Starters

Lissa Price’s Starters is a young adult science fiction novel set in the near future after the Spore Wars, during which biological weapons were used against the United States and wiped out much of the unvaccinated middle-aged population. As a result, many teens were left without families, and the elderly feared for their place in society. Starters without grandparents were barred from essentially every type of work. This led to teens being rounded up to do manual labor in institutions without pay or hope for a better future. As a result, teens hide from the authorities and avoid the marshals by squatting in empty buildings and living life on the run, like Callie, her younger brother, Tyler, and her friend, Michael. The book explores the complex nature of identity and many themes around survival and status. The novel contains graphic violence, gore, fighting, mild sexual physicality, disturbing imagery, and dystopian environments. This guide refers to the first edition Ember paperback novel.

Lissa Price is an author based in Southern California. She wrote Starters, Enders, and short stories set around the Spore Wars.

Plot Summary

Callie Woodland is a 16-year-old Starter from Southern California who wants to live in a safe, stable environment with her younger brother, Tyler, and her friend, Michael.