Reviews with content warning for Forced institutionalization - A Kind of Spark

This book was beautiful! It was everything I needed and more, I only wish I found it sooner. The bullying I received for being autistic was unimaginable and heartbreaking to think back on & I can’t help but think how different my life could’ve been if more children were exposed to this book, or if I was exposed to this book. This book lifted a weight off my shoulders even now, I can’t even imagine how much it would’ve affected my younger self.

The writing itself was wonderful & the characters were even better (I pre-ordered a signed & dedicated copy of the next book immediately after finishing this, woops!), I can’t wait to read from Keedie’s perspective. She is much closer to my age than Addie so maybe the next book will help me heal in the present, who knows? It goes without saying that the autistic representation in this book was amazing & not glamourized or villainized, which is something I always worry about when I go into ‘austic rep’ books. This book felt perfectly even and accurate with it’s descriptions of shutdowns, meltdowns, special interests, masking and so much more.

Autistic people aren’t broken or damaged - if you truly believe that we are, educate yourself.

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/autism/what-is-autism/

Content Warnings

augustreadsbooks's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective fast-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

5.0

Content Warnings

tashtash93's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective tense slow-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

3.5

Content Warnings

lottie1803's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

As a late diagnosed Autistic, this is the book younger me needed. I laughed and cried within pages of each other.

Content Warnings

turrean's review

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emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

4.5

A fabulous read. The audiobook narrator was wonderful.

Content Warnings

sophiesmallhands's review against another edition

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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

ns44's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

5.0

I love this book , it's so beautiful and I still cry every time I read it . I don't think it's my favourite Elle Mcnicoll book but it was my first and it's very special to me .

Content Warnings

kshertz's review against another edition

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challenging emotional medium-paced

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

4.0

A great book to explain the beauty of autistic people. I definitely felt the author wrote this authentically and there was so much I learned and felt from this story. It’s a great explanation for those who are neurotypical to understand others.

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