I soon fell in love with the four Merrick brothers, Michael, the oldest, Nick and Gabriel, the twins, and Chris, the youngest. Their banter is just amazingly entertaining, not to mention endearing. It's easy to see they truly care for one another, even if they sometimes resent each other, as siblings tend to do every now and then.
In "Storm," we learn that each of the four brothers can control a specific element, Earth, Air, Fire and Water - however not entirely - and our main hero, Chris, thirsts for water. "Spark," however, focuses on Gabriel and his burning need for fire. Puns definitely intended - I'm a nerd like that.
When "Spark" begins, Gabriel isn't really in the best frame of mind. He feels like he's failed his family. He fights for control of this amazing element and he feels its pull on him constantly, feeding into his emotions, begging him to bring it to life when he knows he can't for fear of what may happen.
It doesn't help that up until this point in his life, Nick did and shared everything with Gabriel - and is now starting to do things on his own, and keep certain things from him - whether he means to or not. Gabriel has his sports, all four of them, and that helps him some, but it's not a cure-all. And, even the solace he finds in that is threatened when his new math teacher finds out he's been cheating.
Everything is starting to weigh heavily on Gabriel, and it only draws him toward fire that much more. One night in particular, it leads him directly to a house fire. Though devastating for the family whose home it is, it allows Gabriel to be near his element AND help those who fall victim to it.
Unfortunately - or fortunately depending on how you look at it - someone is setting fires in neighbors' homes. Though no one knows who is responsible, or why they're doing this, Gabriel can feel the anger fueling the fires, and knows he's doing the right thing by helping the families. But in doing so, he quickly finds himself becoming suspect #1 in the police investigation - and even his brothers don't truly believe he's innocent.
Insert Layne here. Layne is a Sophomore who just so happens to sit next to Gabriel in math class. Obviously she notices Gabriel - who doesn't? - But she knows he'd never notice her, unless of course he's asking for something, like a stupid pencil. It's in math class that she picks up on the fact that he's cheating, and offers her help - even though she has no idea why she should.
Unfortunately for Layne, she has her own fair share of problems to deal with. Her mother left them, and her father tries his best to raise Layne and her hearing-impaired brother, Simon - but doesn't really know how. Add on the fact that Simon is being bullied everyday at school and you can see things aren't really looking up for her. And, as if that wasn't enough, Layne has a secret she would go to the ends of the Earth to protect, something even her own mother didn't want people to know.
Layne and Gabriel get off to a rough start at first, but it is through their uncanny relationship that they are able to grow as individuals. She believes in him even when he doesn't believe in himself, and he sees past the exterior Layne tries so hard to portray, and pushes her boundaries to get her to see herself the way he sees her.
All in all I loved this book. I do sort of have a soft spot for the tough exterior-soft interior boys. They just tug at my heart strings.
There were so many times in the book that I wanted to just reach in and give both Layne and Gabriel a huge hug. So many times I wanted to punch Kara - Layne's closest friend - in the face, for being such a bitch. And so many times I wanted to tell the Merrick brothers that Gabriel was innocent, even if he did everything possible to keep them thinking otherwise. But, unfortunately, that option has not been invented for the Nook yet, and I just had to power through to the end - and end that did not disappoint! I look forward to reading "Spirit" about Hunter! Is it June 2013 yet?! :)
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