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Meh. I thought this was going to be really good but I really didn‘t care for the writing. It was super sarcastic but it just didn‘t work for me. It was all over the place and I was just bored with it for the most part. I thought with a story line of spontaneous combustion it would have been really entertaining and fast paced, but I just couldn‘t get into this one. At least I had my reading buddy, Edgar, here to snuggle with on this rainy day!

Still a few chapters in with the book but was blown away with the movie. This film left me in awe, made me swoon and laugh, felt sorry for the lead character then hopeful. A must read/watch! Just see it now!!! #bookstoscreen 📖🎬

"When Katelyn Ogden blew up in third period pre-calc, the janitor probably figured he'd only have to scrub guts off one whiteboard this year."

This YA novel about a school stricken by a series of spontaneous human combustions is certainly vying for weirdest book I've read this year!

#FirstLineFridays
@ShyBookOwl

File this one under a good so-so book. It is not great, it is not bad, but it is good/ok. It has a great premise-teens spontaneously combusting and it has a snarky, jaded protagonist. Somewhere though I just stopped caring what happened. Rushed romance, blurry message, and maybe too much snark lost me after a bit. I sped through the last few pages to see why these teens combust (spoiler/answer in comments). It was good for the first half.

When high school seniors start spontaneously combusting in a New Jersey suburban town, the school year is halted and the seniors get a green light to do whatever they want while everyone, including the government, tries to figure out what's going on. #ChampagneSupernova #90sInJuly

#funfridayphoto Jealous of all those who were closest to the Kindle. This one is fun so far, but it wouldn't sustain me long 👽👾 @Liberty

My first goodreads give away win 😀 Inspired to try it by folks on litsy, so thanks all. #freebook Litsy, is there anything you can't do? Looking forward to this read, sounds fun.

#2017Book18
Mara's senior year is shaping up to be pretty normal...until her classmates begin to blow up in the middle of class. The FBI is called in to investigate these cases of spontaneous combustion, but no one can seem to figure out why these kids are exploding, or who will be next. While the premise of this novel seems absolutely ridiculous, it serves as a unique commentary of the fears of growing up and trying to figure out the future.

I picked this book up because I thought a book about spontaneous combustion might help warm me up during my commute (no such luck!) My one main problem with this book is that I listened to it on audiobook and the narrater sounded so much older than a teen in high school. Other than that - book is surprisingly sweet, not gory, has a romantic subplot, and plenty of weirdness to keep you turning the pages. Def for older YA readers though.

My #JanuaryTBR is much bigger, but these were the books within arm's reach. #ReadJanuary

This is often a clever book. When I revived an arc at bea I found the marketing clever as well. The book was packaged with a plastic rain poncho! So much of the writing was good. I never felt like the story got bogged down. Mara's voice was believable even in an insane situation. In the end, however, I was left unsatisfied with the resolution -- or lack thereof. It's a daring book though.

#firstlines #youngadult #kidlitsy
Does this line draw you in/make you want to read more?

Reading now. Rosemary is not sleeping as well at night (new place and people messes up a routine!) so we're taking it Day by day and I'm reading for sanity. This one is funny so far! Maybe 50 pages in.

Overall, the writing was really funny. (If you're looking for realism or characters to sound like "real teens" a book about spontaneous combustion probably isn't a good place to start.) It reminded me a lot of the darkness of Heathers. The ending kind of fell apart, though.

"Told with a fresh and unique voice and a plot that is unlike anything ever written for teen audiences, Spontaneous is sure to be one of the most brilliant YA books written all year. Starmer has combined action, romance, and even a bit of thrilling moments into one novel that both male and female readers will find satisfying and completely hilarious."

A dark comedic and snark filled romp that holds more below the surface. This touches on issues such as fear in the media, racism, and coming to grips with your own mortality. Loved. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Spontaneous combustion and a senior high school class come together (or rather blow apart) to create a story about how drastically things change as we get older and reach the milestone of graduating and adulthood; the need to hold on to each other but at the same time realizing we have to let go of our pasts in order to move forward, sometimes without the people we depend on.

The most important bag to pack for holiday travel.

