Enders (Starters)

In "Enders", the second and final novel in the Starters Series by Lissa Price, 16-year-old Callie is left with a chip in her body that Prime Destinations' CEO, The Old Man, can use to peak inside her head. From the looks of it, he's even able to take control of every single Starter that has a chip inside their head. Determined to finally take him down and enable other "Metallos" like her a normal life after all, Callie is ready to fight him."Enders" is a page-turner just like the first novel. Price has just a very distinct way of writing that's fast-paced and makes you want to, even NEED to find out what happens next. I found myself completely ignoring the page count and not noticing how much of it I had read in one session. (Writing 4/5)I'm a little disappointed with Price suddenly losing a bit of her originality. What I initially LOVED about "Starters" is that it's a fresh premise, unlike anything I've ever read before. With dystopian YA there's always a handful of traits that authors tend to subconsciously go back to when in doubt. I was very disappointed of her using the "lost family member helping to take down the antagonist" cliche. I'd rather have Callie figuring it out on her own just like she did in the first novel. With that impressive amount of influential supporters she gained through the past events, it's certainly not very far-fetched.Finding out about the Middles, the supposedly lost generation that died in the Spore Wars, had me rolling my eyes. The entire world of "Enders" is based around the tragedy that is having to lose your parents/children due to the catastrophy and having to cope with the poverty and huge gap between rich and poor resulting from it. Had there been a possibility to save that generation, Price should have at least included a Middle character in the first novel. It feels just too easy to have a handful rich people that survived and honestly, I'd rather not have her introduce this. How do you even define who's what now? Where does a Starter end and a Middle start? The terms Starter and Ender only function if they are clearly distinguishable from the outside persepective. Of course, it's personal preference here but the world is already established and I'm not a fan of throwing more complicated main points into a series two books in. I noticed that in this one, Price puts heavy emphasis on the aesthetics in her world. By adding futuristic elements to it subtly (holographic clothing, air screens etc), her whole world becomes more real. I always felt like the world of "Starters" wasn't that realistic, given that there are hardly any technological advances besides the sudden possibility of people living up to be 200+ years. Especially because the environment and the whole feel of the city wasn't that different from a present day place aside from the ruins that Callie, Michael & Tyler seeked shelter in.(Plot 2/5)There's a lot of new characters being introduced, especially among the young Starters that it's very hard to keep up with them. At a certain point I just stopped trying to remember looks, personality traits and details because I knew that the characters weren't going to stick around for long in the first place. That's definitely a major point of criticism in Price's novels: You can always tell who's going to survive and who's essential for the current plot line. Price tends to throw away her side characters or even kill them off the second they've proven to be helpful for Callie. When you know she's got everything figured out and a planned agenda that she might go through alone as well- there's a character death coming up.What really had me gasping for air is the resolution of the mystery of the Old Man. It's impossible to tackle the topic without spoilers. Initially I was so annoyed at the introduction of Hyden, because I feared that Price is headed towards the love-triangle-road, given that Michael clearly had a romantic interest in Callie in the first novel and they both figuratively ruffle their feathers around each other like peacocks trying to impress their mate the most. The resolution of it all is just so... brilliant that I'm really struggling to find words for it. While reading I felt sometimes like everything was just too easy and too convenient all the time, but I promise you, you're going to lose that feeling in thelast 10 pages. I rarely read a novel concluding a series that had absolutely no open questions left. You can tell it's a great series conclusion when I'm tempted to just pick up "Starters" again and reread the series. Great job. (Characters 4/5)Rating:★★★½☆☆Overall: Do I Recommend?Yes. Just like "Starters", "Enders" is a fresh breath of air unlike any other dystopian novel on the market right now. It has its flaws, the sequel dives a bit into the more predictable side, but I mean this novel is so refreshing that you might turn a blind eye to that. It's definitely unique, insanely well-written and captivating. Of course I recommend, even though I must say that the first novel "Starters" also works as a stand-alone novel and you don't necessarily have to read the sequel.

