It’s been a little while since I watched the movie Spontaneous, which is based off this novel of the same name by Aaron Starmer. This book was more than I expected and that’s because the film served it justice. Navigating a strange spontaneous combustion outbreak among a senior class, this book had sharp and witty dialogue, as well as keeping you on your toes.
One thing the film kept that I am glad for was that it was told from Mara’s perspective. She is the most important character in the novel because she personally witnesses the most students in her class explode. Mara thinks senior year is going to be pretty special, as most seniors in high school do, until one day a student explodes right in front of her. Then another student, and another, and another, until everyone is more than thoroughly freaked out.
There is part of me that felt like even though Mara cried, her inner dialogue made her seem almost sociopathic, but that was eclipsed by the equally strange, Dylan. He takes these exploding classmates as his cue to finally tell the girl he has a crush on, Mara, that he has a crush on her. Mara is equal parts disturbed, flattered, and turned on, so she decides to date him. Along with her best friend, Tess, the three try to navigate these uncertain times as best they can before they are rounded up and quarantined from the rest of the town they live in.
Their stay is short-lived because no one has a good answer for why seniors are exploding or when they are going to explode. The trio also meet a pretty hands-on FBI agent they refer to by her last name Rosetti or Lady Nightshade. She’s not all she’s cracked up to be either, but it was fun to believe for a while that she was onto something. Since the whole town has ostracized the senior class, they take it upon themselves to finish out the school year in a creative way, because what else can they do really?
Similar to the film, Dylan does explode all over Mara, but dissimilarly, she realizes she does not love him. There were obviously some details that were cut otherwise the film would have been extremely long. Two things that I also didn’t mind that the film spliced together was the designing of the “snooze button” pill that was supposed to be the cure for them all. The book introduced some shady scientist character after the quarantine to administer this miracle pill that ultimately did not work. It was a fun break from what was going on in the novel but really not necessary in the film. Overall, I was really pleased with the book and how closely the film adapted it. Check both out!