A Kind of Spark

Author Elle McNicoll

Grades 6-8 Ages 8-12

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.

Available Formats

Trade Paperback 9780593374283
Hardcover 9780593374252
eBook 9780593374276
Unabridged Audiobook Download 9780593415559

State Awards

Illinois

2025, Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Award, Nominee

Indiana

2023, Indiana Reads Aloud List, Selection

Louisiana

2023-2024, Louisiana Reader’s Choice, Selection

Oklahoma

2023, OLA Sequoyah Book Award Masterlist, Nominee

Rhode Island

2024, Rhode Island Middle School Book Award, Selection

Washington

2023-2024, Sasquatch Book Award, Selection

Random House Children's Books Teachers and Librarians