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Spare Parts
Kelty is a C-grade citizen of the greater Melbourne metropolis.
While the skywalkers - the A- and B-grade citizens - live above the clouds and have access to the best that the 21st century offers, 'subby' like Kelty have little hope ... unless they give up their bodies for transplant. How desperate is Kelty?
While the skywalkers - the A- and B-grade citizens - live above the clouds and have access to the best that the 21st century offers, 'subby' like Kelty have little hope ... unless they give up their bodies for transplant. How desperate is Kelty?
Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
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About the author
Sally Rogers-Davidson
5 books42 followersHi, I'm Sally R-D, author of Spare Parts, which was first published by Penguin in 1999 and Polymer, which was first published by Cardigan Street Publishers CIS in 1995. Since then I have written more books including two more in the Spare Parts Universe, a romance novel called The Greenhouse Effect, and a fantasy called Sheltovia. I love to make friends and hear from people so please do Friend me.
I also have my own web page at:
sallyrogersdavidson.com
I also have my own web page at:
sallyrogersdavidson.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 36 reviews
April 3, 2014
Back when I was 16, I was desperately browsing my school library for something to read when I found this.
I was yanked into a gritty and terrifying futuristic Melbourne where the divide between the rich and the poor is based on a grade, body transplants are a way of life for the aging wealthy, and the healthy young bodies are provided by C and D grade donors who have their brains transplanted into cybermorphogenic bodies (cybermorphs) to join the Space Corps (the military of the future).
Kelty Holmes, the main character, is a 19-year-old C-grader who lives with her mother and works in a garbage refinery with her best friend since the age of 5, Mary Tan. Kelty has resigned herself to a long life ahead of her with no hope of getting anywhere or becoming something more due to cutbacks on scholarships at University, while Mary, who got a place, has a promising future ahead of her.
An explosion at the garbage refinery lands Mary in the Little Sisters of Mercy Public Hospital, badly burned, missing an arm, and under the care of A-grader Dr Peter Napoleone (unusual for a public hospital; it's assumed he's doing his required charity rounds). Kelty summons up the courage to approach him and ask if something might be done to help Mary; that even if Mary were to receive the body of a 40 year old A or B grader being transplanted into a younger body, she might lose 20 years but she would still be alive. Napoleone offers Kelty a deal: sell her body, be transplanted into a cybermorph body (paid for with the money received for her body), and make it part of the deal that the buyer donate her used body to Mary.
I won't spoil the rest of the book by summarising it here, but this book blew my mind. I once read a quote saying "if there's a book you want to read but you can't find it, that's a sign that you should write it" I didn't need to do that because someone else already had, and it was brilliant! I was devouring the story page by page, desperate to know how it ended and what would happen next. The main characters are wonderfully written and complex, and CATI, the on board computer (and "pathetic friend" as dubbed by Kelty) inside every cybermorph body, is hilarious comic relief, not to mention bitingly sarcastic and a little bit sadistic.
A special mention has to go to the food descriptions in this book, because I wound up with major cravings during a scene where Kelty (pre transplant) was sitting at the lab's diner with Pamela (an employee assigned to her to answer her questions about the transplant progress) and trying steak for the first time.
This is my favourite book by my favourite author, and I eagerly await the day when science fiction becomes popular again over all this paranormal romance shit clogging up the shelves of every bookstore. If I could give this infinity stars, I would. Amazing, amazing book.
I was yanked into a gritty and terrifying futuristic Melbourne where the divide between the rich and the poor is based on a grade, body transplants are a way of life for the aging wealthy, and the healthy young bodies are provided by C and D grade donors who have their brains transplanted into cybermorphogenic bodies (cybermorphs) to join the Space Corps (the military of the future).
Kelty Holmes, the main character, is a 19-year-old C-grader who lives with her mother and works in a garbage refinery with her best friend since the age of 5, Mary Tan. Kelty has resigned herself to a long life ahead of her with no hope of getting anywhere or becoming something more due to cutbacks on scholarships at University, while Mary, who got a place, has a promising future ahead of her.
