Review: The Start-Up

The Start-Up (The Start-Up #1) by Sadie Hayes
Release Date ~ October 17, 2011
Backlit Fiction
ISBN13: 2940013286269

Goodreads Synopsis:
When a college freshman's breakthrough software program catapults her into the limelight, she and her twin brother must navigate a treacherous world of money, power, and envy: Silicon Valley.
In a world of tweets, apps, and mobile games, The Start-Up is a fast-paced and exciting serial story with a new episode released each month.

This is hands down one of the most unexpected books I have read this year; it was such a pleasant surprise to pick up a book when I wasn't expecting much and to end up absolutely enthralled with its story and characters. The Start-Up introduces a variety of characters, each with their own problems and motives and it will be interesting to see how it all comes together...

1. "New Adult":
   
   I'm still unsure of how I feel about the "New Adult" label, BUT I have to say that I love reading about characters that are slightly older than the typical YA protaganist. Amelia and Adam are both in university students, which makes it slightly refreshing to read about people in that life stage.
2. Complex, developed characters:
   
   Every single character is well-developed. None of them are perfect, they all have their own flaws and motives, and best of all they all have secrets. Some of which we know about, and others we don't (yet). But it's fairly difficult to hate any one character, because there isn't anyone who's just plain evil- if they are an antagonist, there are reasons why they're acting in such a way. That's something you don't find too often in a book, and I significantly appreciated it in The Start-Up.
3. Dirty little secret mystery:
   
   There's definitely a mystery aspect to The Start-Up, but not in a murder mystery kind of a way... more like everyone has something to hide and the question is, who will uncover those secrets first? I can definitely see why people would compare it to Pretty Little Liars and Gossip Girl, except I think I preferred this one because there seems to be more at stake here.

I actually decided to read this one, because I had been offered a review copy from the author and was impressed with how put together Backlit and Sadie had organized The Start-Up. It was only after accepting another book from Backlit that I decided to read this one, because initially it hadn't caught my interest. But I can officially say that I'm HOOKED on this series and really excited by where it's going to go. It's such a quick, intriguing story that you have to pick this one up to give it a chance, and I have a feeling that Backlit is something we should be keeping an eye on from now on.

As stated earlier, a review copy of the e-book was provided from the author and Backlit Fiction in exchange for my honest review; no other compensation was received!