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Resistance #0.1
Spark: Careen's Prequel to the Resistance Series
A strong heroine is made, not born.
Though Careen Catecher survived a terrorist attack when she was nine, her childhood ended on that awful day. Now, nine years later, she’s ready for her life to truly begin.
A full scholarship to a prestigious university far from her beleaguered home quadrant seems like a dream come true, but when she arrives on campus, she’s perceived as a charity case, despite grades and test scores that prove she’s the academic equal of the best students there.
Careen knows she’s tough enough to survive just about anything, but fitting in with her acquisitive peers—at least on the surface—is necessary if she’s going to leave the past behind and claim the stable future she craves.
But her past won’t stay buried. She’s only been at school for a few weeks when a cryptic message from an unlikely friend raises questions that may put her in danger all over again.
Though Careen Catecher survived a terrorist attack when she was nine, her childhood ended on that awful day. Now, nine years later, she’s ready for her life to truly begin.
A full scholarship to a prestigious university far from her beleaguered home quadrant seems like a dream come true, but when she arrives on campus, she’s perceived as a charity case, despite grades and test scores that prove she’s the academic equal of the best students there.
Careen knows she’s tough enough to survive just about anything, but fitting in with her acquisitive peers—at least on the surface—is necessary if she’s going to leave the past behind and claim the stable future she craves.
But her past won’t stay buried. She’s only been at school for a few weeks when a cryptic message from an unlikely friend raises questions that may put her in danger all over again.
29 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 1, 2018
26 people are currently reading
189 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
July 10, 2017
Much more casual, light than the original series, but still with the same tinge of unseen danger.
August 17, 2017
This is a wonderful and enticing introduction to Careen, who is running from her past to start her life anew, and The Resistance Series that reeks of government conspiracy and danger…and I am hooked.
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January 9, 2018
This is readable but nothing much happens. A girl goes to college and decides to dress more like those around her. She has been accepted although she is insecure because her parents were killed by a bomb blast when she was young, and we learn that the government controls much of life for everyone.
I appreciate that this is a short prequel and I have not read the other books. Some drama rather bigger than a tutor making the girl tell her story in class would have been a sensible idea if the freebie is to sell us on the other books. I was pleased that we see some character development even if it is the time-worn case of a girl not fitting in and deciding to adopt uniform. I would rather she was doing something creative that made her shine as an individual whom others would wish to emulate.
I availed of a free download. This is an unbiased review.
I appreciate that this is a short prequel and I have not read the other books. Some drama rather bigger than a tutor making the girl tell her story in class would have been a sensible idea if the freebie is to sell us on the other books. I was pleased that we see some character development even if it is the time-worn case of a girl not fitting in and deciding to adopt uniform. I would rather she was doing something creative that made her shine as an individual whom others would wish to emulate.
I availed of a free download. This is an unbiased review.
April 27, 2017
Awesome read!
Short,to the point prequel that hits at the core of dystopian genre...propaganda or advertising? Which is it? Should we believe what we see on the surface of things? You decide!
Short,to the point prequel that hits at the core of dystopian genre...propaganda or advertising? Which is it? Should we believe what we see on the surface of things? You decide!
April 25, 2017
This short companion novel is the first I've read of Tracy Lawson's Resistance series and it does not disappoint! Cleverly written, engaging and unique, "Spark" leaves you craving more!
For fans of the Hunger Games, Mazerunner and Divergent series, Tracy Lawson's Resistance series is a must-read. Highly recommended!
For fans of the Hunger Games, Mazerunner and Divergent series, Tracy Lawson's Resistance series is a must-read. Highly recommended!
July 4, 2017
Learning more about a world that is so fantastically done is really a treat and this story is written in the same engaging, easy flowing way as the rest of the series.
Careen is leaving her old life behind to attend a prestigious university. She travels far, with few belongings, and is determined to make something of her life. But it isn't as simple as that. At every turn, Career faces discrimination and outright scorn. No one believes she belongs - well, other than the cooky professor. Yet she continues on, because really, what else can she do?
