Elle McNicollRecensioni

A quick compelling read.
Addy is autistic. She has older twin sisters - one is autistic and one neurotypical. Their sibling dynamic is explored as well as a lot of insight from Addy about how she is wired. When her teacher (who does not seek to include or understand her at all) brings up the history of persecuting people accused of witchcraft in her town outside Edinburgh, she wants to take action and have her town memorialize the women whose lives were lost in some way.
She makes a new friend, stands up for what she thinks is right, and pushes back again bullies and the poor treatment, discrimination, and ableism she receives from people.

Only child Ramya is frustrated with her parents - busy newscasters - and with her teachers at school, who make her do hours of workshops to help with her dyspraxia (see also: Second Chance Summer by Sarah Kapit). When they move from London to Edinburgh, Ramya finally gets a chance to spend more time with extended family, including her cousin Marley. At their grandpa's funeral, a stranger gives Ramya a card and a message, sparking a journey through the city to find all of its nonhuman creatures and collect their real stories - for Ramya, unlike most, has the ability to see through the Glamour that vampires, sirens, trolls, and others use to camouflage themselves in the human world.

Ramya is a strong character with nearly palpable frustration and vitality, and the Edinburgh setting is absorbing and convincing. Ramya goes to great lengths to carry on her grandfather's work, making it her own, and learning more about her family in the process, including her rather mysterious aunt Opal.

Will make readers think deeply about ability and (what is called) disability, as well as the power of community and the destruction of division. There is room for a sequel ("The End. Ish").

Quotes

"It is a gift to look a command in the face and be able to tell the commander 'no.' Which is what you did tonight." (Ramya's grandfather, 10)

Learning difficulties and magic are equally mysterious to me. To know that I might have both in me is too much to think about right this moment. (49)

I'm used to feeling unseen....Once you've felt invisible for long enough, you start to behave in ways that will insist that people notice you. (60)

Sometimes the past feels like a room you've walked into suddenly, a space you have not bee invited into. (62)

"It doesn't matter what it looks like. What you have to say is the most important part." (Marley to Ramya, 84)

"Scared is dangerous." (Opal to Ramya, 87)

"You can't tell me that magic is real and then take it away." (Ramya to Opal, 89)

I can see through Glamour and detect magic in people, so who cares if my handwriting is messy? (97)

When no one has any expectations of you, it's easier to disappear. A bad reputation works like a charm. It keeps everyone from looking too closely. (106)

"[Edinburgh]...it's got a duality. A secret life." (Erica, 113)

...I never feel Iike I can back down from a fight. Only swim down. Deeper into the anger. (129)

"Division. Don't you feel it? People are more distrustful. More afraid. More apart from one another. It's not a mistake. It's not a coincidence. Something's causing it." (Freddy, 151-152)

"People will always do bad things for power." (Opal to Ramya, 220)

"I'm so sick of having to slow down for everyone when they need to go at their pace, but then the minute I need people to be patient, it's completely impossible....ninety percent of what makes life harder comes from them, not me!" (Ramya, 222)

I went from thinking that the world could only ever be a place for one kind of story to discovering a whole host of realities I never knew were possible. (231)

I don't believe in the Chosen One. There never is a Chosen One. No such thing exists. Only someone who chooses to do the right thing, and those who choose to follow them. (Grandpa's letter to Ramya, 233)

Why did they never help to find all the unbelievable things I can do? (270)

When you're never allowed to be the hero, becoming the villain seems inevitable. (280)

"You don't have to earn being sad. You're allowed to be." (Marley to Ramya, 282)

But the reward is this feeling. Knowing that you did a good thing for the right reasons. (305)½

