Spontaneous

June 6, 2016
Seniors at Covington High School are spontaneously combusting in one gloriously gory explosion after another, and it doesn’t take long for the FBI to descend on the New Jersey town to figure out what is going on. Is it terrorism? A curse? At the heart of Starmer’s story is Mara Carlyle, a senior who witnesses the first combustion up close in precalc. Mara’s blunt, sarcastic narration is well-matched to the absurdity of the plot, and while it’s tempting to think of it as a defense mechanism in response to an unbelievable situation, it seems clear that this is just who Mara is. Her lengthy internal monologues, while entertaining, can frustrate the story’s momentum and make Mara seem more like an observer and chronicler of the mayhem, rather than a participant, despite her proximity to several of the explosions. This aside, Starmer (the Riverman trilogy) adeptly uses his bloody, madcap premise to heighten just how much of life is out of our control, and how important it is to seize whatever time we’re given. Ages 14–up. Agent: Michael Bourret, Dystel & Goderich Literary Management.

Starred review from July 1, 2016
A small New Jersey town is rocked by a disastrous phenomenon.Mara Carlyle's senior year is just beginning when Katelyn Ogden blows up--literally--during pre-calc. After the blood is cleaned off the walls and the class tries to move on, another student pops like a balloon during a therapy session. And then another combusts on the football field during the big game. The spontaneous combustions spread through the senior class in Mara's suburban town, claiming kids of all colors, creeds, and class, seemingly sparing no one. No one but Mara, that is. As the white teen does her best to adapt to the increasingly absurd circumstances surrounding her, Starmer weaves a dark and hilarious tale that is unafraid to provoke laughs and chills in equal measure. Mara strikes the perfect balance between snark and smarts, providing quips and heart in equal measure. Her relationship with ice cream-truck-driving mystery boy Dylan, also white, deepens as their classmates burst all around them, and their love story is just as compelling as the mystery behind the explosions. The author has no trouble pushing these characters through hell, but the book reaches true greatness when readers see them on the other side and explore what's left of them. Subplots involving an opportunistic scientist, a foulmouthed president, and a badass FBI agent push this one into must-read territory. A blood-soaked, laugh-filled, tear-drenched, endlessly compelling read. (Fiction. 14 & up)

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Starred review from August 1, 2016

Gr 10 Up-From the author of "The Riverman" trilogy comes a wholly original YA tale of identity, friendship, love, lust, and gory, grisly death. Covington High is facing a unique crisis: one by one, members of the senior class are spontaneously combusting, inexplicably blowing up in a mess of blood and guts. As the body count increases and the government gets involved, 12th grader Mara Carlyle attempts to figure out what's going on, with the help of her best friend Tess and an FBI agent. This darkly hilarious, fast-paced title will have readers turning pages to uncover the mystery along with Mara, whose witheringly sarcastic first-person voice calls to mind Alice Roosevelt Longworth ("If you don't have anything nice to say, come sit by me"). Starmer excels at crafting delightfully bizarre situations and skewering current trends and pop culture tropes. He has compiled a diverse body of students whom he kills off with gusto. Underneath the humor, however, lie genuine emotions: Mara falls in love with loner Dylan, reevaluates her friendship with Tess, and examines herself and her own attitudes. While not all readers will warm to a narrator who so blithely disregards the adage against speaking ill of the dead, many will find it refreshing to encounter an unapologetically snarky female protagonist. Sexual situations and references to drug use make this more suitable for older teens. VERDICT Those who appreciate strange and unusual fare will gravitate to this explosive new offering; hand it to fans of Libba Bray, A.S. King, David Lubar, and Andrew Smith.-Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

grapefruit - Why would a kid just suddenly explode? Why would a FBI agent come to town? And why are students fleeing the school? In an unexpected class, Mara's fellow classmate Katelyn suddenly explodes--giving the students quite a fright. The experts rule it out as spontaneous combusting, when the human body suddenly explodes. And that's just the start of the losing streak--of student lives--that strikes Mara's little town. It seems every week, every day a student dies the same painful death, which keep the remaining students on their toes. Meanwhile, Mara flirts up a storm with dangerous and exciting Dylan, and her BFF Tess starts discovering new mysteries at school--all in the hope that the curse avoids them. An unique, surprisingly fascinating tale, Spontaneous will open your eyes to every answer you want about growing up--and blowing up.

July 1, 2016
Grades 10-1 This is how it starts: Katelyn Ogden blows up in third period pre-calc, the victim of spontaneous combustion. In short order, other identical deaths inexplicably follow. What on earth could be causing them? Genes? Drugs? A virus? It's an irresistibly original premise for a story told in the achingly honest, darkly humorous, and occasionally acerbic voice of Katelyn's classmate Mara. As deaths escalate, a pattern of sorts emerges: all of the victims have been high-school seniors, a trait shared by Mara; her best friend, Tess; and her new boyfriend, Dylan. Will they be the next victims? Perhaps FBI Agent Carla RosettiMara's hero, a sort of XFiles Scully typecan find out. Or perhaps not, for as the novel continues, the only certainty is uncertainty. What does it all mean? Don't expect neat, tidy answers, for none are forthcoming in Starmer's sometimes frustrating, sometimes fascinating, and occasionally maddening exercise in Grand Guignol. Its many imponderables make this one a great book for discussion groups.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)