Enders

Wow. Just wow. This book and its predecessor, Starters, are too amazing and my mind is blown after reading both. Lissa Price is able to do again in Enders what she started in Starters (get it? Yeah, I know I'm lame). Anyways, this book carries on the story of Callie and her misadventures involving body swapping and head-chipping. At the end of the last book we saw that Callie wasn't quite rid of the Old Man just yet, though what more he could possibly plan to do was unknown.

How everything plays out in this second book is just genius. I had a suspicion about one of the outcomes but then I even tossed that aside at one point and was like, "no way" and so it blew me away when it actually was what I originally thought. Then all the other show more revelations had me rethinking the whole series. I couldn't have been more satisfied with another plot twisted ending that reveals so much going back over the books again. These are books where truly, as the "Old Man" advises Callie, you can't trust anyone and should even question yourself. In a world where others can get into your body and then into your head, this couldn't be more true. I was constantly on edge about the identity and trustworthiness of many characters.

These are probably like the only books I have been super excited to read again at some point because to read it now, knowing the outcome, will change things so much.
The suspense, language, character development, descriptiveness of setting, emotions, puzzle, story, minute details, it is all so beautiful. I become so submerged in these books and read both in just a couple sittings (though I wished I could have read them all at one time). show less

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Generally, publishing runs at this awesomely steady pace where we, as readers, can count on getting the next installment in a series in a nice timely fashion. Wait but a year, and the next book will be in your hands. With Enders, though, it came out just under two years after Starters. Now, it’s not the book’s fault, but within that time period, I sort of lost my passion for this series, though I did want to finish it. Enders is good, but I didn’t get as into it as I did with Starters, possibly because of the wait.

If you enjoyed Starters, I do think that you will be pretty happy with the series conclusion. Lissa Price remains one of the rare dystopian YA authors show more who puts romance on the back burner. There is some, but she’s much more interested in and focused on the plot, which is so refreshing. The world building, while a little bit sketchy, is solid unto itself, which is good enough for me. I’m willing to make an intellectual leap for a series, as long as the internal logic works out properly.

Callie’s internal struggles as a result of the events of Starters are quite compelling. Big spoiler for Starters coming up by the way, though you ought to be ready for these if you’re reading a review for a later book in a series. Anyway, Callie had a romance with a boy in Starters only to realize that the boy was a starter body being controlled by The Old Man, the big bad of the series. DUN DUN DUN.

What I love about this is that Callie has to deal with all the feelings that she had. She spends a brief amount of time with the starter whose body The Old Man was wearing, and she doesn’t feel anything romantic. Yes, it’s disgusting and creepy, but in a haunting, shocking way that I never expected. I like that Price doesn’t hide from the sheer ickiness of everything that went down or ignore the implications.

Price adds in another possible love interest and puts in a slight love triangle, but it’s actually really acceptable. I’m not particularly shipping either way, but it’s also still anybody’s game. I like that the romance has options, but that Callie’s more focused on survival for the most part. Though she has a preference, she’s not rushing off to commit any time soon.

The ending felt really rushed, with the resolution coming much too easily on a lot of fronts, both with Callie’s emotions and with the defeat of the bad guy. Mostly, I find it frustrating that the darkness of Callie’s lingering feelings for The Old Man do end up being de-creepified in the end: conveniently, the old man is Hyden, a hot starter. And what the fuck kind of a name is Hyden anyway? Oh, AND The Old Man actually isn’t evil at all, so it’s fine that she likes him. JOY OF JOYS. No. For once I’d like the heroine to be in love with the villain, only he actually is the villain. Well, not that they’re in love at this point, but feelings.

Additionally, the ending feels like the set up for another novel in this series, though it would be a deviation much like the planned season four of Veronica Mars where she would have joined the FBI. I’m really hoping this doesn’t happen, because I was promised a duology. If there is a third book, I will probably bow out, even though I enjoyed these two.

