"I'm angry I let my heart get caught up in the idea of having a foster family, for believing in the people who raised me"

* * *
3 / 5

I loved the idea behind Body Parts, it reminded me of Neil Shusterman's book Unwind, which I greatly enjoyed. However, I found that this book dragged a bit in the middle where there was less action and more romance, and that as a character, Tabitha could be aggravating and make stupid decisions.

"I'll be a record on the wall, a memory in the minds of those who trained with me until they're gone too"

Tabitha Rhodes, orphaned at six, is being raised in a centre which encourages her to be in tip-top physical condition in order to maximise her chances of being adopted. But when they tell her, at age sixteen, that it's finally happening instead of meeting a loving family she wakes up in hospital at a scene of chaos. Turns out she's been raised only for the purpose of organ harvesting for the rich and wealthy who've ruined their organs by overuse of drugs supplied by conglomerate giant PharmPerfect, and the rescue team is here. Gavin and his rag-tag crew are breaking her out.

Tabitha joins Gavin's group, which includes eight year old Mary who wasn't rescued before her cornea was sliced off and Sasha, who was kept for three years in isolation until they found a recipient for her uterus. Now Tabitha is out and has learned the truth about the Centre she's concerned for her old friends including best friend Paige and eighteen year old Parker, who is deeply and madly in love with Tabitha, but she doesn't return the feeling.

"He gave a small shrug and I realise I'm gazing at hi with a smile that's not appropriate for talking about dead bodies"

I loved the beginning of the book. It was fast-paced and intriguing, full of suspense and action. After her break out, Kapp ramps up the story by adding a bit of mystery in; Tabitha isn't sure who she can trust. There's Gavin, a boy who has devoted himself to saving kids from the Centre but comes from a perfectly normal background, and Ry who's always high and Tabitha makes the mistake of accepting drugs, which she thought were for her heart condition, from. Kenny is Gavin's "mole" in the inside of the hospital, who Gavin claims is entirely on their side, but Tabitha knows is hiding something. It's really easy to get sucked into Tabitha's head, unsure who to trust and what exactly to believe.

But then the middle falters and is consumed by romantic tension. Tabitha is falling for Gavin who seems to like her back, but Gavin's hanging around his childhood friend Cherry who is, obviously, an exceedingly beautiful blonde who is just so much more gorgeous than ugly red-headed Tabitha; there's a big chunk of time dedicated to Tabitha's jealous feelings, when I thought, realistically, she'd be more concerned about her friends that might go under the surgeon's scalpel at any moment. Then, when the Cherry thing is resolved, there's Parker, who Tabitha made a childhood pact with that if they both made it outside the Centre, they would give dating a shot. But now Tabitha has Gavin. What a dilemma.

"You're a liability. I can see it in your eyes. You insist on going to the hospital, but you have no idea the danger you're putting everyone in by going inside that place"

I just didn't care about the romance - Gavin seemed like a sweet, sensible guy and I suppose their getting together was quite sweet, but there was all this unnecessary, ridiculous tension and alpha-male posturing. Then there's Tabitha herself, who I loved at the beginning, who takes a turn for the worse. She insists on going on rescue missions despite Gavin's team being well-practiced and slick, and Tabitha virtually having PTSD and locking up at the sight of the hospital. For some ungodly reason she's allowed to come and help break others out; Tabitha throws tantrums and sulks like a child and it was very irritating.

Body Parts picks up again towards the end with a lot more action and excitement, which I enjoyed. Although the ending left a few things unresolved and it was a bit too feel-good to seem realistic, I did like it. Body Parts is a great novel and I absolutely adored parts of it, but thought too much time was dedicated to unnecessary romantic tension.

My thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for an ARC of this book.

The ending of this book shocked me. Not because of the actual ending (though that was great) but because it was over. I wanted to live in this world a little while longer...maybe a long while longer. I hope there's a follow up book to this.

The cover caught my eye and attention, then the blurb pulled me in even further and made it a "must read".
The cover shows a young girl with long red hair that is twisted up off of her neck to reveal what looks like a barcode! So that had my mind curious as to what it really was for etc. The background is also kind of like a barcode in shades of blue, or could the blue represent the curtains in either the centre Tabitha lives in or the hospital she visits. Either one really fits in with the book. The cover certainly did its job making me stop scrolling and read the blurb!

This book is set in a dystopian/futuristic era on an island mostly owned by a pharmaceutical company called PharmPerfect. In this world there there is a pill for almost everything. If you want to reduce your wrinkles, grow your hair, gain extra speed or strength, all you need to do is swallow the correct pill. Sounds perfect? Well not really, as like all medications you take in our present day, the drugs produced on the island have side effects that can put certain organs under stress, for example liver,kidneys, heart and lungs. So organ replacement is a booming business. Some people buy donor organs in advance and have them specially stored for them just in case they should need them. Those that can afford the pills, and have the funds readily available just purchase them never giving a thought to where they come from.

