Work is illegal for anyone under the age of nineteen, and without legal guardians, Callie and her generation are surplus members of society, liable to be thrown into asylums (essentially a death sentence). In a world dichotomized between the disenfranchised Starters and the wealthy Enders (who, thanks to miracles of medical science now have the ability to live far into their hundreds), Callie and Tyler are marginalized and utterly without rights or a means to survive. Everyone in between, from twenty to seventy, were killed in the aftermath of the devastating biological spore warhead deployment. The only others to receive the vaccine are known as “Enders” – the extremely elderly.

Both Callie and Tyler are “Starters” – minors that were lucky enough to receive the rare vaccine before the spore warheads were deployed. Only a year earlier, the War escalated and culminated with the release of a deadly weaponized spore that wiped out anyone not immunized – everyone except the very young and the very old. Why did I read this book: I first heard about Starters at NY Comic Con this past year, and immediately was drawn to the premise of the novel (not the cover, which, to me, is incredibly tacky) – in a world where everyone is either very old or very young, how would society change? I was thrilled when I saw this title available on NetGalley and of course scooped up a copy as soon as possible.Ĭallie Woodland is at sixteen years old an orphan, homeless, penniless, and responsible for the care and upbringing of her seven year old brother, Tyler. How did I get this book: ARC from the Publisher Stand alone or series: Book 1 in the Starters duology (I think it’s a duology – there are three short ebooks in the Starters universe, but I’ve only seen 2 planned full length books) 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. 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. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders-seniors who want to be young again. Callie’s only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man.

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. Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young ReadersĬallie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. Genre: Dystopian, Speculative Fiction, Young Adult

Starters by lissa price