Author: Amy Tintera
Publisher: HarperTeen
Publication date: May 5th 2013
Source: Received from publisher (Thanks, Sarah!)
Buy the book: Amazon / Barnes and Noble
Five years ago, Wren Connolly was shot three times in the chest. After 178 minutes she came back as a Reboot: stronger, faster, able to heal, and less emotional. The longer Reboots are dead, the less human they are when they return. Wren 178 is the deadliest Reboot in the Republic of Texas. Now seventeen years old, she serves as a soldier for HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation).
Wren’s favorite part of the job is training new Reboots, but her latest newbie is the worst she’s ever seen. As a 22, Callum Reyes is practically human. His reflexes are too slow, he’s always asking questions, and his ever-present smile is freaking her out. Yet there’s something about him she can’t ignore. When Callum refuses to follow an order, Wren is given one last chance to get him in line—or she’ll have to eliminate him. Wren has never disobeyed before and knows if she does, she’ll be eliminated, too. But she has also never felt as alive as she does around Callum.
The perfect soldier is done taking orders.
(Image and summary taken from Goodreads.)
Review:
Reboot easily has one of the coolest synopses you will ever get the chance of reading. Amy Tintera introduces a world that is uniquely her own and manages to standout amongst other books in the same genre. Reboots are, in essence, superhumans. The longer you stay dead from being killed, the less human you turn out. And it just so happens that our heroine, Wren, 'woke up' after 178 minutes (the longest recorded time) so we ask the question, how much humanity is left in Wren?
...
The answer? Pretty much none. After five years of being HARC's "lapdog" Wren has already accepted the Reboot lifestyle, and why wouldn't she? She was well-fed, she had a purpose and most of all, she knew how to defend herself (especially after her own gruesome death). Wren is what every human fears and what every Reboot doesn't want to be because no matter how indifferent they are to humans, doesn't mean they want to be a "heartless monster". Wren, having embraced her head Reboot-status, actually enjoys hunting down humans and even killing. Which just proves how much she lacks humanity. But those scary attributes are what reinforces Wren's badassery. Her strength and confidence in the field definitely puts her in my "Most Badass Heroines" list. Amy Tintera was able to really grasp the personality of someone with no emotions, whatsoever. That even though Wren was a block of ice, the reader would still be able to connect with her and even understand her bloodlust. It was all disturbingly appealing.
While Wren was the highest ranking Reboot, we have Callum, the exact opposite of Wren. Callum, having only woken up after 22 minutes, is immediately belittled and undermined during trainings, meetings and everything else. The shorter your "dead span", the closer you are to being human, and what good is an almost human to a group of super soldiers? Nothing. Because Callum is too in touch with his human side, he is less inclined to follow orders and is more susceptible to pity towards humans, which only proves that he is a liability to HARC. Especially since he was able to convince Wren to train him even though Wren only trains the highest newcomers, she still gave in to the challenge of making a below-thirty be worth something. And boy did she waste her time. But before that...
Even though I am completely pro-Wren and Callum, I still don't fully understand their relationship. I found it really unbelievable for Wren, someone with absolutely no conscience, to instantly feel a connection with/fall for Callum, who is the epitome of being naive and happy. I felt that Wren's "change" was a bit too rushed and Amy Tintera could have approached it at a different pace. There were also times I questioned Callum's feelings for Wren because most of the time, you will see Wren clinging to Callum but all Callum does is smile and give her a kiss so I feel like his intentions are a bit vague at the moment. I do love the fact that Wren is obviously the dominant in this situation, sure Callum sometimes takes the reins but yay, woman power!
There was a lot of violence in Reboot, seriously. If someone made a movie out of this book, you'd be seeing a lot of dead bodies and blood and less of the kissing, haha. But seriously, Amy Tintera was able to wrap the whole story up in such a way that it will appeal to readers without coming off as too gruesome or gory. Reboot would not be the same without all the violence and the bits of vulnerability snuck in.
Reboot felt a bit like an introductory book for me. There was a lot of backstory and detailed descriptions of what happened inside the HARC facilities but lacked that extra umph to really complete the story. Majority of what happened in Reboot was Wren and Callum running away trying to find something. I will say that the ending will leave you hanging and it's obvious that something more will happen in the next book. Yup. Reboot was not the perfect first book but it undeniably captures the reader's attention with its unique storyline, strong heroine and pulse-pounding scenes. Reboot is definitely a book worth reading.