An explosion at the garbage refinery lands Mary in the Little Sisters of Mercy Public Hospital, badly burned, missing an arm, and under the care of A-grader Dr Peter Napoleone (unusual for a public hospital; it's assumed he's doing his required charity rounds). Kelty summons up the courage to approach him and ask if something might be done to help Mary; that even if Mary were to receive the body of a 40 year old A or B grader being transplanted into a younger body, she might lose 20 years but she would still be alive. Napoleone offers Kelty a deal: sell her body, be transplanted into a cybermorph body (paid for with the money received for her body), and make it part of the deal that the buyer donate her used body to Mary.
I won't spoil the rest of the book by summarising it here, but this book blew my mind. I once read a quote saying "if there's a book you want to read but you can't find it, that's a sign that you should write it" I didn't need to do that because someone else already had, and it was brilliant! I was devouring the story page by page, desperate to know how it ended and what would happen next. The main characters are wonderfully written and complex, and CATI, the on board computer (and "pathetic friend" as dubbed by Kelty) inside every cybermorph body, is hilarious comic relief, not to mention bitingly sarcastic and a little bit sadistic.
A special mention has to go to the food descriptions in this book, because I wound up with major cravings during a scene where Kelty (pre transplant) was sitting at the lab's diner with Pamela (an employee assigned to her to answer her questions about the transplant progress) and trying steak for the first time.
This is my favourite book by my favourite author, and I eagerly await the day when science fiction becomes popular again over all this paranormal romance shit clogging up the shelves of every bookstore. If I could give this infinity stars, I would. Amazing, amazing book.
September 10, 2024
I read this book while still in high school, Which was 10 years ago now! This book stuck in my head and I borrowed it out of the library years and years ago and have been looking for it ever since! So excited to finally come across this book and super excited to get obsessed with the Book AGAIN!
February 9, 2016
Okay, I'm living in a disabled, sick body and I miss having full possession of myself, so part of this rating is definitely just that this novel is straight-up wish fulfillment.
But there's more - Rogers-Davidson takes on class, race, misogyny, drug abuse, terrible family situations, and big business, in such a satisfying way I couldn't help but love it. The writing isn't stellar and I can imagine a lot of cynical responses to how things worked out. But for me...
...man, I wanna be a cyborg.
But there's more - Rogers-Davidson takes on class, race, misogyny, drug abuse, terrible family situations, and big business, in such a satisfying way I couldn't help but love it. The writing isn't stellar and I can imagine a lot of cynical responses to how things worked out. But for me...
...man, I wanna be a cyborg.
October 24, 2009
This book gave me so much understanding to how other people feel. I think to make it even better the author could have made the book longer by going on with how Kelty went on her adventures on the Calypso and how she breaks the news to her dad.
January 15, 2012
Spare Parts is about Kelty, a 19 year old "C-grader" (in a caste system which goes down to D), whose prospects were reduced when she narrowly missed out on a place at university (because C-graders can only get in with scholarships). The book is set about a hundred years in the future in the sprawling suburbia of Melbourne, albeit a Melbourne more filled with high-rises and with even dodgier trains than at present.
When Kelty's best friend is grievously injured in an industrial accident, Kelty decides to sell her body and join the space corps to save her friend. This is a world where the rich discard their old, decrepit (or sometimes merely slightly wrinkled) bodies and have their brains transplanted into the young bodies of people of the lower classes, for a nice fee. The people who've sold their bodies then get to have their brains transplanted into cyborg bodies. The catch? Cyborgs (or cybermorphs as is the politically correct term) aren't allowed to live permanently on Earth.
When I first started reading, I thought this was a dystopian novel and was convinced that Kelty was going to discover that the evil A and B graders were killing the poor for their bodies and organs. It's possible that I've read too many YA dystopias of late. To alleviate any confusion such as what I suffered, I want to make it clear that this is not really a dystopian novel. Sure, it's not all rainbows and sunshine for the poor, criminals wear tracker bracelets which electrocute them if they feel angry (so they don't attack bystanders) but it's not terribly different to our world. The class boundaries are just a little more emphasised so that the rich live in high-rises and ride cable cars around the city and the poor live in dodgy areas and ride the subway. The main thing which distinguishes Spare Parts from books like The Hunger Games and Divergent or even 1984 is that there is no government conspiracy keeping everyone oppressed. The poor are just poor and have to either sell their bodies and join the space corps or be smart enough for a scholarship to university to improve their situation.
