Monday, March 31, 2014

Enders (Starters #2) by Lissa Price - Ashley's Review

*I received this book as an eARC from Delacorte Press/Random House Children's on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

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Title: Enders (Starters #2)
Author: Lissa Price
Year Published: 2014

My Enders (#2) Pre-Reading
My Starters (#1) Review
My Starters (#1) Pre-Reading

Paul's Enders (#2) Review
Paul's Enders (#2) Pre-Reading
Paul's Starters (#1) Review
Paul's Starters (#1) Pre-Reading

Synopsis: Someone is after Starters like Callie and Michael—teens with chips in their brains. They want to experiment on anyone left over from Prime Destinations—Starters who can be controlled and manipulated. With the body bank destroyed, Callie no longer has to rent herself out to creepy Enders.

But Enders can still get inside her mind and make her do things she doesn't want to do. Like hurt someone she loves. Having the chip removed could save her life—but it could also silence the voice in her head that might belong to her father. Callie has flashes of her ex-renter Helena's memories, too . . . and the Old Man is back, filling her with fear. Who is real and who is masquerading in a teen body?

No one is ever who they appear to be, not even the Old Man. Determined to find out who he really is and grasping at the hope of a normal life for herself and her younger brother, Callie is ready to fight for the truth. Even if it kills her.

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Review: I really enjoyed Starters. The world is really interesting, the characters were well-developed and relateable, and the story was excellent. And even though Starters was great, I think I enjoyed Enders even more! 

Enders was definitely darker and more complicated than Starters was. There are so many secrets that are revealed, and some of them are secrets within secrets. I saw a few things coming, but one of the main reveals took me by surprise! I was so willing to accept things the way they were originally explained that I didn't even think that things might be way more complicated than the simple solution. Enders held me complete attention and I found myself not being able to put it down because I just HAD to know what was going to happen next! I did think a few things were very convenient and probably a little far-fetched, but it didn't bother me too much since it helped move the plot along.

There are some old favorites in this book, although we don't really see as much of them as I would have liked. There's still so much about Michael that I don't know and want to know, since he's kind of tossed in the background again. I mean, he does have his moments, but this is definitely Callie's series. The new characters were really interesting too though, and most of them were actually very well developed. Hyden was my favorite, mostly because I just could not figure him out. He's so sketchy but seems to genuinely care about the Starters and Callie... I still am not sure if I should trust him or not. 

Although I do have some minor questions left, I think this series ended very nicely. Pretty much all of the loose ends are tied up, but there's still some work left to do. Callie still has to figure out relationships of all kinds - familial, friendships, and romantic interests - but she's still got some growing up to do, so that's understandable. I'm very glad that this was only a duology, because I think anything longer would have been too much and anything shorter would not have been enough. 

 I would definitely recommend Enders to anyone who has read Starters. I would also recommend the series to anyone looking for something dystopian with a little sci-fi thrown in. I really think fans of Divergent and The Maze Runner would like this series. I even think the younger crowd would enjoy this series; there's not too much violence or anything, and there are no inappropriate situations. Having said that though, I still think it's enjoyable for the older YA fans as well. A 4/5!


--Ashley

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