Starters

Title: Starters
Author: Lissa Price
Reading Level: Young Adult
Location: YA Price (when released)

Summary

After all adults between the age of 20 and 60 died during the Spore Wars, the United States is basically controlled by the Enders, those adults over the age of 60 who were vaccinated against the spores. The Starters, kids and teens under the age of 20 also vaccinated against the spores, must rely on protection from older relatives or find a way to survive on the streets. Ever since her mother and father died, Callie has been living in abandoned buildings with her younger brother and trying to avoid getting rounded up by the marshals, forced into slave labor or pummeled by hostile starters. However, Tyler is sick and getting worse. Callie must find some way to get money for medicine and food so he can recover.

Then another homeless starter tells her about Prime Destinations. Starters can sign over their body to be rented by a rich Ender. Meanwhile, the starter exists in a peaceful state of oblivion. At the end of the three-rental contract, the Ender walks away with their exciting youthful experience, and the Starter receives a ton of cash. Although Callie has reservations she signs up. It seems easy enough and they really need the money. But when Callie wakes up during a rental in the life of a rich ender, she knows things are getting weird. She can hear the renter’s voice in her head whispering one warning, “Don’t go back to Prime Destinations.”

Now, on the run but with her renter’s resources and a helpful new friend named Blake, Callie must figure out the evil aspirations of the Old Man who owns Prime Destinations before her life and that of other Starters is snuffed out for good.

Review

I have to say, Starters was actually pretty amazing, much better than I thought it would be from the description. The main character, Callie, is someone you want to see win. She is incredibly smart. Her father prepared her for a potential life on the streets, so she is sufficiently tough and understands how her world works and ways to circumvent the system to survive. She has one goal, to keep her brother safe, and she never wavers from that commitment throughout the entire book. Even when she wakes up in the life of the wealthy ender, she has a hard time letting herself have any fun. She is loyal and very goal-oriented. You almost feel sorry that she can’t just be a normal teenage girl.

The story itself, while not always action-packed, is incredibly tense throughout. Even when Callie was not running from Prime Destinations or holding people hostage, I was on the edge of my seat wanting to know how it would all turn out. The Old Man is a sufficiently creepy villain. I was literally cringing anytime Callie’s plans included confronting him. There is a huge reveal near the end that I, embarrassingly, did not see coming. While many plot threads in this story wrapped up in a satisfying way, a surprising cliffhanger will keep readers coming back for more.  The last book in this two-book series, Enders, is reportedly due to be released on December 4, 2012.

The Bottom Line:  Starters was an exciting dystopia that I can honestly say reminds me, in some ways, of The Hunger Games. You have a strong heroine, good side characters, fun action scenes and an evil man as the main villain. This book kept me absolutely engrossed in the story and ravenously reading until the wee hours of the morning. Give it to fans of The Hunger Games, Incarceron and the dystopia genre in general.

The Publisher provided me with an advanced copy, through netgalley, for this review. Starters will be released on March 13, 2012

Delirium

Title: Delirium
Author: Lauren Oliver
Reading Level: Young Adult
Location: YA Oliver

Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. When cured from the "disease" you also can enjoy this clarity, this freedom from bondage of emotions, fear and passion.

Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy. But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

Bottomline:

A action-packed dystopian story, a mash-up of Lois Lowry's, "The Giver" and Ally Condie's, "Matched". This interesting plot line is filled with emotion and breaking of rules and about living your own life. There are some unanswered questions at the end, so hopefully the story will continue, even though it has a clincher of an ending!

Wither

Title: Wither
Author: Lauren DeStefano
Reading Level: Young Adult

Location: YA DeStefano (should be at the library in a few weeks!)

Wither opens on a world suffering from the aftershocks of excessive genetic engineering. Every person born into the second generation dies a premature death, at the age of 20 for women and 25 for men. This has resulted in mass hysteria among the public and kidnapping of young women who are then forced into polygamous marriages. Rhine Ellery lives a cautious and difficult life with her brother until the day she is knocked out and thrown in a dark truck with numerous other girls. Rhine becomes one of three girls chosen to be the new wife of Linden Ashby, the governor’s son.

