Reviews with content warning for Death - A Kind of Spark

“People aren't like books. A familiar book is always the same, always comforting and full of the same words and pictures. A familiar person can be new and challenging, no matter how many times you try to read them.”

➽ A Kind of Spark follows Addie, an autistic girl who is campaigning for her town to build a monument to the witch hunts that occurred in the past! I heard a lot of good things about this book and was excited to finally check it out. I really felt for Addie, she doesn't have it easy as most people don't understand her autism and judge her for not fitting into their neurotypical norms. Between friends abandoning her, bullying from her classmates and a super ableist teacher, this was hard to read at times! I just wanted to protect Keedie! I'm glad that she could find a new friend and was able to make her passion for the victims of the witch hunts heard. Addie has a strong sense of justice and is fixated on the witch hunts that happened in her town centuries ago. I also loved the close bond with her older sister Keedie who is also autistic and understands her best!

Content Warnings

musingsofazebra's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Content Warnings

fromjuliereads's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This was cute and had some fantastic characters! Deals with some real issues but is sensitive about it. Glad I read it and that it exists for kids to read!!

Content Warnings

hayley_mariep's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

maeverose's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.5

Contemporary isn’t a genre I tend to like, especially middle grade, but I wanted to read more books with autism rep by autistic authors and I liked this a lot more than I expected to.

This is such an important book and I’m so glad it exists. It was infuriating to read how Addie was treated by some of the ignorant and abusive adults in this book and it’s especially infuriating knowing that that’s a very real experience for lots of kids in the real world. I think this book could be really helpful for kids who might be going through something similar. Or for allistic kids to learn more about what having autism can be like.

Bonus quote: ‘Mr Laird rises in her place, eyes slightly wild and mustache aquiver. “The geese on Juniper pond,” he booms, “are demonic.” There are some groans, but a couple of ayes.

Idk why but that made me laugh a lot 😆 I wanna know how these geese got this reputation.

Content Warnings

bella_cavicchi's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Reading middle-grade books, particularly realistic fiction, is like wrapping yourself in a warm blanket; a good one will leave me feeling nourished and whole. A KIND OF SPARK, Elle McNicoll's debut, hits this very mark -- I'm glad to have this #OwnVoices narrative (McNicoll is autistic, as is the main character, Addie) gracing my shelves.

(Love and thanks to Ottie for the recommendation!)

Content Warnings

someonelikeblue's review against another edition

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emotional funny informative inspiring sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes

Content Warnings

nialiversuch's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Content Warnings

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