We meet the main character Tabitha during a training session at the Centre Of Excellence.
Tabitha is almost seventeen years old and all she can really remember are the two institutions she has been in. The Centre Of Excellence has teenagers continually training to be stronger and fitter in order to be chosen by a foster family. No one knows what happenes if you don't get fostered and reach the age of 18, it's just not talked about. In fact the teenagers have minimal contact with the outside world. They are only allowed to watch certain TV programmes deemed suitable by the Institute. Naturally the teens dream about the day they will be chosen by a family. In fact, they regularly talk about the type of family they'd like to have. Inside the institute the only family they have is each other. The Institute teaches the young adults to be disciplined and to have drive. The Institute motto that is written on the wall says "It's whats on the inside that counts".
The day we meet Tabitha she and her friend Paige are being monitored for how long they can hold their breath under water to test their lung capacity. Tabitha wins! The girls then sit at the side of the pool talking with Parker, and with Paige's twin Meghan. All the teens are instructed in ways to make sure they are both mentally and physically fit. The young adults are also taught self defense in case they should ever need it. As they have been taught that there are some weird people who would be jealous of their good health and kidnap them to sell on their organs on the black market!

That's when Ms Preen marches in with her red folder! The red folder means someone has been chosen! They all line up for Ms Preen as they are expected to, as she glances at the paperwork. Parker slips his arm around Tabitha, he really looks out for her and is one of her closest friends in the Institute. Then without even looking straight up Ms Preen mutters "Where is the red head?" Paige is immediately irked that Ms Preen does not ask for Tabitha using her name. So much so she actually spells out Tabitha's name.
Parker squeezes Tabitha then she steps forward. There are thoughts rapidly rushing through her head. Is it really her turn? What will her new parents be like? Then she looks at her friends....her family, she can see they are both excited and disappointed. Excited for her being chosen, but disappointed it isn't them too. Tabitha has to go through a final screening to make sure she passes all the tests at 100%. Then all too quickly for Tabitha, Parker, Paige and Meghan etc it's time for them to say goodbye. The teens left behind get Tabitha to promise to visit them, which like all the other before her she agrees to. Tabitha fully intends to be the one that keeps that promise to visit her friends.

When Tabitha is in the car, Ms Preen gives her a candy which is unusual as it's very rare for Ms Preen to even be civil to them let alone kind. Tabitha takes the candy anyway. . . she begins to feel drowsy. . then everything goes black. When she awakens, Tabitha finds herself tied to a hospital examination table. Naturally she can't remember exactly how she got here, she remembers passing the receptionist at the Centre Of Excellence as she left with Ms Preen. Then there was the car journey, Ms Preen being kind, then. . .nothing until now. As Tabitha looks around two young males enter the room in a rush. They move her from the room into a van, though she can see and hear all that is happening she still hasn't got her mobility back yet. All she can do is lie where she is put, feeling scared and wondering who these adolescent males are. . . . could they be the ones the trainer once told them about? Are these people kidnapping her right now for her organs, to sell them on the black market? Tabitha begins to plan, there's no way what so ever she is going down without a fight. When the van finally stops and the back doors are open she takes her chance and hits the male that approaches her fast and hard in the nose!

So there's lots happening in this book from the first page to the very last. I truly loved it. Among my favourite characters were Tabitha, Gavin, and Mary. I enjoyed reading the interactions between Mary and the other 'renegades'. The way they can be arguing with each other, or having the worst day ever and one hug from Mary just fixes those emotional feelings. I really liked Ry, even though he insists on popping the pills himself when he knows what can happen through first hand experience with his own mother. One character with a smaller part in the book was Craig, who had been a pill popper but had ended up needing a liver, which his family paid for. At the time Craig had been oblivious to the possibilities of where and how his liver had been obtained. I also liked the bristly hairstyled and initially bristly attitude of Sasha, she is kind of like the big sister of the group and the first one the gang has had saved. Although I loved a lot of the characters I also loved hating the 'bad' characters, such as the haughty Ms Preen who thinks so little of the teens at the Centre of Excellence she doesn't even say their names. I also enjoyed hating the CEO of PharmPerfect, you'll know who I mean, and understand why when you read the book.

