Review: Starters by Lissa Price

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. . .




I couldn't wait to read this book and was really excited when my reserved copy from the library came through!  I started it straight away (despite a massive reading pile!) and finished it early the next morning.  I usually take 2-3 days to read an average length book, so I think it's obvious I was gripped by Starters from the first chapter.

The concept for this book seemed a bit strange at first, but it didn't put me off.  I liked how it started and wasn't slow at all - it got me into the book immediatly.  In fact there was rarely, if any, slow paced parts in this book.  It was mysterious and tense which definately helped me want to carry on reading.

I liked the main character, Callie.  She seemed to be a mature and sensible main character, even in strange situations, which I think really helped the book.  I liked most of the other characters too, but I found Madison a bit annoying, however it wasn't much of a problem as she wasn't in the book a lot and got a bit better towards the end.

One thing I would have liked to see in this book was more description and information about where Callie lives and how the war affected the country (?) she lives in.  I also found a few parts slightly predictable.

However I generally loved this book!  It was a lot more 'dystopian' than most books in this genre I have read - I would definately (and already have) reccomend it to others.

Rating: 4.5/5

Review: Divergent by Veronica Roth

In a future Chicago, 16-year-old Beatrice Prior must choose among five predetermined factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group, and that the society she lives in is not perfect after all.

Sometimes I say I'm not sure what to expect from a book, or it was very differant to how I thought it would be.  I have to say Divergent was amost *exactly* how I expected it to be.  Of course I didn't know about every little thing that happened, but I thought it was a little preditable at times.

I quite liked the book, but there were definately a few things I didn't like about it.  As I've said before I REALLY do not like the kind of writing style used in this book!  It feels blunt and dull and I didn't get a good image of many of the characters or settings in this book.  Divergent was quite a long book, which wasn't a problem, but I think if the book had less of Tris trying to fit in/her 'initiation' and more of the kind of thing towards the end of the story, it would have been shorter and a whole lot more realistic.

I would have liked to have found out more about the world Tris lives in.  Apart from the 'factions' and some other things, it doesn't seem all that futuristic/dystopian/post apocalyptic and I think it could have actually been set in present day, and was just set in the future because that is the 'thing' at the moment.

Also, I really don't see how this book could turn into a series longer than about two books.  I couldn't find much that would lead on to many other books, apart from Tris being Divergent and the 'war'.  For this reason, I don't think I'll read the second and any other books in the series, unless I come across them at the library or something.

I didn't love this, but it was still quite good.  I actually liked Tris, if I looked past the way she narrated.  At times I thought she did some rather stupid things and thought it was fine because she was 'brave' and 'a Dauntless', but apart from that I did think she was a good main character for the book.

Rating: 3.5/5