Starters....the apocalypse theme has me by the throat.

Hunger Games + Death of Grass = An uncontrollable thirst for teen dystopia novels

I have been rooting though my rather large collection of reading copies lying about in the flat and have tracked down all of the ones that squeeze nicely into the Dystopia theme, and Starters by new author, Lissa Price, was on the top of the ever increasing pile.  An eye catching book with a beautifully rendered sketch on the front of a girl with mismatched eye colours, I knew nothing of the book or the author and I do so love surprises.


Starters is set in a future a healthy distance away from the present, with holo technology saturating the human landscape and a world dealing with the aftermath of biological warfare.  The Starters are essentially children, and Enders are of an older generation, capable of living past the 200 years mark.  Anyone in between perished during the conflict as a result of an infection spread by spores, lending to the name of the war as the Spore Wars.  Callie is a Starter, and one without any legal guardian, with both parents dead she must squat in abandoned buildings with her younger brother Tyler in order to survive, all the while trying to avoid getting shipped out to the Institution, a place for any unclaimed Starters and a place where you would never want to end up.  In order to provide a better life for herself and her brother, Callie makes the difficult decision to offer her body up for use to Prime Destinations, a company that 'rents' the bodies of Starters out to wealthy, thrill seeking Enders.  But nothing is ever that simple, and on her final contracted job Callie is inhabited by an Ender with a plan, a plan to expose Prime Destinations for what it really is and someone who is willing to kill to get her own way.

This was an excellent exploration of humanity, and such an awesome way of stretching and testing the relationships between the very young and the very old.  Callie's characterisation is strong and really becomes the driving force for this fast paced, inventive narrative.  I am by no means saying I have not come across similar concepts before, I mean I loved the TV series "Dollhouse" which deals with similar ideas for a more adult and cult TV based audience.  However, Callie is a very fresh and interesting character, one with which the reader can easy empathise as she takes on the role of being a parent as well as a loving sister.  Her decisions are almost all based on her being able to offer Tyler something more than the life they now lead, trying to take back some of the life they once had.  She is an admirable girl whose deepest emotions and fears are laid bare for us to devour in very much the same way as her body is used as a holiday in the novel.

Set amongst the action, the thrills and the epic plot twists we are also treated to some romance, not too much, but just enough to get you rooting for Callie to steal a kiss with the wealthy and incredibly handsome Blake.  Not forgetting that there is the implication of a blossoming love triangle.  Even this element of the plot is not what it seems, and I just love how Price makes every little detail matter, every interaction and every memory, even down to the tiny detail of a photograph taken on a mobile phone that becomes an important key in the relationship between Callie and Blake.  It is this wonderful grasp of plot and character that makes this such an engaging read.

Starters is a hard book to ramble about without giving too much away of the plot, it is a novel that is much more fun to be surprised by as a reader rather than approached with an intimate knowledge of it's key players.  So I shall cease my rambling, to a point.

This is beautifully written, poignant read for the "Hunger Games" generation of teens (and adults) that challenges our very notion of what it is that makes you who you are.  Deliciously sinister and packed full of promise for further instalments in the the series.  Starters does end well, and you are not left with too many loose ends, just the right amount to make you want to read on in the follow up novel "Enders" which I believe is due out next year (2013).  I loved this novel and I always enjoy a quick read, you can't go wrong with something like this, it has a little bit of something for everyone....unless you detest science fiction, in which case, go pick up a Mills and Boon novel or read some Jane Austen.  This one gets a massive thumbs up from me and I will be sharing it amongst my friends just to see if they agree.