Title: Enders
Author: Lissa Price
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Release Date: January 7, 2014
Pages: 288
Format: eBook
Source: NetGalley
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Dystopia/Post-Apocalyptic
With the Prime Destinations 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 Callie's 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? This is the thrilling sequel to "Starters".
In this conclusion to the 2012 debut, Starters, Lissa Price ties some very loose ends that we're left in the first book and resumes just two days after. If you have not read Starters, this review will have some spoilers, so caution ahead.
After everything that happened to Callie at Prime Destinations, she couldn't be happier about watching it crumble down. She would be even happier still weren't for the fact that "The Old man", as was called the head of Prime Destinations, was still accessing her mind and talking to her through the chip that had been permanently implanted in her brain while working at the body bank. The Old Man continued to try to manipulate Callie into joining him, in order for him to gain access to her unique modified chip. This chip allowed her to be the only M.A.D or Multiple Access Donor, which means more than one person could inhabit her body at the same time while Callie herself was still fully aware of what was happening. In addition to that, unlike others with a chip, hers had also been modified so that she would be allowed to kill, leaving the possibility of weaponizing her wide open.
As if there wasn't enough going on, Callie also has episodes where she relives some of the memories that her previous body renter, Helena, had experienced while inhabiting Callie's body. Add to that the possibility that the father that Callie had thought dead all this time might still be alive and speaking to her the same way The Old Man was.
Like the first novel, Enders is an action packed ride from start to end. There is one quote said in the book that rings true throughout the whole story, "Trust no one but yourself, and then question that", as you are left to constantly question the true intentions of everyone Callie comes in contact with. One very prominent example is how The Old Man used Blake in the first book to get close to Callie and eventually make her fall in love with him. I was very glad, and relieved, to see that was resolved, and I was happy with the way it turned out.
One thing I didn't like about the book is that it felt rushed in answering some of the lingering questions from the first book, like someone would offer an explanation for acting completely different then and it would just be accepted and everyone would just move on. I don't know if that was because of the pressure the characters were constantly in, and how fast paced the book was, but it did feel a little strange and unresolved.
All in all, I was happy with the way the story ended. Not a complete happily ever after, but enough hope for the future of these characters that you are left with a sense that they can, and will, go on.
I also get annoyed when movies/books are pressured to tie everything up and someone pops up and gives a little speech about what is happening and everyone just nods. I am glad to hear that the book was good though!
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