"When Katelyn Ogden blew up in third period pre-calc, the janitor probably figured he'd only have to scrub guts off one whiteboard this year." #firstlines

Stramer's writing, as well as the first 150 pages, left me on the brink of bailing. The style is reminiscent Me, Earl And The Dying Girl... in theory, great. But it didn't work for him. Told from the perspective of Mara, there is eventually emotion filtered through the sarcastic, smart aleck narration (with the story underneath). I was on board with the unusual plot. But I was grasping for anything to connect me with the story. It didn't happen.

We are having a lazy Sunday finishing up this book. #CatsOfLitsy #LittenKitten

Did some decorating with my son tonight while he is home on leave and now it's time to enjoy the weekend!

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 New Jersey hometown and the search for answers is on.

I enjoyed the snarky narration and interesting descriptions, but overall found it a bit unsatisfying.

"I was coming to realize that if you don't look for something, then you rarely find it."

A #bookandbrew in bed. The tag on my teabag tonight read "Plant kindness, gather love." #PhotoadayNov16 @RealLifeReading

It's The End of The World panel at #texasbookfestival with AS King, Aaron Starmer, Siobhan Vivian and Rachel Cohn

Not quite sure what I want to put on my #NovemberTBR since I never finished my October TBR, but I'll start with these: one a series I really want to finish, and the other my YA Book Club read that I still need to do! #photoadayNov16 @RealLifeReading

I enjoyed the story-telling and the characters. But the end got a little abstract and did not satisfy. Read with caution.

Took a nap -oops! Now trying this out for my second book. And also enjoying my fave #readathon snack. 😍

#readersgonnaread #booklife #24hourreadathon #Spontaneous

This...wasn't what I was expecting. I don't mind the ending - a lot of things I have seen have expressed disappointment at it - but it ended up being quite different to what the blurb made me think it was. I enjoyed it yet felt a bit underwhelmed.

Smart, funny story about spontaneously combusting seniors along with a nice dose of friendship, a non-gushy romance and self-discovery. This is the story that I wish My Best Friend's Exorcism would have been. #HelloOctober

Thank you @bookriot for Spontaneous! All five of us are really enjoying it 😻. Btw, the poor little kittens are looking for homes if anyone in the #losangeles area is interested... #catsoflitsy

This book was so fun! I am not usually a YA fan, but this was funny, a bit raunchy, and moving. I loved the friendship between the girls.

I love the premise of this novel: what happens when the seniors at one New Jersey high school inexplicably start to blow up? And for the most part I like the execution, though the ending feels like it's the setup to a sequel. Narrator Mara --the best thing about the book-- is our snarky guide to the goings-on, a witness to several of the spontaneous combustions. Bloody but never gory, this novel explores what it means to live feeling cursed.

Delicious dinner prepared by @WanderingBookaneer : beef tenderloin a la Pollan with beef jus, roasted Brussel sprouts paired with Riesling. #booksandwine

Loving Mara, the first-person narrator of this novel about high school seniors who start spontaneously combusting in a New Jersey town.

A glass of Riesling and a great book -- halfway through Spontaneous on this dark, rainy second #blackout night in Puerto Rico.

Waiting in the car for @WanderingBookaneer means I can start on this new purchase! #epigraph #CharlesDickens

To wrap up the weekend, I'll go out with a bang of a book.

And this is what I did on Labor Day!!! I'd say it was a damn good day!! 👊🏻

Teenagers spontaneously combust! Do I need to say more?

Good book, a fun sarcastic YA book about high school seniors who spontaneously combust. 4 out of 5 stars...nothing life changing or perspective changing, but enjoyable. Get a print version, though, NOT audio as the audiobook narrator has both a terrible, at least somewhat fake, bad vocal fry AND a permanent smirky tone which gets obnoxious over 9+ hours of listening.

????? I am just not sure what I am supposed to think about this book. It's one crazy ride, for sure.

Reading this on audiobook right now (because I needed a lighthearted yet sarcastic book about spontaneous combustion today) and while I will say that I really like the story so far (6 chapters in), I will say that I wish I had chosen a physical or ebook instead of audio. This narrator has a really bad, I think mostly fake vocal fry which is annoying the heck out of me. I will stick with it, because I like the story, but this narrator is the pits.

^^^ this.

I loved Starmer's RIVERMAN trilogy, and so far, this is just as good!

Best opening to a book, probably ever.

Best opening to a book, probably ever.