Review: Spark

Book: Spark
Author: Amy Kathleen Ryan
Series: Sky Chasers #2
Release Date: July 17, 2012
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Pages: 309
Source: Raincoast Books (Thank you so much!)
Links: Goodreads | Amazon | Amazon CA | The Book Depository | Chapters
Stars: 4.5/5

Waverly and Kieran are finally reunited on the Empyrean. Kieran has led the boys safely up to this point, and now that the girls are back, their mission seems slightly less impossible: to chase down the New Horizon, and save their parents from the enemy ship. But nothing is truly as it seems…Kieran’s leadership methods have raised Seth’s hackles— and Waverly’s suspicions. Is this really her fiancé? The handsome, loving boy she was torn from just a short time before? More and more, she finds her thoughts aligned with Seth’s. But if Seth is Kieran’s Enemy No. 1, what does that make her?

In one night, a strange explosion rocks the Empyrean—shooting them off course and delaying their pursuit of the New Horizon—and Seth is mysteriously released from the brig. Seth is the most obvious suspect for the explosion, and Waverly the most obvious suspect for releasing him. As the tension reaches a boiling point, will Seth be able to find the true culprit before Kieran locks them both away—or worse? Will Waverly follow her heart, even if it puts lives at risk? With the balance of power precarious and the clock ticking, every decision counts… every step brings them closer to a new beginning, or a sudden end...

(summary taken from Goodreads)

MY THOUGHTS:  

After not really loving Glow earlier this year, I went into the sequel with zero expectations. I started it thinking I'd be able to fit in a few chapters here and there, that I could put it down if I wanted to. But I was completely wrong!  

Spark was amazing from beginning to heart-stopping end! It picks up right where Glow left off, with all of the kids stuck on the spaceship alone, trying to reunite with their parents who were captive on another ship.There's a little bit of deception, a lot of secrets, and enough mistrust to last a lifetime. It all makes everything on the Empyrean even more intense.  

I was so invested in this story that I found myself yelling out loud. When bad things happened, I curled up in a ball and prayed for the best. And when Kieran did something ridiculous, I imagined hitting him over the head with a stick. Repeatedly.  

(Seth was my favourite character, so everything Kieran did to him just made me so angry!)  

My heart ached for Waverly. Everyone wrongly blamed her for abandoning their parents, even though none of them would've made it out alive if she hadn't done what she did. She had to live with everyone's hatred and guilt everyday, but she still stayed strong and more clear-minded.. She was fifteen like I am, but I could never imagine being as strong as her!  

Actually, the whole cast continued to blow my mind. Over and over again, I reminded myself that they were just kids — that the oldest on the space ship was sixteen years old, and yet somehow they were surviving. They were intelligent and sneaky when they need to be, yet despite their brilliance, it was easy to see how real they were as kids. It was all believable.

With an intensely unpredictable storyline and characters I couldn't stop rooting for, Spark was an amazing installment to the series that sure sets the bar high for the next! :) 

BUY or BORROW?: I would recommend this book whether you liked Glow or not! It was absolutely worth the sleepless night I got from wrongly believing it wouldn't be that addicting! ;)

-Mimi