REVIEW #124: Reboot (Reboot #1) by Amy Tintera

Title: Reboot

Series: Reboot #1
Author: Amy Tintera

Publisher: Harper Teen

Release Date: May 7, 2013

Pages: 365, Hardcover
Source: Library

Summary 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.

 

Reboot is one of those books that is fast-paced and packed with action. Something was always happening and I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to find out what came next. You tell yourself, just one more page, one more, and before you know it you’ve finished the book because you just couldn’t put it down.

The synopsis does a good job introducing this story so I’ll skip right to what I really loved about this book - which was Wren mostly, but Wren and Callum together too. Wren, as a 178, is one of the deadliest Reboots. And let me tell you, she is totally badass. She is also considered the most inhuman. But Amy Tintera did an amazing job making Wren appear logical and matter-of-fact as opposed to cold and unforgiving. This portrayal was perfect because it left room for her to show emotion later and have it be believable. Wren might not be easily controlled by her emotions, or as quick to feel and show them, but with the right Trigger - Callum - she can feel as the others do.

And I say can because she wasn’t sure she could in the beginning. Everyone believed she was just a mindless shell and she started to believe that about herself too. It was amazing watching Callum slowly bring out her humanity and her slowly give in to it. I was happy to see her realize she wasn’t as dead as everyone thought. And it was a great moment when she stopped listening and started making her own decisions.

The relationship between Callum and Wren was both sweet and exciting and I loved watching it deepen. Humans are naturally scared of Reboots but even Reboots are scared of Wren. Very few Reboots engaged her and she really didn’t know how to handle Callum at first, who was all sunshine and rainbows and not afraid of her in the least. The stark contrast in their behaviors and mannerisms created an interesting dynamic and was a joy to experience.

So even though I’ve focused my review on Wren and Callum, there is other stuff going on, more or less involving restlessness and rebellion among the Reboots. This is where the action and adventure comes in and it’s good stuff. That’s all I’m going to say.

I expected to like this book. Even so, it exceeded my expectations. Wren and Callum are the type of characters that stand out. Kind of like how Day and June stand out in the Legend series and make it all the better. If you like that series, I expect you will enjoy this one. 

Favorite line:

"'Do that thing where you look blank, like you have no feelings at all.'

'I think that's just my face.'"