...
The answer? Pretty much none. After five years of being HARC's "lapdog" Wren has already accepted the Reboot lifestyle, and why wouldn't she? She was well-fed, she had a purpose and most of all, she knew how to defend herself (especially after her own gruesome death). Wren is what every human fears and what every Reboot doesn't want to be because no matter how indifferent they are to humans, doesn't mean they want to be a "heartless monster". Wren, having embraced her head Reboot-status, actually enjoys hunting down humans and even killing. Which just proves how much she lacks humanity. But those scary attributes are what reinforces Wren's badassery. Her strength and confidence in the field definitely puts her in my "Most Badass Heroines" list. Amy Tintera was able to really grasp the personality of someone with no emotions, whatsoever. That even though Wren was a block of ice, the reader would still be able to connect with her and even understand her bloodlust. It was all disturbingly appealing.
While Wren was the highest ranking Reboot, we have Callum, the exact opposite of Wren. Callum, having only woken up after 22 minutes, is immediately belittled and undermined during trainings, meetings and everything else. The shorter your "dead span", the closer you are to being human, and what good is an almost human to a group of super soldiers? Nothing. Because Callum is too in touch with his human side, he is less inclined to follow orders and is more susceptible to pity towards humans, which only proves that he is a liability to HARC. Especially since he was able to convince Wren to train him even though Wren only trains the highest newcomers, she still gave in to the challenge of making a below-thirty be worth something. And boy did she waste her time. But before that...
Even though I am completely pro-Wren and Callum, I still don't fully understand their relationship. I found it really unbelievable for Wren, someone with absolutely no conscience, to instantly feel a connection with/fall for Callum, who is the epitome of being naive and happy. I felt that Wren's "change" was a bit too rushed and Amy Tintera could have approached it at a different pace. There were also times I questioned Callum's feelings for Wren because most of the time, you will see Wren clinging to Callum but all Callum does is smile and give her a kiss so I feel like his intentions are a bit vague at the moment. I do love the fact that Wren is obviously the dominant in this situation, sure Callum sometimes takes the reins but yay, woman power!
There was a lot of violence in Reboot, seriously. If someone made a movie out of this book, you'd be seeing a lot of dead bodies and blood and less of the kissing, haha. But seriously, Amy Tintera was able to wrap the whole story up in such a way that it will appeal to readers without coming off as too gruesome or gory. Reboot would not be the same without all the violence and the bits of vulnerability snuck in.
Reboot felt a bit like an introductory book for me. There was a lot of backstory and detailed descriptions of what happened inside the HARC facilities but lacked that extra umph to really complete the story. Majority of what happened in Reboot was Wren and Callum running away trying to find something. I will say that the ending will leave you hanging and it's obvious that something more will happen in the next book. Yup. Reboot was not the perfect first book but it undeniably captures the reader's attention with its unique storyline, strong heroine and pulse-pounding scenes. Reboot is definitely a book worth reading.
Rating:
.5
Reboot sounds good the revival part definnitely sounds awesome. I'll be sure to check it out.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review
Aparajita @Le' Grande Codex
The revival part and pretty much the whole concept of the book is really good, and very unique. Reboot is definitely worth checking out. Thanks for reading, Aparajita!
DeleteI have been on the fence on whether or not to read this one. On one hand the summary was really cool, but on the other hand it didn't seem like my kind of book. But after reading this review and a few other positive reviews I think I will give this one a try, but maybe get y copy from the library.
ReplyDeleteGreat review :D
Like I said, it's definitely worth a try. :) The premise of the book is very interesting and the book really never gets boring. It only builds momentum and gets even crazier. Haha! Thanks for reading, Kimberly!
DeleteIt feels like it's Terminator. What makes the book great is that the lead character is female. Thanks for the review. :)
ReplyDeleteActually, it is kind of like The Terminator, minus the robot part. And exactly! What makes this book so special is that it has a very strong female lead but unfortunately, she gets all girly after awhile which is kind of sad... Oh well. Haha! Thanks for reading, Daenielle!
Delete