Of course, I'm not saying that the characters, rich or otherwise, are necessarily all on the up and up, but if I hadn't automatically assumed dystopia, I think I would have enjoyed the start more, instead of spending it being deeply suspicious of the society. That's more an issue with my expectations than with the book itself, however.
I thought the way the cyborg bodies were explained and treated was well done. The space corps is composed entirely of cyborgs because ordinary human bodies aren't resilient enough to withstand the accelerations and radiation and other dangers of space. Human brains can't just be plonked in a cyborg body and be expected to know how to manipulate it (especially given the extra senses they have, like infrared and UV vision, for example). Rogers-Davidson deals with this by giving each cyborg an AI assistant which interfaces with their systems and helps them acclimate to the world. They can even mitigate or postpone the effects of alcohol. Kelty's snarky AI was one of the really fun parts of the novel. (She's so "state-of-the-art" she can even be sarcastic.)
I also enjoyed the human aspect of the novel. It was nice to see a wide range of female characters and their relationships were equally varied and well drawn particularly between the main character and others (since this was written in first person, that's to be expected). In fact, I think there was only one prominent male character, and he was only really around in the first half of the book, which is rare to see. Another key difference between Spare Parts and many more recent YA books is the lack of a romantic plot line. Which I found endearing. Given all the changes she's going through -- changing bodies, changing socioeconomic circumstances -- Kelty really has much more important things to worry about than boys. It really is nice to read about a teenager who doesn't think important life choices have to include boys.
Rating: 5 / 5 stars
When Kelty's best friend is grievously injured in an industrial accident, Kelty decides to sell her body and join the space corps to save her friend. This is a world where the rich discard their old, decrepit (or sometimes merely slightly wrinkled) bodies and have their brains transplanted into the young bodies of people of the lower classes, for a nice fee. The people who've sold their bodies then get to have their brains transplanted into cyborg bodies. The catch? Cyborgs (or cybermorphs as is the politically correct term) aren't allowed to live permanently on Earth.
When I first started reading, I thought this was a dystopian novel and was convinced that Kelty was going to discover that the evil A and B graders were killing the poor for their bodies and organs. It's possible that I've read too many YA dystopias of late. To alleviate any confusion such as what I suffered, I want to make it clear that this is not really a dystopian novel. Sure, it's not all rainbows and sunshine for the poor, criminals wear tracker bracelets which electrocute them if they feel angry (so they don't attack bystanders) but it's not terribly different to our world. The class boundaries are just a little more emphasised so that the rich live in high-rises and ride cable cars around the city and the poor live in dodgy areas and ride the subway. The main thing which distinguishes Spare Parts from books like The Hunger Games and Divergent or even 1984 is that there is no government conspiracy keeping everyone oppressed. The poor are just poor and have to either sell their bodies and join the space corps or be smart enough for a scholarship to university to improve their situation.
Of course, I'm not saying that the characters, rich or otherwise, are necessarily all on the up and up, but if I hadn't automatically assumed dystopia, I think I would have enjoyed the start more, instead of spending it being deeply suspicious of the society. That's more an issue with my expectations than with the book itself, however.
I thought the way the cyborg bodies were explained and treated was well done. The space corps is composed entirely of cyborgs because ordinary human bodies aren't resilient enough to withstand the accelerations and radiation and other dangers of space. Human brains can't just be plonked in a cyborg body and be expected to know how to manipulate it (especially given the extra senses they have, like infrared and UV vision, for example). Rogers-Davidson deals with this by giving each cyborg an AI assistant which interfaces with their systems and helps them acclimate to the world. They can even mitigate or postpone the effects of alcohol. Kelty's snarky AI was one of the really fun parts of the novel. (She's so "state-of-the-art" she can even be sarcastic.)
