Book Review: UpSpark

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Lao Tzu says, 'A man with outward courage dares to die, a man with inner courage dares to live.'

And this is exactly what UpSpark is about. Finding the courage to live when life seems nothing but a dark road ahead, with no light at the end of the tunnel. Daring to let go of one's old self to find the true self. The self that never dies.



On her 18th birthday, Enya's dreams of making a difference in the world are devastated when she finds out she's suffering of Huntington’s disease. An incurable neurodegenerative condition her father had also suffered from. Her life is torn apart at the news and nothing seems to make sense anymore. Why go to college or even keep doing whatever you usually do when you're going to die anyway?

'We can't choose the cards we're dealt. We can choose how we react though, what we make of it.'

And slowly Enya comes to realise it. A cross country road trip to Native American reservations with her best buddy Jacob is meant to help her find new meaning in her completely upturned life. And it becomes a life-changing experience that will transform both Enya and Jacob alike.

Healing, spiritual awareness and love. These are the main things our two youngsters will slowly discover. With Jacob's unwavering faith by her side, Enya will not only learn to brave her greatest fear, that of letting people in, even if she knows she’ll someday leave them. But she will also learn to live in the moment and believe.

'We all are due love, and we can all love. Love is the currency. Love is the air. Love is all that will remain when it's all said and done because love is all there is.'

Enya's journey is both profound and incredibly touching. It is a spiritual journey of self-discovery, healing and love that is bound to resonate one way or another with any reader out there. An uplifting and inspiring tale that reminds us life is worth living every moment of every day.

'There's no time like now.' Live it while you can.

As genre goes, I'm not sure how to place it: romance, magical realism, general or spiritual fiction.... This book seems to have a bit of everything in it. But ultimately, it is a tale about love. The love for others as well as one's own self.

Beautifully written, almost poetic at times, UpSpark may not be quite everyone's cup of tea. Though if you loved The Fault in Our Stars you're going to adore UpSpark too. The pace is very slow at times, due to internal monologues and the self-discovery journey, and there's no edge of the seat action within these pages either. But despite all this, the book is a pretty fast read, especially the last third of it, which makes it downright unputdownable. And then that end!!! OMG! I'm itching to see how it will all go on next.

Great characters, beautiful prose, an intriguing plot peppered with inspirational titbits and advice, as well as a touch of delightful magic, UpSpark has it all.

It's one of those books that will stay with you long after turning the last page. Unique, memorable and inspiring.

Happy reading everyone
and always remember:

'You might not feel it now, but you are. Strong and amazing. Let your light shine, don't let some uncertain future dim it.'

Check out this book and more of Nicole Wells here.