Reboot by Amy Tintera

Ali Mark
Apr 8, 2016
3 min read

Gut Instinct Rating - 4.5

Story Line - 4

Writing Style - 5

Characters - 4.5

Excitement Factor - 4

Believability for type and topics - 3.5

Similarity to other books - 3

Dust Jacket Art - 4

Title Relevance - 5

Goodreads users gave this book a 3.93. I think it was more deserving of a 4.16.

Published in 2013.

Pages: 365.

Number of books by author: 5; book 1 of 3.

Genre: YA Fiction.

When Callum-22 stands out as a newbie, Wren-187 is drawn to him. But what she never expects is to become his trainer. She's always picked the highest-trainee available... and Callum is basically the lowest. When their paths collide, how will the highs-and-lows of their personalities clash and combine?

You may like this book if you like the following sub-genres:

Science Fiction
Zombie Apocalypse
Survival

This may be the month that I stop saying, "This isn't something I'd normally read," since I keep purposefully adding them to my wish list/TBR, and I purposefully purchase them, and then I purposefully read them. Fantasy is not an area that I typically enjoy, but I think what amazes me most is the similarities I find in these books that are found in non-fantasy books, as well as the differences I find between fantasy books with zombie-themes. It's all really interesting when you break it down. (But to save you from the boredom, I won't actually do this.)

I thought the characters were fairly well done. But I'm going to get this part out of my system... "Ever" is not a name. I don't know what drug the author was on when she decided "Ever" was a name, but the entire book, I was annoyed with "Ever" being a name. (It's not a name. Even if this were fantasy 101, I'd tell you this is not a name.) It's an adverb. Aside from this minor meltdown I had each and every time her name appeared, the character personalities were pretty well defined. Wren was very much changed throughout the book, and I think that was a critical moment - when we see the change from -restingbitchface-Wren to -theresfeelingsoutthere-Wren. Both were very defined, however. I think the transition was murky, like you'd expect it to be. And I thought the author did a great job of detailing those changes, from physical, to mental, to emotional. And the growth lasted the entirety of the book, which was nice, too. I felt as if Leb's role in the book was crucial, but also very subtle, which I liked. I think some people prefer the character really announce himself in a setting like this, but I was pleased that it was all subtle. Callum's character was definitely the stand-out. He was different, but I liked that he also had similar characteristics to Lissy, who was all under-60. It wasn't that there was no cross-over, but I think everything was really well thought out and placed intentionally.

The believability, if this were real, would've been at the halfway point. The ending is very unbelievable, and for me, that's unsettling. Even if I lived in this world, it's too unbelievable for me. It doesn't ruin the book, but it's one aspect that I just didn't care for, which brought the book down quite a bit. However, that being said, this book isn't "new" to this scene. This book, for me, was a mix between How to Lead a Life of Crime by Kirsten Miller, Quarantine the Loners by Lex Thomas, and Feed by Mira Grant. There were very specific components and situations where I was like, "Yes, that was exactly like _____." Which is fine, I suppose. But I want new, I want my beliefs in this world to be challenged. Some people enjoy similarities, and that's okay, but it's like a crime story... if they all end with the bad guy being caught, what's the point?

The writing style was smooth - it carried well for the story. I found some parts to be a bit dull... not much happening, but I think it was necessary to tone it down a bit in some places. The story itself, though, was really pretty good. I'm not a fan of how it ended, but that's because I'm wanting to read the second book in this trilogy and I'll now have to wait a while before I can do that.

The dust jacket, which wasn't provided when I purchased the book online, is just okay. I get the bar-code reference, and the 187 reference, but I think something else could've been done to up-the-game a bit. I'm not an artist, however, so what do I know! As far as the title goes, it was well chosen. The word was not only used numerous times throughout the book, but it developed a meaning. Reboot became a verb, but it also felt like a noun. It was also an adjective in some places. Reboot was just a good chosen word for a title.