The book is well written, and has a fairly fast pace. The only problem I had with the book was I honestly didn't want to put it down! This book made me think of another book I have read called The Body Institute by Carol Riggs, so if you like this book I think you'd like that one too. They both have a similar society, that just takes the quick fix, rather than looking at the lifestyle they are leading first. I admit I did guess what the medication was that Tabitha had been taking for her heart condition, but it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the book in any way. I want to talk about the book and its characters so much more but to do so would spoil things for you reading it, so I guess I've said all I can. The other thing I'll say about this book is that it is eerily realistic, in that it's not too much of a stretch of the imagination to think this could actually happen in our world. In fact who is to say some of it, ie selling organs doesn't already happen now?

My immediate thoughts upon finishing the book were; Loved it! Loved it!Loved it! I'd love for it to be the start of a series? Loved most of the characters and loved hating the others too! It does make you think where our present world is going as well as how drugs are tested. The subject is something you really don't need that much of an imagination to believe that it could happen in the present or near future even.
I definitely want to read more by this author! I've checked Goodreads but there is only this book listed, but I'm following the author so I'll know when she releases other books.

Ok so I really liked and got into the first part of the book I found it crazy that all these kids are being used for just parts of their bodies. I wanted to know what happened to her and her friends the first part was exciting and had my curiosity going. However by the time she got rescued and was finding things out and getting to know the ragtag group that rescued her. Well my interest was lost I felt the first part revved you up for a bland middle part so bland that I couldn't go further to see if the last part of the book I would make up for the disappointing middle part. Definitely not what I had hoped for.

This book was interesting, it jumps right into the story but you have to wait for important details to come out. The ending felt a tad rushed but it was good. I would be interested in stories about the other characters.

I've read many books with this theme, The Body Institute and the Starters series. This was ok for me. I enjoyed the characcters, but the action was so-so for me. There were parts I skimmed through. I do feel my students would enjoy it and will recommend it to them. It will peak their interest. Thank you!

I really enjoyed this book! From the first page, I was hooked on Tabitha's story. I love the "found family" trope, and enjoyed the dynamics of the barn kids. Breaking Paige out of the hospital had me on the edge of my seat. I liked both love interests, although I supported Tabitha's decision to be Team Gavin. At first I was concerned about the women-hating, but was pleased to see Tabitha's relationship with Cherry and Sasha develop and change over the course of the book. Some of the pacing felt a little uneven, and I still had some questions about the world building, but overall I really loved this book and flew through it within a day.

2'5-3★ over 5

The beginning of the book made me think about a movie called "the island", were people were cloned to get parts for their counterparts. Here we have kids who think they are being fostered until families show up for them, but they are being raised to be harvested for parts. In a society where pills can fix everything but cause organ's damage, the need for transplants are high up and some know how to take profit of everything going on.
But there is also a group of mavericks smuggling out kids to save them from this horrible fate, and truths and conspiracies will come afloat.

I liked this book although the ending was a little "easy", but the idea of humans being raised and harvested, and the disfunctional future ruled by pills and addiction was a good one. There were some parts who weren't as strong as the others (hence the 2'5★) but overall it was a good idea (hence the 3★).

I recieved a copy of this book from netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed this book, honestly, I did. The reason I was interested in this book is because the plot sounded similar to "Never Let Me Go" by Kazuo Ishiguro. The plot was well developed, taking a similar idea and making it almost more teen friendly. The characters could maybe have used a little more development, but the book itself is a stand alone and it's pretty short, so I suppose I can see why I would have liked some more about the characters. I did almost feel as if the love triangles were sort of forced, most dystopian future seem to have this storyline, but giving the two main characters one just seemed to be for dramatic reasons.
Don't get me wrong, I did really enjoy this book, but the little things seemed to really get to me.
3/5 stars.

Tabitha has been living and training in the Center for Excellence, an elite foster care program, since her parents were killed in a car accident when she was six. She trains daily to be in top physical form--the only way she'll be adopted. When Tabitha's chance for adoption finally comes, she wakes up being whisked away from the hospital in a van. She soon discovers that nothing about her life is what it seems.

4.5 stars

In a society where pills are popped for everything from endurance to physical enhancements, Tabitha is one of a handful of teenagers in a special home. Every day they train their bodies like athletes, hoping that they will become good enough to be fostered by a real family. The doubts, hopes and dreams of these children are very poignant, and will ring true for anyone who's worked with foster children, along with the naive thought that their friends don't visit or contact them because they're so busy with their happy families.

And then Tabitha is chosen, and she's thrust into a world that's very different. Nothing she knew seems to be true, and even the perfect world cannot achieved only through pills. Now everything Tabitha values is in danger, but how can she trust anyone she's only just met?

A gripping YA thriller, that kept me reading long after I intended to go to sleep!

(Word of warning: If you prefer to stories unfold without spoilers, don't read the full description.)