Spark by Amy Kathleen Ryan
Jun. 24th, 2013 10:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
quippeThe Blurb On The Back:
Teenagers Waverly and Kieran were the first boy and girl born in space, and the first to fall in love.
Cruelly wrenched apart when the enemy ship the New Horizon attacked the Empryean, they have finally been reunited. Now the young crew on board the Empryean must chase down the other ship in the race to save their parents. But Kieran’s leadership methods have raised suspicions, and Waverly questions if this could really be the same handsome, loving boy she was torn from such a short time ago. Meanwhile she finds herself drawn ever closer to the wild and unpredictable Seth, despite the accusations Kieran has levelled against him …
It’s several weeks after GLOW. The Empyrean can’t close the gap on the New Horizon and Kieran’s dictatorial leadership is splitting the children, making him paranoid that Waverly will lead a coup against him. Waverly however has problems of her own as many of the young girls blame her for leaving their parents behind and she’s haunted by what happened to her on the New Horizon.
When Seth’s mysteriously released from the brig, it corresponds with an attack on the Empyrean. Seth realises that there’s a saboteur on board who’s intent on making him the scapegoat for their crimes but to prove his innocence, he needs Waverly’s help and to get it, he must win her trust and that’s difficult with Kieran intent on using the attacks for his own ends …
The second in Amy Kathleen Ryan’s YA SF trilogy is a solid sequel that builds on the psychological effects of the events from GLOW. However, I remain disappointed by the portrayal of religion, the backstory remains undeveloped and the cliff hanger ending is both abrupt and unsatisfying. Nevertheless, I will read the conclusion because there’s an interesting set-up that seems to tie together the over-arching plot strands.
Both Kieran and Waverly have been deeply affected by what happened to them in GLOW and it’s interesting to see how the ramifications play out. I particularly liked the way the younger girls blame Waverly for leaving their parents and the graffiti and whispering campaign rung true (although I would have liked to see her confront it more). Kieran’s descent into paranoia forms a nice contrast to the way Seth is increasingly confronting his own actions and taking responsibility for them. Although the inevitable YA love triangle is skewered there are at least solid characters within it.
Unfortunately religion is still portrayed solely as a means of control and it would have been interesting to get a sense of some of the kids taking comfort from their faith. I was disappointed that despite some hints, the backstory on the vendetta between the two ships remains largely unexplored and the revelation of the saboteur relies on a twist that seems to contradict everything that’s happened before it. The sudden and unsatisfying cliff hanger ending left me irritated but the set-up for the final book and the prospect of moving the action to the New Horizon means that I’ll check it out.
The Verdict:
The second in Amy Kathleen Ryan’s YA SF trilogy is a solid sequel that builds on the psychological effects of the events from GLOW. However, I remain disappointed by the portrayal of religion, the backstory remains undeveloped and the cliff hanger ending is both abrupt and unsatisfying. Nevertheless, I will read the conclusion because there’s an interesting set-up that seems to tie together the over-arching plot strands.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the free copy of this book.
Cruelly wrenched apart when the enemy ship the New Horizon attacked the Empryean, they have finally been reunited. Now the young crew on board the Empryean must chase down the other ship in the race to save their parents. But Kieran’s leadership methods have raised suspicions, and Waverly questions if this could really be the same handsome, loving boy she was torn from such a short time ago. Meanwhile she finds herself drawn ever closer to the wild and unpredictable Seth, despite the accusations Kieran has levelled against him …
It’s several weeks after GLOW. The Empyrean can’t close the gap on the New Horizon and Kieran’s dictatorial leadership is splitting the children, making him paranoid that Waverly will lead a coup against him. Waverly however has problems of her own as many of the young girls blame her for leaving their parents behind and she’s haunted by what happened to her on the New Horizon.
When Seth’s mysteriously released from the brig, it corresponds with an attack on the Empyrean. Seth realises that there’s a saboteur on board who’s intent on making him the scapegoat for their crimes but to prove his innocence, he needs Waverly’s help and to get it, he must win her trust and that’s difficult with Kieran intent on using the attacks for his own ends …
The second in Amy Kathleen Ryan’s YA SF trilogy is a solid sequel that builds on the psychological effects of the events from GLOW. However, I remain disappointed by the portrayal of religion, the backstory remains undeveloped and the cliff hanger ending is both abrupt and unsatisfying. Nevertheless, I will read the conclusion because there’s an interesting set-up that seems to tie together the over-arching plot strands.
Both Kieran and Waverly have been deeply affected by what happened to them in GLOW and it’s interesting to see how the ramifications play out. I particularly liked the way the younger girls blame Waverly for leaving their parents and the graffiti and whispering campaign rung true (although I would have liked to see her confront it more). Kieran’s descent into paranoia forms a nice contrast to the way Seth is increasingly confronting his own actions and taking responsibility for them. Although the inevitable YA love triangle is skewered there are at least solid characters within it.
Unfortunately religion is still portrayed solely as a means of control and it would have been interesting to get a sense of some of the kids taking comfort from their faith. I was disappointed that despite some hints, the backstory on the vendetta between the two ships remains largely unexplored and the revelation of the saboteur relies on a twist that seems to contradict everything that’s happened before it. The sudden and unsatisfying cliff hanger ending left me irritated but the set-up for the final book and the prospect of moving the action to the New Horizon means that I’ll check it out.
The Verdict:
The second in Amy Kathleen Ryan’s YA SF trilogy is a solid sequel that builds on the psychological effects of the events from GLOW. However, I remain disappointed by the portrayal of religion, the backstory remains undeveloped and the cliff hanger ending is both abrupt and unsatisfying. Nevertheless, I will read the conclusion because there’s an interesting set-up that seems to tie together the over-arching plot strands.
Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the free copy of this book.