I also enjoyed the human aspect of the novel. It was nice to see a wide range of female characters and their relationships were equally varied and well drawn particularly between the main character and others (since this was written in first person, that's to be expected). In fact, I think there was only one prominent male character, and he was only really around in the first half of the book, which is rare to see. Another key difference between Spare Parts and many more recent YA books is the lack of a romantic plot line. Which I found endearing. Given all the changes she's going through -- changing bodies, changing socioeconomic circumstances -- Kelty really has much more important things to worry about than boys. It really is nice to read about a teenager who doesn't think important life choices have to include boys.
Rating: 5 / 5 stars
Read
June 16, 2020A fun, easy read. I picked it up at a used bookstore that had just re-opened post-pandemic.
I did not read much young adult fiction when I was a young adult, or I might have come across the book before. Subsequently, what I have read was published post-Potter. And really, rode the wave of that and The Hunger Games, with youths dismantling their dystopian societies.
This book doesn't take that road, being much more focused on the personal journey of its lead. It seems like it could be the first part of a trilogy, where the next installments do that work, but it wraps itself pretty tightly by the end. I wanted more conspiracy and rebellion.
It's an interesting musing on some transhumanist ideas, but is frustratingly limited, intersectionally speaking, in whether it thinks a question is worth asking. What does it mean to choose and adjust features on the cyborg body into which your brain will be transplanted? If this were published today, I'd have more to say about these limits, but I also think these limits would be more noticed by the writer, editor and others involved in the publishing of the book if it were published today.
I enjoyed that there was a character named Sarina.
I did not read much young adult fiction when I was a young adult, or I might have come across the book before. Subsequently, what I have read was published post-Potter. And really, rode the wave of that and The Hunger Games, with youths dismantling their dystopian societies.
This book doesn't take that road, being much more focused on the personal journey of its lead. It seems like it could be the first part of a trilogy, where the next installments do that work, but it wraps itself pretty tightly by the end. I wanted more conspiracy and rebellion.
It's an interesting musing on some transhumanist ideas, but is frustratingly limited, intersectionally speaking, in whether it thinks a question is worth asking. What does it mean to choose and adjust features on the cyborg body into which your brain will be transplanted? If this were published today, I'd have more to say about these limits, but I also think these limits would be more noticed by the writer, editor and others involved in the publishing of the book if it were published today.
I enjoyed that there was a character named Sarina.
October 13, 2023
When a girl dies from an accident at a factory, her friend does everything she can to save her life. Including, change her own life completely. She agrees to give up her body and become a skywalker. A young and healthy body attracts big moneys and she gets a buyer who upgrades her new body to the newest tech available, with many upgrades she didn't anticipate, and wasn't sure what they were. Her time on Earth is now limited, and her relationship with her mother is no better than when she told about her decision. Not having anywhere to turn to, she finds herself facing possibly the best opportunity she could have imagined.
A very interesting YA sci-fi book, which occasionally felt if it should be aimed at a bit higher age groups.
A very interesting YA sci-fi book, which occasionally felt if it should be aimed at a bit higher age groups.
January 27, 2020
As average as a book can get. Really interesting concept that could act as a great base for a bigger story but the story felt like it was only beginning and then just ended. All in all not bad, just wanted more really.
June 1, 2017
Still my all-time favourite novel. I can still read this one three or four times a year, and each time it's like the first! I LOVED the sequel too.
September 2, 2015
It's tough coming off re-reading a fantastic series that hits all your buttons and trying a book by a new author. I've started three different books and kept skipping to the next one because they just weren't holding me. I managed to finish this one and for me it was a two. I am definitely not a teenager anymore. If I were, I might have rated this higher. As is, it's only getting a three because the background stuff that's not even really focused on was interesting. I spent more time thinking about the economics of the world and how it works than I spent caring one ounce about the characters.
