Review: Reboot by Amy Tintera

Goodreads Summary:

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.

Publication Date: May 7, 2013

I really love when you find a book that stands out in the crowd. Reboot was a YA dystopian, but it had a lot of unique elements I found interesting. I was particularly intrigued by the idea of the dead rising and coming back stronger and faster, but their humanity altered.

Wren wasn’t likable at first and she’s not meant to be. Reboots are categorized by how many minutes they were dead before reanimating. Wren was dead for 178 minutes and caused her to be hard and have a clinical detachment to the world around her. However, that changes when she’s assigned to train Callum or 22, a Reboot who has kept most of his humanity.

I liked Wren and Callum together—they complemented each other nicely. Wren became less like a robot because of Callum and Callum toughened up. Callum was very weak throughout the book and I really would like to see him come into his own. I was waiting for him to stop getting his butt kicked all the time.

There was a lot of action in this one. It was very violent and had a few scenes that made me squeamish. I really loved the side characters and was devastated over a particular character’s premature end. There were no lulls in the plot and it made me finish the book quickly.

Reboot was a good series starter and although one major conflict was resolved. It left room open for the continuation of the story in the sequels. I’d like for more revelations about HARC and also about Wren’s family.

Rating: 4/5 Stars

Thanks to the publisher for a copy of this book for review!