I was instantly drawn to this book Starters by Lissa Price, and I have to say it had everything to do with the cover! I had seen it laying around the library and on my students’ desks and I kept picking it up and I am SO glad that I did! This nail-biter from the first page, had me hooked. There were so many interesting events, relationships, and twists and turns along the way that kept me wanting more- even up until the final pages! When (of course) I found out that there would be a second novel in the series, that luckily for me came out today!This is a science-fiction book in a utopian/dystopian society where a war has broken out and taken and “kill” the main character’s parents. She is then left to fend for herself and younger brother on the streets. In search of money and a better way of life for she and her younger brother who has grown quite ill, she hears about a place called the “body bank” where young teenagers are able to rent their bodies out to elders in search of their youth and recapturing their “best” days. As she grapples with this decision, her brother is getting worse, they are forced to leave their hiding spot and are now “squatting” in an abandoned building. She doesn’t seem like she had much of a choice and decides to go through with the rental… As she undergoes the process, she thinks that things are going really well. Until she enters her third rental that is due to last a full month- that’s a full month that her mind is sleeping, while someone else whom she has never met gets to go around acting like a careless teenager. This is when everything goes wrong!
This is a fabulous high-energy intense novel that really keeps you enthralled the ENTIRE way through! A great book for both boys and girls, especially ones that enjoy trying to solve mysteries and circumstances, especially dealing with creative science and technology! 🙂
Books in the Middle: Reading for Middle School 