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. . . .(Taken from GoodReads)
Starters is an unbelievably fast-paced Sci-Fi/Dystopian adventure. The story takes place in a world in our not too distant future. A future where movies have developed into holos but cars are still cars that are just faster and sleeker. It’s a future that is believable which makes the story that much more disturbing. If the reader can believe what this future looks like, then they can also believe that what the Antagonist, the company Prime Destinations, is doing is possible. And that is what makes for a truly disturbing and excellent read.
A vaccine to protect people from the Spore Wars was only provided to the old and the young. Now with the middle-aged working population mostly obliterated by the Spore Wars, the country is being run by Enders, the elderly population. Thanks to modern technology and medicine, Enders can now live upwards of 200 years old. They have taken over the workforce by default. The Starters are all those kids under 20 that have survived the Spore Wars and are now parent-less. Almost all Starters are parent-less, the exception being those that are lucky enough to be claimed by an Ender relative. If not claimed, Starters have two options. Be a squatter that is constantly on the run from the police or live in one of numerous Institutions designed to house unclaimed Starters and force them into work.
Callie and her brother are unclaimed Starters. And they are squatters that are constantly on the run. Callie has heard about Prime Destinations and the price they will offer if she would be willing to rent out her body to an ender - a price that would pay for a home and food for her and her brother. She decides to take the risk only to find that Prime Destinations plans for the Starters bodies they rent out is more nefarious than she imagined.
This story really makes you think. What price would you pay? How far would you be willing to go to recapture your youth? As much as I joke about recapturing my teen years, I realize that I truly am just joking. When faced with the question as to whether I would be willing to take over someone else’s body if it meant living a longer and fuller life, the answer is, without a doubt, NO! Who are we to take the precious privilege of living away from someone else? The idea is reprehensible.
This was a great story and I am very excited that we only have to wait until this fall for part two, Enders.
Nat
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