What I liked:
Careen. Once again, we get to follow a character that is incredibly well done. Many many books out there feature strong female characters, but in their strength, they lose something. It's a balancing act and one that Ms. Lawson is very good at. Strength does not have to equal a lack of vulnerability. Vulnerability makes a character sympathetic. It's what makes us as the reader believe we could truly know the character. Careen is an incredibly well-balanced female lead.
What was just okay for me:
I want more. This story is very short and I guess that's okay because it's only a prequel, but nothing really happens. There are some conversations and setting up of the events of the series, but no real action.
Final Verdict:
Anyone who loves this series will be drawn to this book for the simple act of staying in this world just a little bit longer and they won't be disappointed.
Careen is leaving her old life behind to attend a prestigious university. She travels far, with few belongings, and is determined to make something of her life. But it isn't as simple as that. At every turn, Career faces discrimination and outright scorn. No one believes she belongs - well, other than the cooky professor. Yet she continues on, because really, what else can she do?
What I liked:
Careen. Once again, we get to follow a character that is incredibly well done. Many many books out there feature strong female characters, but in their strength, they lose something. It's a balancing act and one that Ms. Lawson is very good at. Strength does not have to equal a lack of vulnerability. Vulnerability makes a character sympathetic. It's what makes us as the reader believe we could truly know the character. Careen is an incredibly well-balanced female lead.
What was just okay for me:
I want more. This story is very short and I guess that's okay because it's only a prequel, but nothing really happens. There are some conversations and setting up of the events of the series, but no real action.
Final Verdict:
Anyone who loves this series will be drawn to this book for the simple act of staying in this world just a little bit longer and they won't be disappointed.
January 3, 2017
What was our heroine, Careen Catecher, like BEFORE she became a firebrand for the Resistance? Well, she was just a normal teenage girl trying to survive college in the totalitarian state of Tracy Lawson's creation.
I always love these companion novels to my favorite series, the ones that give a little background or a backstage look at great characters before they get got thrown headlong into their chaotic life. This was just such a look.
Very quick read, finished in less than an hour.
4.5/5 stars.
I always love these companion novels to my favorite series, the ones that give a little background or a backstage look at great characters before they get got thrown headlong into their chaotic life. This was just such a look.
Very quick read, finished in less than an hour.
4.5/5 stars.
November 25, 2016
There are plenty of dystopian YA series out there, but this one rises to the top, imo. The plot and the pacing are so well done that you're immediately drawn in to the setting. Careen is a believable, strong female protagonist who, having survived a harrowing terrorist attack, is now trying to survive in a new "Quadrant" where she can't seem to fit in.
October 30, 2018
The Resistance Series
By Tracy Lawson
Spark
28 pages, prequel, Nov 2016, Teen/YA
Counteract
186 pages, book 1, Oct 2018, Teen/YA
Ignite
282 pages, book 2, Oct 2018, Teen/YA
Revolt
269 pages, book 3, Oct 2018, Teen/YA
Resist
240 pages, book 4 (final), Oct 2018, Teen/YA
Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook (except the prequel, which is only in Kindle format)
Provided, Author
Sci-fi Dystopian YA
✭✭✭✭⭑
The covers are interesting and present an interesting series. Initially, when looking at them, they don’t appear to be a thriller series of a future dystopian American society that’s about to undergo a coup at the highest level. But that’s exactly what this series is. 2035 better not be this disruptive!
The story is well done. I don’t know how real to life it all is for revolutionists, not ever having been involved in a revolution. But they have their organization and their slip-ups. People get hurt and even killed. This is a serious revolution. Each of our two young heroes, Careen and Tommy, get seriously hurt, shot, and even tortured. There are times when you don’t know who is on which side or which side is good or bad, which I imagine may be authentic to a situation such as this. So many people appeared to know what they were talking about and appeared to be speaking the truth, whether they were or not. People who were in positions of authority and power in the country and law enforcement. But as Hemingway said, power corrupts. It seems to corrupt the weak who can’t stand on their own and have to have something like a title to hold up to show how great they are.