Representation: Main character with autism
Trigger warnings: Ableism, bullying

9/10, I was hoping that this book would lift my spirits after some of the other books I've read and wow did it deliver since it held up really well from the time I read it alongside other details I liked about this book. A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll starts off with the main character Addie Darrow who has autism trying to cope at her new school despite all the difficulties she may face. She alongside her class travelled to a Scottish forest so Miss Murphy can discuss about the witch hunts and Addie realises that they were killed just because they were different and she resonates with that. This starts off the main aspect of the plot where Addie campaigns for a witch memorial to be built in her hometown; initially her voice fell on deaf ears but she researched further into the witches and unraveled the dark past of her town which she brought into the spotlight, but anyways the memorial that she wanted throughout the entirety of this was actually built. I can't find anything wrong with this book other than it was short considering that it's less than 200 pages but it was worth it; the writing style was simple yet eloquent and the characters were developed and fleshed out in such a way that I could relate to them.

Once again Elle McNicoll has created a compelling middle grade heroine whose adventure is exciting to follow. I loved how angry Ramya was, but how she used that anger in service instead of harm. I usually also find Elle McNicoll's stories pleasantly surprising, so I was slightly disappointed to find the beats of this one pretty standard for a middle grade fantasy. Though it introduced a lot more questions than answers and is crying out for a sequel.½

Really powerful story about an autistic girl who discovers that her small Scottish village once killed women who were different. I love that this book both shows and tells -- we get Elle's perspective and that gives us a sense of what is happening around her and what bothers her (sensory, mostly) and why she reacts the ways she does. We also get Elle's older sisters' perspectives -- twins, one who is also autistic and one who is not. There is some significant bullying by Elle's teacher and some of her classmates. There is also significant allyship by some of Elle's teachers and one of her classmates. It feels balanced and insightful and I really enjoyed it.

A cleverly written, moving story about friendship, grief, and neurodiversity. Set in the near future, the plot involves both the dangers of allowing corporations to harvest and profit from personal data, and the danger of a society that encourages uniformity. With great suspense and puzzle elements.

I was enjoying the first half of this book. The main character Addie is a very bright and likeable autistic girl, and I thought the author did a great job writing about the challenges she faced forging friendships in her classroom. However the second half had two things that lowered my opinion of the book. The character of the teacher was way overwritten and her ranting got a bit ridiculous. It was hard to take seriously. And I disliked the way the author turned Addie into a victim. I was enjoying this spirited and passionate young lady and was really disappointed with the author's choices to portray her the way she did toward the end of the story. I loved Addie but hated the direction the author chose to take the story.

5.0

Wonderful own voices rep for the neurodivergent.

Very nice review, kmartin802! I agree, especially about Ramya's strong voice and standing up for herself.½

An autistic girl struggles to negotiate life in her small Scottish village. She has a bully as a teacher and hardly any support in the school at all, beyond a sympathetic librarian (because librarians are The Best). When her class starts studying the local history of witch burnings, at first she feels overwhelmed with empathy for those long-ago women who unjustly lost their lives, but she decides to channel that energy into campaigning for a memorial for them instead.
This is another book that should be required reading in middle schools. It does such a great job of presenting the challenges of everyday life for autistic people in a way that shows they're not disabled but that the world is just not structured in a way that's at all accommodating for them. That they don't have 'special' needs, just slightly different ones from those most people have. That autism isn't something one *has*, it's something one *is*. I'm a firm believer in the idea that the way we can raise kinder, smarter, and more empathetic citizens is to have them read more books with characters who are inherently different from them. This book absolutely deserves a place on that reading list.½

This was an engaging middle grade title with an intriguing main character. Ramya Knox has a learning disability - dyspraxia. It is a motor disorder meaning she falls often and has really messy handwriting. Since her intelligence is not affected, she's bright and really frustrated to be in special education classes when she sees her cousin in Gifted and Talented classes.

Ramya's parents are news presenters on television. They are really busy people who don't seem to have time for her. Her mother is also frustrated about her motor issues and is constantly criticizing her. A recent move to Edinburgh has brought Ramya from London to the same city where her aunts live. But a long ago disagreement has estranged Ramya's family from her other relatives.

