Review: Spirit (Elemental, #3)

Author: Brigid Kemmerer
Series: Elemental, #3
Release date: May 28th 2013
Publisher: K Teen
Paperback, 432 pages
Source: Publisher for review
Buy: The Book Depository

With power comes enemies. Lots of them.

Hunter Garrity just wants to be left alone. He’s learned the hard way that his unusual abilities come at a price. And he can’t seem to afford any allies.

He’s up to his neck in hostiles. His grandfather, spoiling for a fight. The Merrick brothers, who think he ratted them out. Calla, the scheming psycho who wants to use him as bait.

Then there’s Kate Sullivan, the new girl at school. She’s not hostile. She’s bold. Funny. Hot. But she’s got an agenda, too.

With supposedly secret powers rippling to the surface everywhere around him, Hunter knows something ugly is about to go down. But finding out what means he’ll have to find someone he can trust…

Wow. I feel like a rug has been pulled from under my feet.

In Spirit, Kemmerer deviated from the usual PNR route and brought something even more emotional and entirely unexpected. It was a bold move, a very risky one, but I always appreciated authors who toy with a genre and make their own rules. While I struggled with both Hunter and Kate at times, I applaud Kemmerer’s effort to do something different and throw her readers off balance.

It could be his element that’s making me love Hunter and hate him at the same time, or it could be a series of questionable actions on his part. Whatever the cause, it made Spirit an extremely thought-provoking, emotional read and left me feeling conflicted… pacified, but not quite ready to trust Hunter completely. Not just yet.

Hunter Garrity is one troubled boy, my friends. If you thought Gabriel’s story was heartbreaking, just you wait until you spend some time in Hunter’s head. Not only is he completely alone in the world, but he is being abused and neglected by the very people who should be taking care of him. I’d probably be bitter and untrusting if I were him, too.

When the new girl shows up in school, Hunter is immediately drawn to her, but he’s sure she has some kind of hidden agenda. Everyone always does, right? Why would she be any different? Unfortunately, Hunter is paranoid, but he is also right – Kate Sullivan is a Guide in training, and she may not be there to get Hunter specifically, but she is definitely after the Merricks.

Hunter has no idea whom to trust, but more importantly, he just can’t decide where his loyalties lie. He wants desperately to hate the Merricks and do what he was taught was right, but they keep making it impossible by being reliable and nice. Guards, on the other hand, haven’t done a single thing right, but Hunter’s father was a Guard and Hunter was trained to become one, so what does that say about him? Every part of Hunter’s story is extremely painful. There were times when I wanted to strangle him, but even then I felt more pity than anger. Kemmerer did an outstanding job with this character, possibly better than with anyone else.

The noose is tightening around the Merricks. The Guards are starting to view them as formidable opponents instead of just underestimating them like they used to. Things are more dangerous than ever in Spirit and Michael and his brothers are forced to make some hard choices. The easiest thing to do would be to just pack up and leave, but each of them now has a reason to stay.

January 2014 can’t come soon enough. Nick’s story promises to be the most heartbreaking of all and after Spirit, I have no idea where Kemmerer might take it, which is both upsetting and thrilling at the same time. Brava, Ms. Kemmerer!