Spontaneous

By: Aaron Starmer

Narrated by: Alex McKenna

A high school senior gets an unwanted front row seat to the most absurd—and explosive—epidemic as it races across her New Jersey high school in this "wildly inventive" (Entertainment Weekly) coming-of-age dark comedy.

“Truly the smartest and funniest book about spontaneous combustion you will ever read.”—John Green, #1 bestselling author of The Fault in Our Stars

“A blood-soaked, laugh-filled, tear-drenched, endlessly compelling read.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Mara Carlyle’s senior year is going as normally as could be expected until—wa bam!—fellow senior Katelyn Ogden explodes during third period pre-calc.

Katelyn is the first, but she won’t be the last senior to blow up without warning or explanation. With the whole country watching, the FBI soon rolls into Mara’s suburban New Jersey hometown and the search is on for answers.

Whip-smart and blunt, Mara narrates the end of their world as she knows it while trying to make it to graduation in one piece. It’s an explosive year punctuated by romance, quarantine, lifelong friendship, hallucinogenic mushrooms, bloggers, ice-cream trucks, “Snooze Button™,” Bon Jovi, and the filthiest language you’ve ever heard from the president of the United States.

In Spontaneous, every rule is defied, but beneath the outrageous is a super honest and truly moving exemplar of the absurd and raw truths of being a teenager in the twenty-first century—and the heartache of saying good-bye.

The inspiration for the motion picture starring Katherine Langford, Charlie Plummer, and Hayley Law!

Critic reviews

“Aaron Starmer skillfully welds sharp humor, deep loss, and roaring escapades. Truly the smartest and funniest book about spontaneous combustion you will ever read.”—John Green, #1 bestselling author of The Fault In Our Stars

“Wildly inventive.”—Entertainment Weekly

“A comically surreal novel that will blow your mind.”—People

“Darkly absurd.”—Bustle

“A blood-soaked, laugh-filled, tear-drenched, endlessly compelling read.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“A wholly original YA tale of identity, friendship, love, lust, and gory, grisly death.”—School Library Journal, starred review

“Bursting with heartache and gore, Mara’s narration appeals directly to readers’
senses of horror and humor.”—The Horn Book

“Honest and sympathetic in a way that will draw readers into this realistic and slightly horrific read . . . pretty fun.”—VOYA

“Mara’s blunt, sarcastic narration is well-matched to the absurdity of the plot . . . 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.”—Publishers Weekly

Interesting but a little long

The story is definitely intriguing and new, but towards the end started to drag a little. The choice of a gravel-voiced reader (sort of a cross between 90s Lindsay Lohan & Emma Stone) was equally as intriguing and definitely took some getting used to. Her vocal inflections & performance were great at making her sound like her a teenager, but the voice was not what I expected from an audiobook reader.

Great voice

This is a totally believable and relatable protagonist that carries the reader through a totally (intentionally) unbelievable situation. Unique and surprising story, definitely not formulaic! Love the strong role of female friendship.

Read after watching the movie—worth it!!!

Read after watching the movie—worth it!!! When I learned the movie was based on a book, I knew I had to read it. I’m glad i made that choice. Most books are better than the movies. This one is no exception.

Funny poignant story that explodes your insides with laughter

Righteously funny all the way through. Brutal if you’re a visual person. Perfect for 2020

The ending is terrible!

The narrator was excellent, no complaints there. The book however had no humor and was just a teenage girl rambling about insignificant things in her life. The worst part, you never find out why people are exploding! Ugh!