Expecting a life of abuse and rape, Rhine is surprised to find that Linden is respectful of her and kind. However, his father, Vaughn is a scientist determined to find a cure for his son before Linden’s 25th birthday. Vaughn’s quest to heal his son knows no bounds and he will try anything, no matter how cruel, to reach his goal. Although Rhine begins to love her sister-wives and even makes a friend with servant boy, Gabriel, she must find a way to escape the house before Vaughn decides to experiment on her.

Wither is Lauren DeStefano’s debut work and what a story she created! Although the world that Rhine inhabits is very dystopian, DeStefano shuns excessive world-building and instead focuses on developing convincing relationships between her characters. Not one character is wholly good or bad and their interactions with each other are the heart of the book. In some cases that might make for quite a dull storyline but Wither keeps you on your toes until the very end. This was a truly fascinating debut and I look forward to getting my hands on the next book in the series.

The Bottom Line: Wither was an intriguing dystopian book by a talented debut author. The storyline is inventive but read it for the amazing characters! They are the heart of the book. Fans of dystopian fiction, particularly the new release Across the Universe, should really enjoy this one. It also might appeal to readers who enjoy YA fantasy as well.

Ship Breaker

Title: Ship Breaker
Author Paolo Bacigalupi
Location: J Bacigalupi
Ages: Young Adult

In the future, when monstrous storms batter the Gulf Coast, teenager Nailer struggles to survive as a ship breaker, risking his life daily crawling through the ducts of grounded ships to salvage copper wiring. When he discovers a wrecked clipper ship with one survivor, the daughter of a wealthy shipping company owner, Nailer becomes involved in even greater dangers when he decides to rescue her.

Bottomline:
Interesting post-apocalyptic story about a boy, Nailer, a "ship breaker", who dreams of something more - especially when he sees the "swank" clipper ships zoom by on the water. Soon Nailer becomes "Lucky Boy" and has a few opportunities throw at him, and it's his turn to decide what to do and who his "family" really is. This story is a bit rough, but I was intrigued enough to keep reading. This is the 1st in a trilogy.

Matched

Title: Matched
Author: Ally Condie
Reading Level: Young Adult
Location: YA Condie

In the Society, Officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die.

Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s barely any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one . . . until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow—between perfection and passion.

This book reminded me of The Giver, in that the government, or City Officials, controls everything about the "Society". Everything in the Society is controlled, predicted and sorted. The story starts out with the main character, Cassia, going to her Match Banquet, where she will meet the man she will marry when they're 21. Cassia starts to see flaws in the "Society" and realizes that her freedom is what she wants the most, especially with the boy she loves.

Bottomline: This is a good addition to my favorite dystopian stories. The controlled environment always get me thinking. I love the realization of better things, and the love and freedom that is prohibited, and all more desirable. I enjoyed this story and am anxious for the next installment in this planned trilogy!

Mockingjay

Title: Mockingjay
Author: Suzanne Collins
Reading Level: Young Adult
Location: YA Collins

This review contains no spoilers for Mockingjay but may contain details from the two previous books in the Hunger Games series. If you have not yet read The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, skip ahead to The Bottom Line.

Mockingjay picks up about one month after the events of Catching Fire. With her home destroyed, Katniss resides in District 13 with the few refugees that survived the Capitol's bombing of District 12. President Coin and the rest of the leaders of District 13 are managing the rebellion and need Katniss to be their Mockingjay, the symbol and hope of the rebellion. Unfortunately, the physical and emotional damage Katniss suffered in the arena coupled with her guilt over the fate of Peeta has left her emotionally unstable and unwilling to be used as a pawn for yet another cause, however noble. As the rebellion takes hold in more districts and her fellow citizens fight and die brutal deaths in massive numbers, will Katniss give them the strength they need to continue their struggle? Or will she retreat from the spotlight, unwilling to be the cause of more death and destruction?

I find it difficult to discuss this book, not only for fear of giving away any of the major spoilers, but also because reading this book was so emotionally draining. While the first two books set up the country of Panem, its controlling government and the brutality of the games, Mockingjay introduces the reader to the horrors of war and the atrocities both sides, of any war, are willing to commit. Make no mistake, the blood runs freely in Mockingjay. Even the characters that are spared remain forever altered by the experience. The book has a lot of action and many characters die making it impossible to put down but difficult to read at times.

