Series Review: Reboot and Rebel by Amy Tintera

Reboot 
by Amy Tintera
Read: May 4 - 9, 2014
Published: May 7, 2013 by HarperTeen
Source: Kindle purchase
Category: Dystopian, zombies, romance, YA
Series: Reboot #1
Find: Goodreads | Amazon

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.


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Mini review: While this story is fun and the romance is sweet, I just couldn't muster that much enthusiasm for Reboot. I have a very low tolerance for dystopian/post-apocalyptic/zombie type stories these days, so part of my reaction to this book is definitely the fact that my over saturation levels on this subject have been reached. The concept of the Reboots - humans that die and the come back stronger with amazing healing abilities - and the KDH virus that caused them was interesting. But I wanted to know more about the world at large - is everyone else in the country dead? I also thought the drug being given to the under 60s (Reboots dead for less than an hour before they came back) was quite mysterious, I never got a full picture of how it would work. Wren is pretty badass and unemotional, and I liked seeing how Callum was a counter to her, and also how he made her question what she believed about herself, humans and the reboot program. I enjoyed their romance, though I'm not sure they'd realistically be kissing as much as they were, on the run during some of the more intense moments. Although I never fell in love with this book, I did enjoy it enough to read the sequel. 

Love Triangle Factor: None
Cliffhanger Scale: Medium (Not a stressful scene, but definitely mid series)

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Rebel
by Amy Tintera
Read: May 17 - 19, 2014
Published: May 13, 2014 by HarperTeen
Source: Kindle purchase
Category: Dystopian, zombies, romance, YA
Series: Reboot #2
Find: Goodreads | Amazon

The sequel to the action-packed Reboot is a can't-miss thrill ride, perfect for fans of James Patterson, Veronica Roth, and Marie Lu.

After coming back from death as Reboots and being trained by HARC as soldiers, Wren and Callum have finally escaped north, where they hope to find a life of freedom. But when they arrive at the Reboot Reservation, it isn't what they expected. Under the rule of a bloodthirsty leader, Micah, the Reboots are about to wage an all-out war on the humans. Although Wren's instincts are telling her to set off into the wilderness on their own and leave the battle far behind, Callum is unwilling to let his human family be murdered. When Micah commits the ultimate betrayal, the choice is made for them. But Micah has also made a fatal mistake . . . he's underestimated Wren and Callum.

The explosive finale to the Reboot duology is full of riveting action and steamy love scenes* as Wren and Callum become rebels against their own kind.

*I don't remember this…though there was some great romantic moments, I think "steamy love scenes" is a stretch!
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I enjoyed Rebel a lot more than Reboot! I was so much more invested in these characters and their story. I think that happened for a few reasons:

1) The author added Callum's POV, which was a GREAT decision. He is much more emotionally expressive than Wren, and I connected with his narrative better than hers. I also really liked seeing Callum step it up in this book. He mostly followed Wren around in the last story - he was a new Reboot and incapacitated for part of it - but I wasn't sure how their different abilities and perspectives would work in a longterm relationship. I enjoyed seeing more balance between them, and watching Callum take on more leadership and responsibility. I love how supportive they are of each other, and the way they acknowledge that each has his/her own strengths. They are also willing to ask each other and themselves hard questions, but despite that, this book never fell into an angst trap. 

2) I'm happy this story focused less on a revolution plot, which seems standard to any dystopian, and more on social, community questions. How can humans and reboots co-exist in this society? Are they destined to be separate? Should one group be eliminated? There's a lot of suspicion and hurt between the two: is it possible to heal that? Of course violence and battles are part of the immediate answer, but what will happen longterm? I enjoyed exploring this within the characters, especially Wren, who had to grapple with it a lot more than Callum. We also saw these questions play out in the larger world. 

3) Micah was a great character who added complexity to this story. He is the leader of the Reboot reservation. Though he creeped me out from the start, it isn't clear right away whether he'd turn into a villain or what role he'd play. Watching Wren's perspective of him slowly change was extremely well done, especially how that affected her overall view of the world. I was much more on the edge of my seat while reading this book than the first, and that had a lot to do with Micah's addition, especially in the first half of the book. But Micah wasn't the only secondary character who stood out. I enjoyed getting to know Addie better, as well as seeing Wren's old trainer Riley, the Austin Rebels and Callum's brother. Wren was so emotionally isolated in the first book, and Rebel had more of a community feel to it. 

Reboot and Rebel are a solid series that is a little more romance based than the traditional dystopian story. It is another reminder to me how much I prefer to read series books back to back than spread out over years. The first book was fresh in my mind when I read the second and the two together created great momentum. Although many of my additional world building questions were not addressed in the finale, I really liked the shift in focus to the characters and society. I'm glad I read these!

Love Triangle Factor: None
Cliffhanger Scale: Series conclusion