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A review by christajls
Spark by Amy Kathleen Ryan
4.0
Originally posted at Hooked on Books
The end of Glow, book one in the Sky Chaser series, left off with Waverly and the other girls being returned to the Empyrean (without their parents), Kieran taking control of the ship and the adults of the New Horizons, escaping off into space. Glow was a thrilling novel and I have spent the last year curious about where Amy Katheen Ryan was going to take these characters next.
The one unique thing about this novel (and really the series as a whole) is that it's very shades of grey. There's no clear cut good guy or bad guy. Everyone has their reasons and their justifications for doing what they do. So even when you don't want to you find yourself sympathizing with the “bad guy”. Or You find yourself questioning just who that bad guy is. I find it's rare to find villians as complex as the protagonists, and I am grateful for any novel that takes on this challenge.
One thing I found a little off putting about this book (and I felt this way about Glow as well) was the demonizing of religion and faith. The people who chose to believe, or attend services are often depicted as “sheep” or less intelligent than those who rebelled against it. It wasn't a fabulous religious system, and the motivation of the leaders may be a little suspect, but I didn't think it was fair to look down on a bunch of kids, who wanted to feel a little faith/hope in a time of crisis. I also think this novel could have done a better job of making it clear that ultimately it is people, not religion who choose to make the wrong decisions.
That being said, this novel does encompass a really great cast of characters. There is so much variety here and I really enjoyed getting to know them all. Even if at times their situation resembled Lord of the Rings in space, I still loved the way these kids rallied and how hard they were trying to bounce back from an impossible situation. I also loved the potential love story didn't take over the novel. Instead there was a lot more focus on the more pressing matters, which is (I hope) a more authentic take on what would actually happen. And speaking of the love interest, did anyone else ship Waverly and Arthur? Just me?
I hear a lot of comparisons between this series and Across the Universe, but honestly I would take the Sky Chasers over Across the Universe any day! Glow and Spark are exciting novels, with a lot of twists and I can't wait to find out what happens next!
Final recommendation: Recommended for those looking for a fast paced adventure series set in space. If you loved books like Lord of Flies and Ender's Game I think the Sky Chasers series will be right up your ally!
The end of Glow, book one in the Sky Chaser series, left off with Waverly and the other girls being returned to the Empyrean (without their parents), Kieran taking control of the ship and the adults of the New Horizons, escaping off into space. Glow was a thrilling novel and I have spent the last year curious about where Amy Katheen Ryan was going to take these characters next.
The one unique thing about this novel (and really the series as a whole) is that it's very shades of grey. There's no clear cut good guy or bad guy. Everyone has their reasons and their justifications for doing what they do. So even when you don't want to you find yourself sympathizing with the “bad guy”. Or You find yourself questioning just who that bad guy is. I find it's rare to find villians as complex as the protagonists, and I am grateful for any novel that takes on this challenge.
One thing I found a little off putting about this book (and I felt this way about Glow as well) was the demonizing of religion and faith. The people who chose to believe, or attend services are often depicted as “sheep” or less intelligent than those who rebelled against it. It wasn't a fabulous religious system, and the motivation of the leaders may be a little suspect, but I didn't think it was fair to look down on a bunch of kids, who wanted to feel a little faith/hope in a time of crisis. I also think this novel could have done a better job of making it clear that ultimately it is people, not religion who choose to make the wrong decisions.
That being said, this novel does encompass a really great cast of characters. There is so much variety here and I really enjoyed getting to know them all. Even if at times their situation resembled Lord of the Rings in space, I still loved the way these kids rallied and how hard they were trying to bounce back from an impossible situation. I also loved the potential love story didn't take over the novel. Instead there was a lot more focus on the more pressing matters, which is (I hope) a more authentic take on what would actually happen. And speaking of the love interest, did anyone else ship Waverly and Arthur? Just me?
I hear a lot of comparisons between this series and Across the Universe, but honestly I would take the Sky Chasers over Across the Universe any day! Glow and Spark are exciting novels, with a lot of twists and I can't wait to find out what happens next!
Final recommendation: Recommended for those looking for a fast paced adventure series set in space. If you loved books like Lord of Flies and Ender's Game I think the Sky Chasers series will be right up your ally!