The main character for this book is just too naive. I don't trust rich people now. And the class difference between them and I don't even reach the depths that they do in this book. She just trusts them even as they bamboozle her into hurry scurry selling off her body to the first person that treats her like a person. How easy would it be to set up a bunch of fake interviews and one good one? But I guess Davidson is just as naive because she made it turn out okay. I dunno. Just couldn't stop criticizing how the book was unfolding. I believe this is the first book in a series, but I don't see the point of reading a sequel. The author is unlikely to explore the parts of the book that I found interesting.
The main character for this book is just too naive. I don't trust rich people now. And the class difference between them and I don't even reach the depths that they do in this book. She just trusts them even as they bamboozle her into hurry scurry selling off her body to the first person that treats her like a person. How easy would it be to set up a bunch of fake interviews and one good one? But I guess Davidson is just as naive because she made it turn out okay. I dunno. Just couldn't stop criticizing how the book was unfolding. I believe this is the first book in a series, but I don't see the point of reading a sequel. The author is unlikely to explore the parts of the book that I found interesting.
March 6, 2012
I found this on my high school library bookshelf years and years ago. It was sitting right next to Polymer (I guess the librarian was a fan!), and I found myself hooked. I have to admit I don't really remember that much of it, since it was quite a while ago, but I do remember loving the idea and the dystopian nature of the world!
I wish it was back in print so I could grab myself a copy!
I wish it was back in print so I could grab myself a copy!
January 3, 2013
Audiobook Review: Wow I really loved this book. Awesomely read by Suzie Dougherty, I really like this reader’s accent.
Darn good story around the premise that your brain can be transplanted into a cyber human body “Fantastic”. Left me wishing for a second book.
Darn good story around the premise that your brain can be transplanted into a cyber human body “Fantastic”. Left me wishing for a second book.
June 13, 2012
Just re-read this finally! Been wanting to for years. I love the idea and found myself dreaming about being placed in a cybomorph body. Highly recommended!
July 27, 2022
I've heard it said that good villains are characters that address real problems the wrong way. The villain in Spare Parts engages in illegal human experimentation, slavery and stalking all in the name of developing the next new thing.
The story is set in a hyper-classist eugenicist vision of the future where the poor do menial, dangerous jobs and are not allowed to reproduce and the wealthy have achieved immortality through cybernetics and body transfers. Our heroin Kelty is a C-grade woman who, when visiting a friend who has been terribly injured in a work accident, is presented with a surprise opportunity to sell her body to allow a wealthy person to transfer their mind into it and pay her enough money to transfer her brain to a cyborg body.
It turns out that the opportunity is not a surprise at all - but a plot by one of the (perhaps the) richest and most powerful people on the planet to experiment on Kelty by placing her in an experimental body without permission and steal her friends brain to use it in an experimental AI. Even though this is, on its face, horrifying - we are supposed to believe that Kelty is cool with everything. The fact that she got into it through lies and deception and with the goal of increasing profits for a corporation that made money off her friends' death just kind of rolls off her back. The scene where she learns about the entire plot & forgives the mastermind happens over maybe 10 pages.
1999 was a *wild* time to be writing about technology.
The upside of this book is that the vision of what it could be like to be a cyborg is quite cool! It is interesting to hear about Kelty's new body. The downside is that this book has a *truly insane* level of ablism. This book hates disabled bodies and does not think disabled people have much real agency.
This is a real line in the book (from a character we are supposed to like): "We figured it wouldn't make an difference to [a disabled person who spends all their time online] if they were transplanted into a mainframe. That's basically where they live anyway, and this way would actually be more real for them." What is bodily autonomy anyway? So fucked.
Another feature of this book is that it *repeatedly* talks about why it would be totally cool for Kelty to have sex with her father (who is also assumed to be a cyborg) and not unethical at all. It doesn't happen...but it is *so goddamn weird* to see a book go *out of its way* to assure the reader (and Kelty) that she can do something she never intends to do.
This book also feels like it is informed by christian philosophy - our main character is literally and figuratively virginal. The end plot device turns on the idea of a soul (it must be said that there is an implication that...if the soul did not exist it would have been totally cool for a company to steal her friends' brain and use it in a computer which is a very fucked up world view). That said, nothing wrong with writing from a christian perspective.