The characters were really well done. Some of them we got to know quite well because we were with them all the way through the book and got to know their quirks and even how they like their coffee. Others just sort of passed through here and there as very minor characters, like Nicole. Poor, scared, Nicole.
The pace was mostly relentless as all five books seemed to barrel towards some horrendous cataclysmic ending. The tension of never quite knowing who was on which side and what would pop out around the next corner kept the tension stretched tight throughout. No rest. No time to catch your breath. Just like the characters.
I thoroughly enjoyed this series and would strongly recommend it for Young Adult readers of this genre, Political Dystopian Thriller YA with just a touch of young romance thrown in.
Recommended.
By Tracy Lawson
Spark
28 pages, prequel, Nov 2016, Teen/YA
Counteract
186 pages, book 1, Oct 2018, Teen/YA
Ignite
282 pages, book 2, Oct 2018, Teen/YA
Revolt
269 pages, book 3, Oct 2018, Teen/YA
Resist
240 pages, book 4 (final), Oct 2018, Teen/YA
Kindle, Paperback, Audiobook (except the prequel, which is only in Kindle format)
Provided, Author
Sci-fi Dystopian YA
✭✭✭✭⭑
The covers are interesting and present an interesting series. Initially, when looking at them, they don’t appear to be a thriller series of a future dystopian American society that’s about to undergo a coup at the highest level. But that’s exactly what this series is. 2035 better not be this disruptive!
The story is well done. I don’t know how real to life it all is for revolutionists, not ever having been involved in a revolution. But they have their organization and their slip-ups. People get hurt and even killed. This is a serious revolution. Each of our two young heroes, Careen and Tommy, get seriously hurt, shot, and even tortured. There are times when you don’t know who is on which side or which side is good or bad, which I imagine may be authentic to a situation such as this. So many people appeared to know what they were talking about and appeared to be speaking the truth, whether they were or not. People who were in positions of authority and power in the country and law enforcement. But as Hemingway said, power corrupts. It seems to corrupt the weak who can’t stand on their own and have to have something like a title to hold up to show how great they are.
The characters were really well done. Some of them we got to know quite well because we were with them all the way through the book and got to know their quirks and even how they like their coffee. Others just sort of passed through here and there as very minor characters, like Nicole. Poor, scared, Nicole.
The pace was mostly relentless as all five books seemed to barrel towards some horrendous cataclysmic ending. The tension of never quite knowing who was on which side and what would pop out around the next corner kept the tension stretched tight throughout. No rest. No time to catch your breath. Just like the characters.
I thoroughly enjoyed this series and would strongly recommend it for Young Adult readers of this genre, Political Dystopian Thriller YA with just a touch of young romance thrown in.
Recommended.
April 29, 2021
Finally got around to reading this mini-prequel depicting our top character in the Resistance Series, Careen Catecher. Not necessarily as action-packed as I hoped; but it definitely provides a sensational intro to the world in which Careen lives along with the close relationship she had with her father, killed nine years before the events of the book.
If you're on the fence about reading Tracy Lawson's Resistance Series, I recommend downloading this one to your Kindle, which you can find for free virtually anywhere online, including Lawson's website. It's hardly a novelette, and it shouldn't take longer than 45 minutes to read through.
My only gripe is that I didn't quite remember Lawson mentioning anything about this particular prequel's plot in Counteract, but I may have to go back for a refresher. And after reading Spark, I'd love to go back and re-read the Resistance Series.
If you're on the fence about reading Tracy Lawson's Resistance Series, I recommend downloading this one to your Kindle, which you can find for free virtually anywhere online, including Lawson's website. It's hardly a novelette, and it shouldn't take longer than 45 minutes to read through.
My only gripe is that I didn't quite remember Lawson mentioning anything about this particular prequel's plot in Counteract, but I may have to go back for a refresher. And after reading Spark, I'd love to go back and re-read the Resistance Series.