I've heard a few complaints about Katniss in this book but I thought her character was written perfectly. I got frustrated with her at times, but her actions are consistent and understandable in the face of all the ruthless brutality she encounters. The other characters, both from the first two books, and the new ones introduced in this installment, added a lot of interest to the story. I enjoyed seeing how their stories all played out, even if I was upset about some of their fates. I particularly loved getting a different perspective on Finnick and Prim; I just fell in love with both of them in this book.

The Bottom Line: This was a great ending to a unique and amazing series! Even though Mockingjay was extremely bloody and depressingly sad it was a magnificent ending to the series. I think fans will love it! If you have not yet read the Hunger Games trilogy, it is truly one of the best for both teens and adults, so give it a try!

Maze Runner

Title: Maze Runner
Author: James Dashner
Location: YA Dashner
Age: Young Adult

Thomas, with no memories of anything, is delivered to a controlled guarded place called the Glade. The only residents are teenage boys. Everyday these boys are trying to stay alive, with the supplies given weekly, as they attempt to solve the massive maze. Thomas soon becomes a runner for the maze and things start happening - including a mysterious girl being delivered with a message that she's triggered the "end".

Bottomline: This was an excellent story that kept me on edge! It has a slow start as Thomas tries to get his bearings, and figures out who is friend or foe. But, once the climax started, I couldn't put it down! I'm anxious to read the sequel because the book definitely leaves you hanging!

Here is the book trailer:

Skinned

Title: Skinned
Author: Robin Wasserman
Reading Level: Young Adult
Location: YA Wasserman

Lia Kahn was perfect: rich, beautiful, popular — until the accident that nearly killed her. Now she has been downloaded into a new body that only looks human. Lia will never feel pain again, she will never age, and she can't ever truly die. But she is also rejected by her friends, betrayed by her boyfriend, and alienated from her old life.
Forced to the fringes of society, Lia joins others like her. But they are looked at as freaks. They are hated...and feared. They are everything but human, and according to most people, this is the ultimate crime — for which they must pay the ultimate price.
This is a book about learning what's important on the inside, not on the outside. Lia has a reality-check when she becomes the epitome of what she and her friends despised- a "skinner" - a mechanical copy of her previous life. Her family, friends, and even her boyfriend have a hard time excepting Lia's new form and Lia herself is having a hard time moving on from being rejected from her previous life. She has to decide what she wants and how she feels - and if she even can feel.

Bottomline: I enjoyed this book. If you like the dystopian stories (Hunger Games, City of Ember, Uglies) then this the book for you. This is a start of the Gripping Trilogy and it should be exciting - I'm intrigued!

Catching Fire

Title: Catching Fire
Author: Suzanne Collins
Reading Level: Young Adult
Location: YA Collins

This review discusses some of the major plot points of the first Hunger Games book. If you have not yet read The Hunger Games, skip ahead to the bottom line.

Katniss and Peeta return home from the terrors of the Hunger Games with the Capitol upset about the “act of rebellion” that allowed them to both escape with their lives. When Katniss effectively ended the Hunger Games with the deadly berries she did not expect her rash decision in the arena to inspire uprisings in the districts. However, when she embarks on the victory tour with Peeta they see the tension and unrest on the faces of those that come to applaud their success. Katniss herself has trouble discerning her own reasoning behind her actions on that day. Did she do it because she loves Peeta or does she really love Gale? Was it in defiance of the Capitol? All Katniss knows is that she must convince her fellow citizens that she never intended to defy the Capitol or her life, and the lives of her family and friends, will come to a gruesome end.

I don’t want to give anything away about the storyline of this amazing sequel. My brief summary only encompasses about the first thirty pages of the book. After that, the action really picks up and there are some truly surprising plot twists. I continue to love the character of Katniss. She is a mentally and physically strong, intelligent young woman but she continues to be inexperienced in dealing with her emotions, especially when it concerns her romantic preference. I definitely think fans of the series will be separating into Team Peeta and Team Gale after this sequel. The story was exhilarating and well crafted. Suzanne Collins continues to build on the world of Panem making it even more intriguing than in the first installment. The only drawback to this book is its spectacular cliffhanger ending which leaves the fans in agony for another year. The next book should be another action-packed, suspenseful, but potentially heartbreaking journey.

The Bottom Line: Catching Fire was a wonderful sequel to the critically acclaimed Hunger Games. It is intriguing, suspenseful, and action-packed with a little romance sprinkled in for good measure. Fans will not be disappointed with this sequel and will be clamoring for the next book due out next year. Team Peeta all the way!