A Kind of Spark (Hardcover)
Staff Reviews
When Addie learns her town killed women as witches, she’s disturbed to find that her community does not seem to care. Addie decides she will fight for the women who were killed, and to get the town to put up a plaque to acknowledge their innocence and wrongful deaths. No one else seems to understand why it still matters given that it happened so long ago, but Addie knows autistic people, like her, are still discriminated against, judged, and badly treated, for the same reasons as women convicted of witchcraft.
— From Summer Picks 2022
Perfect for readers of Song for a Whale and Counting by 7s, a neurodivergent girl campaigns for a memorial when she learns that her small Scottish town used to burn witches simply because they were different.
"A must-read for students and adults alike." -School Library Journal, Starred Review
Ever since Ms. Murphy told us about the witch trials that happened centuries ago right here in Juniper, I can’t stop thinking about them. Those people weren’t magic. They were like me. Different like me.
I’m autistic. I see things that others do not. I hear sounds that they can ignore. And sometimes I feel things all at once. I think about the witches, with no one to speak for them. Not everyone in our small town understands. But if I keep trying, maybe someone will. I won’t let the witches be forgotten. Because there is more to their story. Just like there is more to mine.
Award-winning and neurodivergent author Elle McNicoll delivers an insightful and stirring debut about the European witch trials and a girl who refuses to relent in the fight for what she knows is right.
"A must-read for students and adults alike." -School Library Journal, Starred Review
Ever since Ms. Murphy told us about the witch trials that happened centuries ago right here in Juniper, I can’t stop thinking about them. Those people weren’t magic. They were like me. Different like me.
I’m autistic. I see things that others do not. I hear sounds that they can ignore. And sometimes I feel things all at once. I think about the witches, with no one to speak for them. Not everyone in our small town understands. But if I keep trying, maybe someone will. I won’t let the witches be forgotten. Because there is more to their story. Just like there is more to mine.
Award-winning and neurodivergent author Elle McNicoll delivers an insightful and stirring debut about the European witch trials and a girl who refuses to relent in the fight for what she knows is right.
Elle McNicoll is a debut children’s author from Scotland, now living in East London. As a neurodivergent writer, she is passionate about disability rights and representation. A Kind of Spark is her first novel. You can find her online at ellemcnicoll.com and on Twitter.
A Peter Blue Book Award Winner for Best Story of the Year!
"This debut novel from neurodivergent author McNicoll will bring readers to tears and have them cheering for Addie as she learns how much she has to offer the world." -School Library Journal, Starred Review
"The author, herself neurodivergent, imbues Addie’s unapologetically autistic perspective with compassion and insight." -Kirkus Reviews
Whether they’re facing similar neurodivergent challenges or not, readers will appreciate Addie’s honesty, and they may follow her lead in reconsidering history.” –The Bulletin
"The writer (autistic herself) busts some myths about neuro-divergency as she presents a flawed, loving, believable family and a convincing, nuanced, and very likable main character with a distinctive voice.” –The Horn Book
"This debut novel from neurodivergent author McNicoll will bring readers to tears and have them cheering for Addie as she learns how much she has to offer the world." -School Library Journal, Starred Review
"The author, herself neurodivergent, imbues Addie’s unapologetically autistic perspective with compassion and insight." -Kirkus Reviews
Whether they’re facing similar neurodivergent challenges or not, readers will appreciate Addie’s honesty, and they may follow her lead in reconsidering history.” –The Bulletin
"The writer (autistic herself) busts some myths about neuro-divergency as she presents a flawed, loving, believable family and a convincing, nuanced, and very likable main character with a distinctive voice.” –The Horn Book