ANYWAY - the book is a pretty easy read. It feels squarely aimed at the "young" in young adults, which is fine. I am *floored* at the average reviews of this book. It is, in so many ways, a *horror show* of inequality, ableism and consequence free crimes against humanity.
The story is set in a hyper-classist eugenicist vision of the future where the poor do menial, dangerous jobs and are not allowed to reproduce and the wealthy have achieved immortality through cybernetics and body transfers. Our heroin Kelty is a C-grade woman who, when visiting a friend who has been terribly injured in a work accident, is presented with a surprise opportunity to sell her body to allow a wealthy person to transfer their mind into it and pay her enough money to transfer her brain to a cyborg body.
It turns out that the opportunity is not a surprise at all - but a plot by one of the (perhaps the) richest and most powerful people on the planet to experiment on Kelty by placing her in an experimental body without permission and steal her friends brain to use it in an experimental AI. Even though this is, on its face, horrifying - we are supposed to believe that Kelty is cool with everything. The fact that she got into it through lies and deception and with the goal of increasing profits for a corporation that made money off her friends' death just kind of rolls off her back. The scene where she learns about the entire plot & forgives the mastermind happens over maybe 10 pages.
1999 was a *wild* time to be writing about technology.
The upside of this book is that the vision of what it could be like to be a cyborg is quite cool! It is interesting to hear about Kelty's new body. The downside is that this book has a *truly insane* level of ablism. This book hates disabled bodies and does not think disabled people have much real agency.
This is a real line in the book (from a character we are supposed to like): "We figured it wouldn't make an difference to [a disabled person who spends all their time online] if they were transplanted into a mainframe. That's basically where they live anyway, and this way would actually be more real for them." What is bodily autonomy anyway? So fucked.
Another feature of this book is that it *repeatedly* talks about why it would be totally cool for Kelty to have sex with her father (who is also assumed to be a cyborg) and not unethical at all. It doesn't happen...but it is *so goddamn weird* to see a book go *out of its way* to assure the reader (and Kelty) that she can do something she never intends to do.
This book also feels like it is informed by christian philosophy - our main character is literally and figuratively virginal. The end plot device turns on the idea of a soul (it must be said that there is an implication that...if the soul did not exist it would have been totally cool for a company to steal her friends' brain and use it in a computer which is a very fucked up world view). That said, nothing wrong with writing from a christian perspective.
ANYWAY - the book is a pretty easy read. It feels squarely aimed at the "young" in young adults, which is fine. I am *floored* at the average reviews of this book. It is, in so many ways, a *horror show* of inequality, ableism and consequence free crimes against humanity.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 19, 2022
the first plot hole is believing rich people care. The second is believing the poorer class would ever trust the rich. Main character with her fairy tale rich grandmother to make everything womderful. It just isn't realistic the rich already use people and discard as they see fit, it would be even more so in a world like this, yet it wasn't and it just didn't feel realistic to the world.
the body switching is an interesting concept. And I enjoyed the story well enough.
Unfortunately the book ended just as it really felt like it was getting started.
the body switching is an interesting concept. And I enjoyed the story well enough.
Unfortunately the book ended just as it really felt like it was getting started.
December 28, 2024
I feel I need to write a review for this to explain that this was clearly a novel written thirty years ago. It has big themes but simplifies them and gives all the evil a free pass. Could barely finish it because it was clear at 80% that none of the big evil themes would be dealt with and they weren't. A happily ever after for naive teens and all the disgusting unethical experimentation, classist society and extreme capitalism was given a glow up and positive spin. So much potential in the world building and themes but dealt with so poorly.
August 2, 2019
The future's much easier to handle with a benevolent fairy godmother, apparently.
The futuristic version of Melbourne this book offers was interesting to read, and I suppose if I'd actually felt that the book was trying to be a sci-fi fairytale, I'd conclude that it worked fairly well (perhaps I should've realised sooner; it even had the traditional fairytale shafting of the mother!).
However, I felt that it was trying to tackle bigger issues, and just... didn't manage it.
The futuristic version of Melbourne this book offers was interesting to read, and I suppose if I'd actually felt that the book was trying to be a sci-fi fairytale, I'd conclude that it worked fairly well (perhaps I should've realised sooner; it even had the traditional fairytale shafting of the mother!).
However, I felt that it was trying to tackle bigger issues, and just... didn't manage it.
March 25, 2017
I read the book in high school and loved it. I loved the detail gone into explaining the world and procedures.
I read it again recently in audio book form, and still loved it. The narrater is hard to get used to at first, but she really is excellent. She also did most of the Tomorrow when the war began audio books.
I read it again recently in audio book form, and still loved it. The narrater is hard to get used to at first, but she really is excellent. She also did most of the Tomorrow when the war began audio books.
December 26, 2025
The story was interesting but the writing style felt jumpy. At times perspective was swapped with no warning in a paragraph and the emotions of the main character was an exposition rather than giving time for the character to experience them.
This felt like the first in series rather than a standalone book as its scope of the world was small and focused primarily on 1 location the whole book.
This felt like the first in series rather than a standalone book as its scope of the world was small and focused primarily on 1 location the whole book.
November 3, 2019
3.5. Interesting story and worldbuilding, annoying dialogue tags (why do characters disagreeing with each other keep being tagged as ‘she denied’?) and some weird bits talking about things like incest.
November 24, 2019
I read this book as many seemingly did- in High School and with great enthusiasm. The story stayed with me as one of my favorite reads of that time, and I’m intending to read it again ASAP, expecting to feel major nostalgia and no small amount of my original love for this brilliant book.
February 4, 2025
I think I was about 3/4 of the way through and I realised I was still waiting for something really interesting to happen. Lots of really interesting ideas that are barely even scratched the surface of, but it was an easy read and was fun to revisit a book from my youth
August 9, 2017
It's been a really long while since I read it, but it's stuck in my mind as a really really good read.
January 7, 2022
Brilliant book
July 5, 2022
I absolutely love this book. At times the writing is a little naive, but the concepts and content outweigh that. I wish it was still in publication, because I would buy it in a heartbeat.
December 19, 2023
I read this book many years ago. I was a teenager enthralled with the idea of having a body that could morph into any desirable appearance. I always wanted to read a part 2.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 8, 2024
Better left in the nostalgia of reading as a teenager. Did not hold up on the re-read. Still fun but just pretty empty.
October 27, 2024
Weird. Kelly gives up her life and gets a fake one so someone else can get her life. It’s def a little confusing. I finished a month ago and forgotten details😬
October 15, 2016
Can't get this book out of my head... two years on and I'm still thinking about it
August 22, 2013
This is the story of Kelty, born a C- grader in Melbourne of the future, she is destined to live life at ground level doing the worst of jobs without the option of university. The C and D graders often sell their bodies for money, and when they die their organs are harvested to keep the A and B graders living for longer.
When her friend is caught in an accident, Kelty realises she can't live without her and sells her body to a wealthy benefactor so that she and her bff Mary can travel together to the stars in robotic bodies. Sadly, Mary doesn't stay alive long enough to be suited into her body, and Kelty faces the transition from human to robotic body without her.
The transition to a robot is eventful for Kelty who must even get used to the idea of an onboard computer speaking to her all the time. Kelty also meets Panda who is also learning how to use her robotic body, and the two girls quickly become friends.
I found this book a little disturbing, the idea of the grade separation made me feel like the book belonged more in the UK than Australia. However, the story was enjoyable, and I wish Kelty a great trip to the stars!
When her friend is caught in an accident, Kelty realises she can't live without her and sells her body to a wealthy benefactor so that she and her bff Mary can travel together to the stars in robotic bodies. Sadly, Mary doesn't stay alive long enough to be suited into her body, and Kelty faces the transition from human to robotic body without her.
The transition to a robot is eventful for Kelty who must even get used to the idea of an onboard computer speaking to her all the time. Kelty also meets Panda who is also learning how to use her robotic body, and the two girls quickly become friends.
I found this book a little disturbing, the idea of the grade separation made me feel like the book belonged more in the UK than Australia. However, the story was enjoyable, and I wish Kelty a great trip to the stars!
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