Review: Spark by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Last year, I read Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan and thought it was so-so. There were things I didn't like about the book, but overall I liked the plot and the characters. At least enough to read the sequel that just came out. Overall, I would say that Spark was pretty good, and definitely much better than Glow.

In Glow, the Empyrean, the space station that Waverly, Kieran, and Seth live on with their family and friends, gets attacked by their sister ship, the New Horizon, and all of the girls are kidnapped and taken to the New Horizon. Through an unfortunate series of events, many of the adults end up being held captive on the New Horizon, and the girls end up escaping, unable to take the adults with them. When they return the Empyrean, they find that almost all of the adults have died, and those that did survive are in intensive care, leaving the boys to run the ship. As the book ends, the kids and teens set out to try to rescue their parents.

Spark Summary:
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...

Spark Review:
The action in this book was pretty good, although there were times when I found myself counting pages as I went through it. The book is told from the point of view of three different people. I don't know if he was supposed to be, but I found Kieran to be a completely unlikeable character. The book made a number of valid points about what power and the struggle to attain it can do to you, but I felt as if many of the characters' decisions were irrational. At one point, Seth, who is imprisoned by Kieran and disliked by everyone but Waverly, begs Kieran to talk to him so he can warn him that the ship will blow up, and Kieran doesn't even give him the chance to speak. He just walks away. Big mistake. I felt when I was reading it like there would be no reason for Kieran to ignore him, but to each his own I guess.

The description focuses a lot on the love triangle between Waverly, Kieran, and Seth, but the book didn't really have a lot of this. We know Seth likes Waverly, and in this book Kieran and Waverly hate each other, but throughout the entire book, we receive no mention of how Waverly feels about Seth. Kind of weird.

Then there's the end. I'll try not to spoil it, but one of the characters makes a mysterious decision at the end that I'm not too sure about. I think I know what he's planning to do, but it was purposely left open to keep readers guessing until the next book comes out next year. I guess it worked since I'll be reading the third one when it comes out. Happy reading!