The Spark and the Drive

By Wayne Harrison,

Book cover of The Spark and the Drive

Book description

By an award-winning writer of short fiction, a devastatingly powerful debut novel of hero-worship, first love, and betrayalJustin Bailey is seventeen when he arrives at the shop of legendary muscle car mechanic Nick Campbell. Anguished and out of place among the students at his rural Connecticut high school, Justin finds…

When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked The Spark and the Drive as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I was immediately taken by 17-year-old Justin Bailey because, like him, I didn’t have a strong father figure who could teach me how men were supposed to behave. So when he lands an internship at a legendary muscle car shop, it seems like a dream come true until it quickly becomes clear that his new mentor is equally vulnerable to tragedy.

As his hero falls, Justin falls right along with him—easily lost in his surroundings and eager to accept one justification after another until he succumbs to the darkest of temptations. As a protagonist, his only saving grace is understanding…

From Richard's list on bad boys we love or love to hate.

If you love The Spark and the Drive...

Ad

Book cover of A Theory of Expanded Love

A Theory of Expanded Love By Caitlin Hicks,

Trapped in her enormous, devout Catholic family in 1963, Annie creates a hilarious campaign of lies when the pope dies and their family friend, Cardinal Stefanucci, is unexpectedly on the shortlist to be elected the first American pope.

Driven to elevate her family to the holiest of holy rollers in…

Want books like The Spark and the Drive?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 85 books like The Spark and the Drive.

Browse books like The Spark and the Drive

Book cover of 13 Reasons Why
Book cover of The Outsiders
Book cover of The Catcher in the Rye

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

1,593

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like The Spark and the Drive, you might also like...

Book cover of Feral Maril & Her Little Brother Carol

Feral Maril & Her Little Brother Carol By Leslie Tall Manning,

Winner of the Literary Titan Book Award

Bright but unassuming Marilyn Jones has some grown-up decisions to make, especially after Mama goes to prison for drugs and larceny. With no one to take care of them, Marilyn and her younger, mentally challenged brother, Carol, get tossed into the foster care…

Book cover of Bessie

Bessie By Linda Kass,

In the bigoted milieu of 1945, six days after the official end of World War II, Bess Myerson, the daughter of poor Russian immigrants living in the Bronx, remarkably rises to become Miss America, the first —and to date only— Jewish woman to do so. At stake is a $5,000…

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in unreliable narrators, Connecticut, and murder?

Connecticut 27 books
Murder 1,078 books