Monday, May 20, 2013

Review: Reboot by Amy Tintera

From Goodreads: 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.

My Rating: 3.5 hearts 

Thoughts on the Novel: Reboot by Amy Tintera was a fast-paced read with solid worldbuilding and a unique take on zombies. Unlike most zombie novels, I enjoyed Reboot since Tintera kept the violence but not the gore. The focus on romance, however, decreased my enjoyment of the novel somewhat.

Although the backstory of how the world in Reboot came about is kind of vague, Tintera’s world is believable as it presently is. With a virus decimating the population, it’s not hard to imagine a corporation arising to take advantage and the rich segregating themselves from the poor to avoid the spread of the virus.

One effect of this new virus that it can cause those who have/had it to reanimate after death with better physical abilities and a lack of emotion. The longer the time between death and revival, the corresponding increase in physical abilities and decrease in emotionality afterwards. This makes Reboots great soldiers, and so they’re taken by HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation) to find criminals or those who are sick without the risk of infection.

Among Reboots, Wren is famous for rebooting after one hundred seventy-eight minutes. Feeling little emotion and having no qualms about killing people, she’s one of – if not the – best of HARC’s soldiers. Callum, on the other hand, reboots after twenty-two minutes and therefore almost resembles a human physically and emotionally. As a couple, I liked how the two of them balanced each other because Callum drew Wren out of her shell and made her question the state of things whereas Wren helped him become a stronger Reboot. But, I also thought the romance was very insta-love because as soon as this cute guy shows up, you start to see Wren becoming more emotional.

Reboot was released by HarperTeen on May 7, 2013.  

Comments About the Cover: I think it’s a simple and effective cover. I like how the top half is a bar code that emphasizes the numbers 1, 7 and 8. The number 178 is important of course, but bar codes also have a vital role in Reboot as they help to deindividuate a person.  

In exchange for an honest review, this book was received from the publisher (HarperCollins) for free via Edelweiss. 

13 comments:

  1. everyone seemed to have the same thoughts after reading the book. The plot was great but the romance took some of the enjoyment away. I do not like insta love so that would be a problem for me :S

    great review,
    - Juhina @ Maji Bookshelf

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  2. Although the zombies sounds great, I think the focus on romance is the reason why I wont be reading this. Such a shame as it sounds pretty good otherwise. Great review!

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  3. I actually love this cover just because it is SO vastly different than what we usually see on the market today. But, like many others, as well, it appears that the romantic element actually detracted from the story, which is a problem I've noticed a lot in the YA market today. I might need to pass this one up, but I appreciate your thoughtful review! :)

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  4. Oh, I liked this one too! 3.5 stars for me as well. I enjoyed the original concept, and you're right, it is kind of nice to have the violence without the gore--these guys are definitely not your typical zombies.

    I'm not sure I would call this instalove, because it does develop gradually--but I do think that it would have been nice if we were given more reasons why Wren liked him as much. Still, a fun read! I'm glad you liked it, too. :)

    Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

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  5. Oh god, the dreaded insta love, I hate it! But yet there's something about this book that makes me want to read it. I'll have to just do it and get it out of my system lol. Lovely review Z :)

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  6. A shame to hear about the instalove, because the premise sounds promising! I'm not generally a fan of zombies but I think that's mostly because of the gore, so I'm glad to hear that this book takes a different tack with that aspect. I might check this one out of the library at some point, as I think if I can look past the problematic elements of the romance then it might be quite entertaining. Thanks for your thoughts on it!

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  7. Ahh, I can't get over what a great concept this one has! I know I would appreciate such a unique take on zombies. It's really such a shame that the story would be sullied with an emphasis on an insta-love romance, boo. I'm sure I would like this one more without that, for sure. Glad you liked this one overall though and great job on the review!

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  8. I loved this one Z, and I'm typically not a zombie/reanimated human type of girl:) I agree the romance did happen fairly quickly, but I didn't mind that so much, and I was just glad there was no declaration of love within the first 75 pages:) Glad you enjoyed this one for the most part!

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  9. Yup, had a problem with Wren and Callum's love story, too. Because Wren is supposed to be emotional as ice! Zero feelings. Too fast and insta as you said. Great review. Felt pretty much the same about Reboot!

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  10. I do agree with you about the romance. I did like both Wren and Callum, but the second half of the story was a little difficult to get through for me. Far too much attention on the romance. I'm still looking forward to picking up the next one though.

    Lovely review, Z!

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  11. Oh I'm super intrigued by this one... I've heard RAVE reviews and then decently good ones like yours. Well either way I'm going to check this one out... I bought a copy for the signing I went to in Lansing. =)

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  12. Bleh, insta-love. It's always a shame when a novel with strong plot and characters turns to focus on the romance, when it feels a bit unnatural. However, I've heard many great things about this one, so I think I'll give it a shot. Thanks for the fantastic review, Zahida! :)

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  13. Oh, I liked this too, overall! Some things definitely could have been improved (romance, mainly), but overall I thought it was very fun and a solid debut. Love that cover, too.

    Wendy @ The Midnight Garden

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