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Acclaimed author Holly Schindler writes a compelling contemporary tale with a dash of magic. The theater comes to life in this story of family ties, fate, love, and one girl’s quest to rewrite history.The local Avery Theater was just a run-down building to Quin—until her mother told her about the tragic love that played out on the theater’s stage many years ago. Quin is convinced it’s the perfect story to re-create for her drama class. And when she does, the Avery begins to magically regain its former splendor, clearly setting the stage for her classmates Dylan and Cass to relive the romance from a time before. Quin can see the spark between them, but it’s up to her to make sure her friends—and the Avery—can both be saved this time around.
Hardcover: 304 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen (May 17, 2016)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0062220233
ISBN-13: 978-0062220233
Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1 x 8.2 inches
Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
Best Sellers Rank: #789,341 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #87 in Books > Teens > Literature & Fiction > Performing Arts > Theater #187 in Books > Teens > Literature & Fiction > Social & Family Issues > Family > Multigenerational #1287 in Books > Teens > Romance > Fantasy
Quin and her friends aren't popular. Quin writes, but doesn't share her work with anybody and doesn't want to be noticed. Her best friend Cass has a big mole in her face and their friend Dylan stutters. Quin's mother is their drama teacher and wants the class to give a performance to save the Avery, a once gorgeous old theater in town. Now it's dilapidated because nobody ever set foot in it anymore after the death of two young people, Emma and Nick. Quin is fascinated by the theater and by their story. She is the director of the play and she has to come up with a way to make their class shine instead of stumble, so they won't make fools of themselves. The Avery is a magical place. Quin feels it straight away when she enters the building. It transforms Dylan and Cass. There they can be themselves. The theater shows Quin two different love stories with many similarities and real sparks. It's up to her to save everyone, but that isn't an easy task... Spark is set in a small town that has a splendid theater. The Avery used to be grand, but now it's forgotten. When Quin and her friends enter the building it magically comes to life again. I'm a big fan of the theater and therefore loved this story from the first sentence. Holly Schindler's descriptions are detailed and vivid, I could easily picture the theater and the two love stories that are taking place. There's a combination of magic and romance that works very well. The love stories have an unusual aspect, because the narrator isn't the person who's falling in love. She's the person who watches them, which is a fantastic idea for a story that's all about performing in front of an audience. Quin is an excellent observer and it was fabulous to see what was happening on stage through her eyes. It's a remarkable construction and I think it's an amazing one. I enjoy reading Magical Realism and was immediately enchanted by this story. Holly Schindler's sentences are beautiful. Her story reads like a fairytale. The first stages of rehearsing bring chaos and writing a play while practicing is a process that happens by trial and error. Holly Schindler uses that messiness to her advantage by making the reader feel it while she's still in control of the level of disorder. That is something else I really enjoyed about this book. I loved the author's creativity. The ending is magical and as wonderful as I hoped it would be. Spark is a brilliant unusual story.
I first thought Spark was a contemporary romance, but it is more of a supernatural book, about reviving a past through a star-crossed love. Quin's mother has been trying to get the local theatre Avery to not be torn down, and since she is also their drama teacher, has made the Advanced Drama class of the school to put on Avery's last play to raise funds. Quin, for her part, loves the bedtime story she was brought up on - the story of Emma and Nick, who died on the stage of the Avery in 1947. So now, being made the director of the play she is put to the task to get her reluctant classmates to bring about a miracle - to put on a play that won't, at the very least, embarrass them. Worse is the fact that they have mostly been put into roles they don't want - like her best friend Cass, who wishes to stay out of the spotlight due to the huge birthmark on her face, but has been cast as the lead, or the quiet stuttering loner Dylan, who has been made the music director.But what Quin doesn't expect is the fact of the two of them, Cass and Dylan, coming together and continuing the story of the lovers from before. With them, the magic of the theatre has come alive, as was foretold by Quin's own great grandmother. So, while she and Cass are hiding the secret of the magic of the theater, events are unfolding to show Quin the past. The writing I found to be descriptive in a way that brought the magic of seeing it along with it, a story unfolding in the mind just like how it was being shown to Quin. The magic itself isn't really explained, though, which was a let-down for me. Everybody just sees it and goes along with it - like an entire town - and nobody questions whether some hallucinogen got into their water supply. And any plot hole was explained away by magic. That ending was good, though, and brought a nice conclusion to the story. In summation, I found it to be an interesting story, but felt a lot of details were skimmed over.
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