August 11, 2017
I knew this was the prequel, but I left it for the very last anyway.
It was a very short read and while I feel like the prequel still leaves room for more books, I did like being able to read it after the rest of the books to get a glimpse at how Careen fell into suspicion and how she came to be where she started.
If you read it first or you read it last, I don’t think it will matter either way. It won’t give away any spoilers (in my opinion) but will definitely leave you questioning!
It was a very short read and while I feel like the prequel still leaves room for more books, I did like being able to read it after the rest of the books to get a glimpse at how Careen fell into suspicion and how she came to be where she started.
If you read it first or you read it last, I don’t think it will matter either way. It won’t give away any spoilers (in my opinion) but will definitely leave you questioning!
April 30, 2018
Good Intro
This little novella (or long short story) is a good intro to Careen and her world. As a free download, it's also a good marketing tool.
This little novella (or long short story) is a good intro to Careen and her world. As a free download, it's also a good marketing tool.
June 8, 2019
Spark is a great introduction into the Resistance Series. It introduces us to the main character Careen when she first arrived at college. It tells us a little bit about who she was and where she came from. Careen lost her father in a bombing when she was nine years old. She watched her father take his last breath. Spark also introduces us to the world as Careen now knows it. It gives us an introduction into what is going on in her world.
All Careen wants is to fit in at school and stay in the back ground and get away from her past but that is not to be the case as one of her teaches wants to use her as part of his teaching method because she is a survivor of the bombings that killed her father.
Spark is a great little story that gives us just enough information to have us hooked in no time and leaves us wanting to know more about what is going on. I can’t wait to read more about Careen in the first book in the Resistance Series, Counteract.
I would recommend Spark to all fans of dystopia and science fiction novels.
All Careen wants is to fit in at school and stay in the back ground and get away from her past but that is not to be the case as one of her teaches wants to use her as part of his teaching method because she is a survivor of the bombings that killed her father.
Spark is a great little story that gives us just enough information to have us hooked in no time and leaves us wanting to know more about what is going on. I can’t wait to read more about Careen in the first book in the Resistance Series, Counteract.
I would recommend Spark to all fans of dystopia and science fiction novels.
February 5, 2017
A (very) short intro to Careen
3.75 out of 5 stars
I don’t think that people outside of the series would enjoy this as much as people who have read at least one of the books. I’ve read two of them so far and my biggest complaint was that it didn’t feel long enough. I knew it was a short story/novella going into it, but it just felt like it was missing something.
Careen ends up becoming a really developed character in the first two books, but in this one she’s mushy and I’m not sure what she would be. I’m sure that Lawson wrote her this way so that we could see just how much she’s changed from her beginnings.
The story itself was interesting, and we get to hear a little of Careen’s background, but as I said about — something was missing. I think that Lawson could have explained a little more about what makes Careen tick (more than she did in this).
Overall, this was an interesting short story in the world just before the Resistance series picks up. Honestly, I think there could be other short stories of other characters that were introduced in her other books. Similar to what Rebecca Rode did with her Number’s Game novellas.
Not strong enough to highly recommend, but not rough enough to tell you to avoid.
3.75 out of 5 stars
I don’t think that people outside of the series would enjoy this as much as people who have read at least one of the books. I’ve read two of them so far and my biggest complaint was that it didn’t feel long enough. I knew it was a short story/novella going into it, but it just felt like it was missing something.
Careen ends up becoming a really developed character in the first two books, but in this one she’s mushy and I’m not sure what she would be. I’m sure that Lawson wrote her this way so that we could see just how much she’s changed from her beginnings.
The story itself was interesting, and we get to hear a little of Careen’s background, but as I said about — something was missing. I think that Lawson could have explained a little more about what makes Careen tick (more than she did in this).
Overall, this was an interesting short story in the world just before the Resistance series picks up. Honestly, I think there could be other short stories of other characters that were introduced in her other books. Similar to what Rebecca Rode did with her Number’s Game novellas.
Not strong enough to highly recommend, but not rough enough to tell you to avoid.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews