MANILA, Philippines - Starters takes place in a futuristic Los Angeles, where wars are waged with biological weapons that have killed anyone not vaccinated against them. The only ones that survive the attack are either under 20 or over 60 years of age. The term “Starters” refers to those under the age of 20, while “Enders” is used to describe the survivors over the age of 60. Because many of the Starters were unable to work, the aftermath leaves many of them starving and desperate due to not having funds to afford necessities. A result of this is that many Starters willingly allow Enders to temporarily inhabit their bodies via a neurochip implanted by the Body Bank. Sixteen-year-old Callie was one such Starter, but is startled to awaken in the mansion of a rich Ender after her neurochip malfunctions. Callie initially relishes the chance to live out a lavish lifestyle where she wants for nothing and is dating the grandson of a Senator, but soon discovers that her renter has dark and dangerous plans that Callie wants no part of.
Lucy and Owen meet somewhere between the 10th and 11th floors of a New York City apartment building, on an elevator rendered useless by a citywide blackout. After they’re rescued, they spend a single night together, wandering the darkened streets and marveling at the rare appearance of stars above Manhattan. But once the power is restored, so is reality. Lucy soon moves to Edinburgh with her parents, while Owen heads out west with his father.
Lucy and Owen’s relationship plays out across the globe as they stay in touch through postcards, occasional e-mails, and — finally — a reunion in the city where they first met.
A carefully charted map of a long-distance relationship, Jennifer E. Smith’s new novel The Geography of You and Me shows that the center of the world isn’t necessarily a place. It can be a person, too.