Spontaneous

By: Aaron Starmer

Narrated by: Alex McKenna

Now a new motion picture starring Katherine Langford, Charlie Plummer, and Hayley Law!

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

Mara Carlyle’s senior year is going as normally as could be expected, until fellow senior Katelyn Ogden explodes during third period pre-calc. Katelyn is the first, but she won’t be the last teenager to blow up without warning or explanation. As the national eye turns to Mara’s suburban New Jersey hometown, the FBI rolls in and the search for a reason is on. 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, and Bon Jovi.

Aaron Starmer rewrites the rulebook with Spontaneous. But beneath the outrageous is a ridiculously funny, super honest, and truly moving exemplar of the absurd and raw truths of being a teenager in the 21st century . . . and the heartache of saying goodbye.

“Wildly inventive.” –Entertainment Weekly “Must List”

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

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 magazine

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

★ “A wholly original YA tale of identity, friendship, love, lust, and gory, grisly death.” –SLJ, 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

“Darkly absurd.” –Bustle

“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.

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!

Funny and clever. But beware!

This book is original and hilarious! However, if you are the type of reader that needs the ending to tie up everything neatly in a bow, you’re going to be disappointed. Can’t wait to see the movie now.