Rate this book

The Start-Up (2011)

by Sadie Hayes(Favorite Author)

3.54 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0013286269 (ISBN13: 2940013286269)

languge

English

genre

Young Adult Fantasy & Science Fiction

publisher

Backlit Fiction, LLC

series

The Start-Up

review 1: the social code is an interesting read. by no means is it the best I've ever read, not does it have the most original plot, when one really get's down to the bones of it. but it was entertaining, and very well written. it had just the right amount of emotional entanglements and elements that furthered the plot. very happy with this book, and I am looking forward to reading the next book as soon as I get my hands on it. let us start of with the cover of this book. digitally, the cover is nothing special, but when I held it in my hands, boy was it nice. I'm not a fan of faces on the covers (I prefer to imagine my own characters, and that type of cover has been greatly overused in anything to do with YA), but the girl actually matches the character. to the T. had I not seen t... morehe cover, I'd have imagined her EXACTLY the same. and the typographic elements in the text just reinforces the theme, mood and feel of the story. especially the fact that the title is all lowercase in one straight line with a nice green colour of typical lettering when coding. [I'm a coder. I know.] (see how my review is mostly lowercase? huh? huh? yea?) honestly, that was my selling point, when I first considered reading it. this book is about a relationship between two twins, with personalities as opposite as they come. one is endlessly looking for relationships, has no idea what he wants to do with his life, always looking for the first way out of the situation they're both in (wants money). the other one is someone who knows what she wants to do, has a passion, endlessly immerses herself in it, and is a little blind to social cues. one is Adam, the other one is Amelia. both came from foster care, and are in Stanford University on scholarships (illegally, on Adams part.) Amelia is a genius coder/hacker, with a strong moral code, and isn't afraid of saying no to opportunities that seem too good to be true (because they usually are.) living between high profile investors for whom a couple of million is nothing, the twins learn to navigate the waters, but they sometimes stumble and start drowning as they realize just whom they're dealing with.one thing you've got to give to sadie hayes, she knows how to write great characters. I loved every single one of them. and they go through character development, which is usually unheard of in the first book of a series, like, ever. let me start with the star of the show: Amelia. there was just something about her that I liked. she is not afraid to say no, no matter what's on the line. and she doesn't let herself or her brother be bullied or blackmailed into anything. but she has the realization that family is everything she has left, especially that there is only one of him left, and she will do anything to keep that relationship. she has a soft spot in her heart for her brother.Adam is a charm in himself. this relationship that I have with this fictional character goes something like this: "you're so sweet" "you're such an idiot!" "don't do that!" "you asshole!" "you poor thing,come here let me hug you and love you and make you hot chocolate and here are some fluffy pillows" "you bastard!" "what is your fucking problem, get your shit together" "you need a hug" "stop being cute" and so on. I don't think I've had such a roller-coaster ride of emotions. yet he reminds me a little of myself, hehe, all that indecisiveness. you do come to love him.T.J. the golden boy that just can't can't get enough approval from his dad, not that his dad gives any to him. he's living in a messed up family situation, and resorts to blackmail and corruption. he doesn't have any healthy relationships, in the beginning, but he changes a little towards the end. with the new company launch, along with Amelia and Adam (backed by a legendary investor and mentor), he finds something worth defending, and finally deals with some of his issues. I really liked him, even if he drove me nuts.now, onto the reason that this book lost a star. there seemed to be a main plot, with the twins, but there was another subplot that coexisted with the main plot, but had nothing concrete to contribute. and honestly, it was super boring, with Patty pining after her sisters fiancé. the only thing that saved this, was the fact that it had lots of realism. Patty lives in a world where there are responsibilities, and that following ones heart is not achievable. and I liked that Patty had some self respect for herself that she honestly tried to be the responsible one. it came as a surprise. nicely done.I recommend this book. it is entertaining, original, and uses just the right amount of tech-y terms to create the mood. the writing is a bit unusual, but not bad, and one can easily get used to it, as it's very good at communicating ideas. Have nothing to do? Pick this novel up and read it. Comes very recommended (from ME, hehe).
review 2: First of all, I had no idea this was released back in 2011 much less that it's part of a series until I made it to the end of the book, or whatever that last paragraph was. With that aside, The Social Code was an alright, goodish sort of story but it wasn't great. The technical aspect had the potential to be so cool but it all came out a bit overwhelming, as did some of the elaborate details throughout the book. I felt that there was too much going on with all the different characters being focused on that I didn't really get to connect deeply with the two main ones. Adam came off a bit pushy, sometimes annoying, and not masculine enough. Amelia seemed remarkably naive and childlike. Yet, despite those characteristics I was convinced by her geeky nature and her position felt strong in the book. Her brother, however, didn't shine to me or to the other characters in the story. It's almost like the author was trying to write him as this young man desperately trying to figure himself out and establish a way to make a name for himself among tech and business community that he ended up coming off all over the place. Another thing that irked me about Adam was how clingy he got with his love interest, Lisa, who I also didn't care for and couldn't warm up to his relationship with her. I knew there was something off about Lisa from the start and once that particular truth came to light I wasn't surprised. But Amelia did her brother injustice by not bringing Lisa's sidework to his attention.Anyways, back to the story. A character I had no problem with whatsoever was T.J. I liked how his views changed and his more honest side began to appear more as the story progressed. I would also love for him and Amelia to develop something beyond work related. That's just my wish. T.J. showed maturity and wit, and I especially liked when he stood up to his father and addressed that issue of what he was going to do with that shady company. Kudos to T.J. for that move. The rest of the characters, in my opinion, were just there to add drama and scandal to the story. It made it more realistic I guess because in the world of the rich such things do take place. In regards to Patty's and Chad's situation, I'm still taken aback by that part of the story and am interested in seeing how that side unravels itself. Where Amelia, Adam and the rest of the characters are concerned, including the further development of their business, I truly want them to succeed, especially with those malicious people on their case trying to destroy what they've worked hard to created. Overall, The Social Code was alright, not entirely impressive because there were several moments I zoned out, and the writing wasn't exactly poetical where it pulled me into another realm. But I am interested in reading the next book only to see what happens to the twins and their start-up. less

Download links for: The Start-Up

Advertising