Skip to main content

A Kind of Spark book review


 There are certain books you need at certain points in your life and I think I finally picked up Elle McNicoll at the almost perfect time. I have wanted to read Elle McNicoll for a while now, my attention being brought to her because many of her books are set in Scotland but I think if I had read her before the last few months and I hadn’t had my referral done the representation wouldn't have done what it did do for me or have been as important. I connected so much to Addie and felt strongly towards her. It’s another book I almost cried at because of how much I felt for her (a common theme across middle grade books with female autistic main characters) and I just loved it. I am now desperate to read Keedie and learn more. I also think Elle McNicoll is going to become a new favourite author. 

A Kind of Spark follows Addie a young autistic girl who is campaigning to get a witch memorial in her small Scottish town. It is a fantastic middle grade story that discusses so many important things in a great way for both the target age range and any other readers of any age. 


Throughout the story, we follow Addie’s perspective which I loved because you can it means that you see exactly how her mind works and how she faces situations due to being autistic. I loved this and when you are following a character whose mind does work differently I really like getting their perspectives because it helps you understand them and their actions. 


Along with seeing Addie frequently throughout the story we also see a lot of her friend Audrey and sisters Keedie and Nina. We also see a few other characters that I wasn’t as much of a fan of. Audrey is a fantastic friend to Addie during the story and I really liked seeing their friendship develop and how much Audrey supported Addie when she needed her. Keedie and Nina are also great sisters and I absolutely loved them. Keedie is also autistic and you see her discuss masking and suffer from autisc burnout both of which were great additions to the story. Nina may not understand but she supports and try to understand Addie as best she can even if she doesn’t always get it right. 


I really connected to Addie (and Keedie) during the story and many of the things that they went through or felt. I tabbed many of the times that I did connect or relate to them and out of the 187 pages I added 10 tabs, but that wasn’t every time that I related. I can find it really hard sometimes to read book where I strongly connect to the characters and the struggles that they can go through and that was the case with this but I also loved seeing the positive moments and seeing myself at times. 


I loved this book. I read it in one sitting, couldn’t put it down and immediately rated it five stars. The story was powerful, heartwarming and really special. The characters are amazing and a great setting that being Scottish (and near Edinburgh) I loved. I will not stop recommending this book anytime soon and I cannot wait to read Keedie and more of Elle McNicoll’s middle grade because I know I will love it after reading this.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Match book review

  Back in April I was recommended my first Sarah Adams book and really enjoyed it however it wasn’t my favourite type of romance book so when I saw this one had been rereleased and was 99p on Kindle I knew that I needed to read it.  The Match follows Evie who works for a company that trains service dogs to help people with all sorts of disabilities after her life was changed when she got a service dog to help with her epilepsy and when she meets Jacob when trying to convince him how much a service dog would help his daughter she begins to fall for him and his small family.  This was such a light brilliant romance that I just wanted to read and continue to be immersed in the story for as long as I could. I loved all of our major characters particularly Evie, Jacob and Sam (Jacob's daughter). Sam just added the best things to the story and the romance going on between Evie and Jacob. She was also a brilliant character on her own that you really felt for and you just underst...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Mistletoe Motive book review

  I discovered Chloe Liese for the first time this year and have since May read her entire backlist and loved all of them. The Mistletoe Motive was no exception to this and another one I read within 24 hours.  Over the course of The Mistletoe Motive we get to know Gabrielle and Jonathan who have worked together at Bailey’s Bookshop for about a year but don’t find themselves getting along. They have recently learned that the bookshop is at risk of closing though and set a challenge of whoever sells the least books in December has to resign and through this challenge Gabrielle meets a new side of Jonathan that she didn’t expect.  This is a novella of under 200 pages so while going in I knew I love Chloe Liese as an author I wasn’t sure what I would think of it with it being so short and having less time with the characters. However I was not at all let down by this book and absolutely loved reading it.  Gabrielle was a character I connected to from early on in the stor...
Post a Comment
Read more

It Only Happens in the Movies book review

  I have previously loved Holly Bourne books but found that I wasn’t the biggest fan of the one I read in 2024 so was a bit anxious going into It Only Happens in the Movies however I had no need for that anxiety because this book was exactly what I wanted and more.  It Only Happens in the Movies follows Audrey who is over romance after her parents divorce that has left her stuck in the middle, a tough break up and teenage friendship struggles. When she starts a new job and meets Harry, Audrey tries to stay away however she can’t help falling for him even if she knows she shouldn’t.  When I first started I was unsure about the book with the elements of romance however I was pleasantly surprised. Holly Bourne built up a character who I understood and felt relatable. The book had the expected message present in almost all Holly Bourne books which made the story more impactful and me wanting to keep reading to see how things worked out.  All the characters were well-deve...
Post a Comment
Read more