A Kind of Spark

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ENGLISH The autistic community sees... so much ableism, and so many people trying to tell our stories and speak for us. So to have a book like this, for children, means so much. I've already read this book twice, because I found it somewhat hard to read at first and wanted to give myself the opportunity to really let it sink in and to form an actual opinion on it. It wasn't hard at first because I didn't like the book, but because it hit a little too close to home and I read it at a time where I couldn't handle that very well. The second time I read it, I found it such an empowering book. Addie is an extremely relatable main character, even for me at 27 years old, and it gave me so much strength to see how she stood up for herself and dealt with her teacher's and classmate's bullying. I would highly recommend this to everyone who's autistic and everyone who wants to understand autistic people better. Adaptational Nice Girl: In the book, Jenna openly refused to associate with Addie after befriending Emily, made no effort to help her when Emily was bullying her, and was generally unrepentant about everything. In the series, while at first she's still complacent in Emily's bullying, she eventually comes to learn the error of her ways, helps Addie out of trouble in the end, and the two rekindle their once strained friendship, even going so far as to call Emily out on her bullying after all is said and done. Addie believes that the women who were accused of witchcraft were an example of this, singled out for differences in socializing and behaviour.

A 10-episode TV series adaptation was released on the BBC iPlayer in March 2023, late debuting on the CBBC Channel, with a parallel subplot about one of the young women accused of witchcraft in the Juniper of the 16th century. Ik hoor de woorden al lijken ze van ver te komen, alsof ze door een muur worden geschreeuwd. Ik blijf naar het vel papier staren. Ik kan lezen wat erop staat. Woord voor woord, zelfs door de waas van tranen heen.” This debut novel from a neurodivergent writer offers an utterly convincing and hugely likeable narrative voice. Challenging many myths and a stereotypes, for example autism equals no emotions/empathy. With Addie’s twin sister also on the spectrum, we are reminded that there are ‘many different ways to be autistic’. This story gives a great insight into what it's like to be autistic, but the points are never forced or laboured. Freudian Excuse Is No Excuse: However, the narrative makes it clear that Emily and Miss Murphy can’t use their troubles as an excuse to hurt others.

Reviews

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." Femininity Failure: Addie's friend Jenna once made her try to paint her nails during a sleepover. She just made a mess. Every classroom library should have this little, powerful book on their shelves. It just goes to show how important OwnVoices books are. Many students might feel seen, others will learn to show kindness and compassion and to not underestimate someone simply because they are different to you. I believe A Kind of Spark is an important read for other autistic people to feel seen and for neurotypical people to attempt to understand what life is like through our eyes. Middle grade books with disability representation is very hard to come by, and 'A Kind of Spark' is Own Voices and written by a Neurodivergent writer. Elle McNicoll has done a phenomenal job at portraying the trials that autistic people have to face from neurotypical people. I am neurotypical and I didn't realise just how much I had to learn from Addie. I have come away from my experience reading this with a greater understanding of what it means to be autistic, and not just the differences, but the similarities between us. And as Addie says in the book, "But... while you may be neurotypical and I'm autistic, I promise. We are more alike than we are different."

Wow. This is certainly one of the best middle-grade books I've ever read, and a terrific example of why, YES, adults should read middle-grade. Because the way McNicoll explains and explores what life is like for people like her, like Addie and Keedie, is so brilliant in both its simplicity and its depth, in its vulnerability and its strength, in its compassion and its confrontation. Readers, particularly neurotypical ones, are forced to question themselves over their own preconceived notions, poor assumptions, and if not outright cruelty than at least a sense of Have I always done right by people I've known who were struggling to live in a world that deems their lives disposable? It's not about making people feel ashamed to the point of immobility, but giving them the opportunity to use their shame as a motivating force toward becoming better, toward treating people better in the future than you may have done in the past.

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This poor girl went through so much in school and it shows just how important it is that we support children with special needs and those that are different / neurodivergent. This teacher in this story, Miss Murphy, is a terrible person and teacher. I am SO thankful for the teachers my autistic son has today in his Pre-K class. This book also makes you think of how appreciative we, as parents, are for the good teachers we do have. a b Stevenson, Deborah (2021). "A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll". Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. 75 (2): 67–68. doi: 10.1353/bcc.2021.0544. ISSN 1558-6766. S2CID 258078656. Rare for most books, this book features more than one autistic character, and the tender relationship between Addie and her older sister Keedie is so touching. There is a sweet moment between them that made me cry so much I alarmed my dog. “Other people’s minds are small. Your mind is enormous. It has room for everything and everyone. You don’t want to be like other people.” How many of us have needed to hear that in our lives?⁠ Alhoewel er al veel boeken op de markt zijn verschenen over autistische hoofdpersonages, beide origineel Nederlands en vertaald, concludeert schrijver Elle McNicoll in haar masterscriptie een gebrek aan neurodiverse auteurs die over hun eigen ervaringen schrijven.

Title Drop: Addie says in her speech, "My Grandpa always said, people like me in the past might not have been the most sociable. Or the chattiest. But while everyone else was around the fireplace gossiping, we were out finding electricity. That's what my autism is. It's a kind of spark." Addie does this because in the story of the witches she recognises the persecution of difference that autistic people face, and she wants people to see and to listen and to remember. It’s a story of demanding to be seen.⁠ 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 Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll – eBook Details

Morales, Macey (24 January 2022). "2022 Schneider Family Book Awards recipients named". American Library Association . Retrieved 13 February 2022. The history of the Scottish witch trials – how they impacted Scotland in the past and how they are remembered today Addie and Keedie are treated as unusual and frequently misunderstood by their community, ranging from condescension to outright bullying.