Reboot

Reboot
Amy Tintera
4.0/5.0

At the age of 12, Wren is shot 3 times in the chest... and she dies... and she stays dead... for 178 minutes. Then her body Reboots and she comes back to life faster, stronger, able to heal, and almost devoid of emotion. The longer a Reboot is dead, the less "human" they are, and Wren is the least human of them all. She stayed dead longer than anyone ever has. Now, she's 17 and she is working for HARC, or the Human Advancement and Re-population Corporation. Part of her job is training new recruits. However, her newest recruit, is going to be a challenge. He was dead for a mere 22 minutes. Which is kind of like a death sentence in and of itself for a Reboot. Their emotions get in the way, which gets them killed. However, when a Reboot dies, it's dead. There is no coming back. Callum is slow, asks to many questions, and has one of those smiles that doesn't disappear... like ever. Additionally  he really sucks at following orders. She has to get him in line because if she doesn't SHE has to eliminate him. She's supposed to be utterly devoid of emotion as a 178, but Callum is somehow making her feel more alive than ever.　

So, first off, let me just start out by saying that I am terrified beyond any rational reason or explanation of zombies. The whole coming back from the dead, rotting skin, and trying to eat your brain thing just freaks me the !@&$ out.

I had a few qualms about picking up Reboot, but most of what I read prior to picking up the book led me to believe that the only reason they were being called "zombies" was because they died and came back to life. No rotting flesh. No brain eating. No problem. For the most part they were right, but there are elements in this story in which characters act out zombie like tendencies... like trying to eat people. GRANTED, it's not ALL the characters, and there is a REASON some of the characters go all bat-shit crazy and start trying to eat people.

Anyway, not the point. The point is, that for me to continue reading past one close call with people eating says a lot about this book. Generally speaking, once people eating zombies are mentioned the book goes flying across the room and I huddle in a corner for hours freaking out over every little noise. It's not pretty.

So what possessed me to continue reading after the whole "oooh, human... nomnomnom" episode(s)?? By the time it became really evident that it was going to happen I was already in love with the characters  including some of the characters who were doing the nomming. Tintera was pretty damn brilliant in that respect. She made me love a "zombie" that was trying to !$#%*^@ eat people. I didn't even know that was possible.

The only real complaint I have about any of the charecters is that I felt like Wren had too much emotion too quickly for someone who was supposed to be devoid of emotion from the word go. Like the book starts out and she's all "There's no human left in me, I don't care, I'm following my orders, $#&% YOU!" Then she meets Callum and suddenly she's all "I worry about him. He needs my help. I must save him!!" I wanted her to get there, but I think it could have been a little more drawn out or something. I don't know.

HAHAHA!  I'm not human, I have no feelings!  Wait... wait... OH GOD... I DO HAVE SOME HUMANITY LEFT... OH THE FEELS!!!!

Callum was pretty awesome. His character made me crack up a couple of times. He may only be a 22, but he can be a bad ass when he needs to be. However, he isn't a badass just to be a badass. I wouldn't go as far as to say he's "book boyfriend" material at this point, but I will say I find him amusing.

There are a few twists in the book that I didn't see coming. They weren't MAJOR twists in my opinion though. Most of the MAJOR twists I kind of saw coming, so I wasn't all that "WTF!?!?!" over them. But there were some smaller ones that totally blindsided me. So that's nice. I like those "Oh... snap... wtf just happened" moments. I find them fun. I'm weird like that.

Zombies and all I found Reboot to be a fun read. It was fast paced, easy to grasp, and without a lot of ooey-gooey lovey-dovey bullshit.

For the record:  I do not actually hate romance in a book.  I just hate when it's bullshit romance *cough* Twilight *cough*

It was a good book, and despite my RIDICULOUS fear that the whole zombie-wanna-eat-your-flesh theme will progress in the next book, I STILL intend to read it, cuz I HAVE TO KNOW WHAT THE HELL HAPPENS!

Also, the image below is a total front.  It makes me look all badass and ready to face my fears.  Like I'm all "I'm gonna read the shit outta that book!"  In reality, I'm terrified that the zombie brain eating is going to really get going in book two.  Which in turn means I may very well have to seek professional help before, during, and/or after reading it.  

Now, quit staring at the screen like one of those zombie freaks and go get the damn book and read it. Like now. Because it's good. And because your zombie stare is kind of freaking me out.

... seriously