3.5 Stars***I received this book as a giftPROS:Terror. Serious, disgustingly intrusive loss of control. Your skin will crawl. The sheer evil and disquieting, morally bankrupt choices that Callie and co. are forced to make are truly repulsive and FABULOUS writing. You can feel their conflict, their racing hearts, their strong will to fight the monstrous tasks in front of them and their queasiness in their stomachs when they realize they have no real choice.The climax, plot twists, and reveals are so surprising you will not see them coming.Callie is determined, brave, and willing to sacrifice everything for the people she loves. She wants to save all the suffering Starters from gross manipulation by greedy Prime members but above all, wants to save them from ever having to deal with the sense of hopelessness she has when her body is hijacked. Callie is a fighter, fueled by hope and love, she believes that the world can be saved and a positive future is possible. The dreamer and the badass inside her make the perfect heroine.Hyden is an extremely interesting character. There are so many layers just waiting to be unwrapped. His vulnerability, his drive, and his intelligence are compelling and instantly attractive.The sheer mass of technology and the creative descriptions are brilliant. Quirky, fun, and completely innovative. If you’re looking for futuristic technology, this is definitely something to check out.CONS:Some sections were a bit slow and lacked the adrenaline, nail-biting energy that should have been present during crisis scenes.Sometimes escape or solving problems was too easy, everything seemed to fall in place when it seemed like it would have been much more complicated.Love. While there was some mild flirtation, it came out of nowhere really, there was hardly any build up.Michael. As a character his presence was missing.

Starters, the first book in the series, has the potential to be a great stand-alone book. Still, the author wrote "Enders" as the second book in the cannon. After how much I enjoyed Starters, I needed to read this book. Though not as good as the original, it is an worthy accompaniment.After the fall of Prime Destinations, Callie finds herself with loose ends to tie up. Beginning life with her brother in the house she has seemingly inherited, Callie could live a comfortable existence. But when the voice returns, she finds herself once again drawn into conflict and trying to save the "metals". While the overall story, melted nicely into the original, I felt as though the author was forcing an unnecessary happy ending on us. The fall of the villain was quite enough of an ending. Any twists beyond this point just seemed sappy.I would recommend the book as a sense of closure to the series. As a whole, the plot of Enders may be unimpressive to some.

I liked how the story concluded. Everything was resolved nicely. The story had depth and an exciting ending. The only thing I would have wanted would be a little more time with Callie and her family reunited and happy. Maybe a prologue with Hyden to see how their relationship developed. Overall I liked the book and it was good to finally have all those unanswered questions answered. This is a must-read if you read Starters. And if you didn't read Starters, you should that first and then read Enders right away instead of having to wait 2 years like some of us had to. But I'm happy to have finally have this sequel. Movie anyone? This would be an exciting and interesting visualization in movie form.

I am so conflicted on this. I loved the first book - it's one of my favourites ever - but I really don't know about this one. On one hand I think it's awful and on another I think it's actually a very satisfying sequel.With the body bank finally shut down, Callie thinks that she and her brother will be able to live their lives in their new home. But people are after her, eager to experiment on her because of the chip left in her brain. When she starts hearing the voice of the Old Man in her head, Callie is determined to find out who he really is. And when she starts to hear her father's voice in her head, her life is thrust into turmoil. Is he really dead? Who is real and who is masquerading in a teen body?There are a few new characters in this book that weren't in the first one, namely Hyden. He was likeable enough, but when Callie started to get feelings for him, I couldn't help but yawn. Now we have a love square - is that even what you'd call it? - her, Blake, Michael and now Hyden. Really, Callie? I don't want to give away anything but there's a nice little twist towards the end that put this love square into perspective and explained it all. With it now making sense, I thought that the whole plotline regarding her feelings for all three was done incredibly. I really didn't see what was coming, and so I felt bad for judging her throughout the whole book.I wish that the headmistress of Institution 37 had a bigger part in the book. Whilst the Old Man was creepy, she was just terrifying.I didn't enjoy the setting as much as the first book. I felt that the descriptions in the first book were better, as was the plot. Starters was very fast paced and exciting, but Enders just wasn't. Nothing really happened in the first 90% of the book. The last 10% was definitely the best part, although I thought it was a little rushed. I wish Lissa Price had spent more time drawing it out a little longer and making it more exciting, and giving us more on the big reveal at the end.I'm not saying Callie's dad is actually alive, you'll have to read it yourself to find out. Why would she assume he was dead in the first place though? It really was not clear throughout the book whether it actually was his voice Callie was hearing or whether it was just the Old Man up to his old tricks.The book did end nicely but as I said, it was a bit rushed. I didn't think the book was bad, it just wasn't great either. I actually thought at times it was like a different author had wrote this and Starters, they were so different.

The book came with a dust cover on? Not sure why - seems to be from a library sale or something. I did purchase from a third party seller, so I suppose that's what you get. The book itself I haven't finished, as it didn't really interest me at all. The first book was absolutely brilliant and I found to be so interesting, but this one wasn't that great. There was a good plot to it, it just wasn't the same plot as the other book which I found so thrilling and exciting. So I personally didn't enjoy it, but others easily might as it is rather fast paced.

GOOD READ

I really enjoyed this second book, it didn't disappoint and continued the story of the starters and enders to a brilliant conclusion, I'm hoping someone will make it into a film

Book turned up very quickly and was in great condition as described.