The Starters series by Lissa Price ranks fairly high among the young adult dystopian offerings. It’s a good choice for readers looking for a dystopian series that doesn’t put romance first. show less

Even though this book was good, it didn't quite live up to the quality of the previous book, Starters. In this sequel, Callie is living in Helena's house, still hoping to find Helena's granddaughter, Emma. She is plagued with memories that are not her own, but are Helena's. She is also being contacted by "The Old Man" through her chip. When she sets out to find out more about the missing Emma, she meets the mysterious, Hyden who is another "Metal" like her with a chip in his head. He claims to be the Old Man's son, out to fix what his father has done to all of the metals. In trying to help Hyden, she finds out what makes her so special to the Old Man and puts herself as well as her friend, Michael and her brother, Tyler in grave danger. show more

This story has plenty of action and twists from beginning to end, but it just didn't create quite as much emotional connection to the characters as the first book did. Still overall, a very good read. show less

Callie crushed Prime Destinations, the corporation that used Starters as virtual life experiences, without the “virtual.” Teens (Starters) desperate enough to get money, had signed up with Prime Destinations to let old people (Enders) use their bodies to return to the activities of their youth. The corporation implanted chips in the teens’ skulls allowing the transfer of consciousness from an old body to a fit, youthful one. What the teens didn’t know was that it also gave the head of the corporation the ability to physically control their bodies outside the transference process. So the implanted teens could be made to do things under the control of the leader, even though the corporation no longer exists. Callie learns of this show more and another freakish feature of the implanted chips - a detonation capability, making it conceivable to use the teens as living bombs. These disturbing possibilities make Callie determined to put a stop to the terror that the corporate leader might attempt. She meets Hyden, a young Starter who intends to foster a rebellion and who seems to want to help the teens with implants. He has a connection to the former Prime Destinations and Callie is uncertain in her inclination to trust him. In this second installment the evil ulterior motives of the corporation are brought to light. Although the corporation itself is no longer a factor, the threat of the teens being used for evil is imminent and terrifying. Price has brought some interesting twists and turns to the plot but the characters need a bit more depth to be fully realized. The pace is good and the action is intense. It’s a solid sequel to Starters. show less

Enders (Starters #2) by Lissa Price is book two and I didn't read book one and did okay but it did refer to some things in book one I didn't know. It wasn't enough to hinder the story. I would say it could be a stand alone. I really liked this book. Poor people could get chips in their head and rich people could rent their bodies, taking over with the rich mind. But the chip still has more than one purpose they are finding out as someone's head explodes as a warning. It is an action packed sci-fi that is fast paced and creepy because it is so invasive and leaves the chipped people so helpless. Great read. Got this book from the library.

I'm so sad. I had so hoped to love this one. I'd fallen in love with [b:Starters|11861062|Starters (Starters, #1)|Lissa Price|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1358435131s/11861062.jpg|16484218]. All the creepy spores and enders/starters.....the borrowing and computer chips and..
The world was amazing, the characters were so intriguing.

This one...felt rushed and incomplete. And somehow the big reveals...I didn't feel the full punch of them - I wasn't even impressed when I really feel like I should have been

Although I'm glad I read this one, it just didn't connect to me like the first one did.

Since it had been over a year since I read the first book in this set, Starters, I decided to do a re-read before jumping into Enders so I wouldn't have any problems connecting all the little pieces. However, the author did a good amount of recapping at the beginning so I probably would have been fine without the re-read but it got me back into the world and mindset so I'm still glad I did.

Callie, Tyler, and Michael are finally free from Prime Destination and are living like normal claimed Starters. That is until Callie starts hearing the voice of the Old Man in her head, proving to her that she will never be completely free. This book went in a lot of different directions than I was expecting, it's full of twists and turns that will show more keep you on your toes!

We get a few new characters this time around, some joining Callie's side, others fighting to bring her down. There's a certain new character I'd like to gush about but you're just going to have to read it for yourselves *que evil laughter* ;)

I think fans of the first book will be happy with where things go in Enders. For those who haven't read the first book yet, what are you waiting for?! While there is only supposed to be two books in the set the ending seemed like the perfect setup for a third. Hey, a girl can dream right? =) show less