going somewhere. Then romance drama. Rise and repeat. I was ready to call it quits, but the set-up was interesting enough. I wanted to find out the answers. Plus my August challenges…
However, with all the back and forth ridiculousness, I was ready to declare ‘eh, another ruined by tropes and trends’ and give up on the series.

But wait, there’s more! It’s about to wrap up all nice and neat and blah, but it throws a curveball. Now Starters is back in the game. What in the world is going on? I kinda have to find out now…

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#ARCAugust read! I'll be back with a review before the end of August, but I have more books to get to for now :D

During the spore wars everyone between the age of twenty and sixty were wiped out due to the exposure and contamination of the artificially created spores designed by the enemy. Americans had some fore-warning and were able to develop a vaccination, but there was a shortage and only the young and the old were vaccinated in time for the first spore drop, everyone between the age of twenty and sixty were not vaccinated and therefore did not survive. Starters is the term used to describe the minors who survived the spore wars, parent-less but the lucky ones had either one, or more, grandparents to care and provide for them, the unlucky ones were cast out onto the street to provide for themselves. These Starters were termed as unclaimed and were in danger of being picked up by the marshal's or the institution, so they must remain in hiding. Enders is the term used to describe the elders were survived the spore wars. In this futuristic world a life extender has been created so these Enders are starting to live well beyond one hundred.

Our main character is Callie, a sixteen year old girl who lost both her parents in the spore wars. Callie has a little brother, Tyler, who is ill. Callie hears about a opportunity that will help her and her brother get off of the streets, and provide medical care for Tyler. It's called Prime Destinations. Prime Destinations is a hushed up organization that hires unclaimed Starters to rent their bodies to Enders who desire to experience being young once again. Callie, desperate for the money that this will provide for them agrees to be a donor, but the neurochip that they place in Callie's brain malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter. She soon realizes that things are not the way that they were supposed to be, and that she and all of the other donors are in trouble.

This was a fun fluff read. I'm kind of just in the middle on this one, not loving it but nor am I hating it. I had some issues with it, and it felt a little too teenager based for my tastes. Granted, it is YA but the writing itself just felt slightly immature in general ...

Dałam radę połowie. 15-latkom pewnie się spodoba, jak dla mnie zbyt infantylne. I niewiele ma wspólnego z "Igrzyskami Śmierci" - ja się właśnie na taką reklamę złapałam, ale niestety, to był tylko tani chwyt.
Dobry pomysł - marne wykonanie.