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pendularsand's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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
5.0
Did I read this all in one day? Hell yeah I did bc it was fantastic.
Never ever have I seen the internal monologue of a protagonist and thought, “she’s just like me, she understands” so many times that it brought me to tears.
Too many of her experiences were unfortunately exactly like mine and although it’s sad that autistic people have such universally shit experiences, it really made me happy to see it written down in a published book like??? People can just read this and know how it feels and know what it’s like and that’s AWESOME!! More of this please!
I love Addie so much <33
Never ever have I seen the internal monologue of a protagonist and thought, “she’s just like me, she understands” so many times that it brought me to tears.
Too many of her experiences were unfortunately exactly like mine and although it’s sad that autistic people have such universally shit experiences, it really made me happy to see it written down in a published book like??? People can just read this and know how it feels and know what it’s like and that’s AWESOME!! More of this please!
I love Addie so much <33
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Minor: Torture and Violence
This book has very graphic depictions of ableism both through discussing history, a character being institutionalised, and Addie is repeatedly bullied. The R slur is used once. Brief mention of witches being tortured to admit they’re witches, this is not detailed.sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism and Bullying
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Confinement, Torture, Murder, Gaslighting, Violence, and Mental illness
queenoffirestone's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I've read this and also seen the show (which you can stream for free without an account on byu TV by the way) and as usual the book is better. Shows can't get nearly as in depth as books can. Especially with an autistic main character who is masking hard and whose words and appearance do not usually match her thoughts and feelings. Also the show didn't have Bonnie.
Bonnie's story was very painful to read for me. She wasn't involved in the present timeline, we never actually meet her, but she's Keedie's friend who was institutionalized. She's an inspiration for a lot of Addie's fear and indignance about the witches. I'm autistic too and I've spent about a year in residential treatment and the psych hospital- 7 months, 3 months at a time. I've had an ambulance called on me for having a meltdown in public. I can't speak. Addie's fears are real, Bonnie is proof, and Bonnie is me.
Addie is a cute but formidable young student and I'm wary of discussing good/bad autism representation because the lower support needs autistic community usually dismisses people on a different part of the spectrum when praising characters like them for being good representation but Addie is both like them and good representation.
This story has good messages about standing up for yourself, enforcing boundaries, and how to handle situations. It does get dark but in a way that I think only stands out to people who already understand that darkness so I think this is a great book for adults and any struggling preteen neurodivergent people you might know alike. I can almost guarantee you they already know about anxiety and trying to fit in.
Addie is a cute but formidable young student and I'm wary of discussing good/bad autism representation because the lower support needs autistic community usually dismisses people on a different part of the spectrum when praising characters like them for being good representation but Addie is both like them and good representation.
This story has good messages about standing up for yourself, enforcing boundaries, and how to handle situations. It does get dark but in a way that I think only stands out to people who already understand that darkness so I think this is a great book for adults and any struggling preteen neurodivergent people you might know alike. I can almost guarantee you they already know about anxiety and trying to fit in.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying and Ableism
Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Toxic friendship
Minor: Torture and Panic attacks/disorders
rivercat0338's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Death, Forced institutionalization, and Torture
bookcheshirecat's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
“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
Graphic: Ableism and Bullying
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Torture, Murder, and Death
penofpossibilities's review against another edition
emotional
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Cried a couple of times. Its the first kids book ive read with such explicit autistic rep. I felt very jealous at the mc for having so many words to explain her autism to others. I could relate alot to her experiences but not the way she could express herself and stand up for herself. I did not have those words as a kid. Im glad some kids do and that this book could be meaningful for them. I did not like the whiteness of the autism rep though, it talked about how its more difficult for high support needs autistics but not about intersectionality of ableism and racism and that was a pity. There was not enough intersectionality in the advocacy of this book in general and I also did not like the language policing; two times the mc says that autism is not something you have but autistic is something you are and the mc says it like that is a fact. But not all autistics feel that way so it felt a bit exclusive :/ also at the end the mc says everyone in the town is good now bcs they recognised one wrong thing in history but that is very simplified and again I feel like thats such a white perspective that largely ignores how dangerous it still is to be poc and autistic or having intersecting disabilities etc. I still rate it 4 stars despite these issues bcs its a really special book and I wish I had it as a child. It made me feel closer to my self and it made me feel validated.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, and Ableism
Moderate: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, and Torture
Minor: Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Genocide, Physical abuse, and Violence
Meltodowns, shutdown, harmful stimming, ableist slurs, unjust school system & teacher bullylettuce_read's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Ableism, and Bullying
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Forced institutionalization and Torture
maeverose's review against another edition
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.
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
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, and Child abuse
Moderate: Gaslighting
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Fatphobia, Murder, and Torture
Talk about the witch trials (torture, murder, hanging, etc. Not graphically described) Theres also a few ableist slurs used (specifically anti-autistic)wends_nblw's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
autism real .
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Forced institutionalization
Minor: Murder and Torture
bexi's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Confinement
Minor: Torture, Violence, and Murder