When her grandfather dies, Ramya attends the funeral - without her parents - and learns that he has left her a gift. The gift opens up a whole new world for her. There is a whole magical side to Edinburgh that she has never seen. But now she learns that she can see through the glamours the hide all the non-human residents. And she learns that sirens are evil and have chaos and divisiveness as their goal.

She and her cousin - who is bright but doesn't see through glamours - are on a quest to help the magical residents of Edinburgh and to reunite Ramya's family.

The story was filled with adventures for both cousins. It was an engaging and imaginative story. It also had nice things to say about those who have learning disabilities and about the importance of families. I enjoyed the story very much.

Autistic fifth-grader Addie's best friend is her older sister, Keedie, who is also autistic and in her first year at university. Addie's other older sister, Nina, Keedie's twin, is neurotypical and makes makeup and hair videos online; their mom is a nurse, and their dad works at a grocery store. This means Addie is lacking in support as her former best friend Jenna pulls away and turns mean, and Addie's classroom teacher bullies her horribly. However, in addition to Keedie, Addie has new girl Audrey as a friend; Audrey has just moved from London, and though she doesn't seem to have experiences with neurodivergent people, she's open-minded and curious, and becomes a fiercely loyal friend to Addie. Librarian Mr. Allison and a drama teacher are also allies. Mr. Allison supplies Addie with books to meet her interests, which include sharks, and, recently, witches: many women were killed as witches in Juniper (near Edinburgh, Scotland) in the 1500-1600s, and Addie wants a plaque or memorial to acknowledge them. She feels a kinship with these wrongfully accused women, whose only crime was that of being different; Addie is painfully aware that she might have shared their fate in that time period.

Addie and Keedie are the heart of this book, blasting open the myth that autistic people aren't empathetic; quite the opposite. Addie and Keedie feel deeply, and spend all day, every day, "masking" and pretending to be "normal," which is exhausting for them.

A heart-wrenching, hopeful windows-and-mirrors book that has the power to boost empathy and understanding.

Quotes

(Re: advice to "think outside the box") Whatever goes on inside that box with other people, I don't understand it. I always feel like everyone else has been sent pages and pages of instructions, tips and tricks to life and how to move smoothly. (98)

How can they sit here and be more displeased by my telling of the truth than by the truth itself? (102)

I'm surprised by [Audrey's] consideration. People don't normally think about how to make things less difficult for me. (107)

"Being nice and being good are the same thing....Aren't they?"
"They're not the same thing." (115)

I've never really understood nice. I suppose that's what masking is for. To appear nice. (116)

I live my life desperately trying to make other people feel at ease. To show them I'm normal. That I can be just like everyone else.
And on days like today, when I fail, I hate myself. (138)

"The ocean needs all kinds of fish. Just like the world needs all kinds of minds." (Keedie to Addie, 154)

"It's not my brain that makes me break down. It's the pretending. The hiding. The way the world isn't built for us." (Keedie to Addie, 154)

"It's better to be open about who you really are, what you're really like, and be disliked by a few than it is to hide who you are and be tolerated by many....Be like you." (Keedie to Addie, 156)

"I don't need my friends to look like me," I say sharply. "I don't need them to sound like me. I don't need them to like everything I like. I don't even need them to think like me. But I do need them to stand up for me when someone writes a horrible word on my present from my sister." (Addie to Jenna, 160)

"It seems easier sometimes, doesn't it? To believe the bad things instead of the good." (169)

We're going to dress as witches. (final line, 176)

This absolutely destroyed me. An absolute must read

What an extraordinary book! Within a few pages I was rapt. This is a story about an Autistic girl who is bullied and misunderstood. It is not a depressing trail. Addie is full of life and has a kind and open heart. Her friend Audrey, her autistic sister Katie, and a kindly librarian who encourages her curiosity counterbalance the bullying for the reader, and for Addie herself. It is wonderful to see the world through her eyes and to have it its weaknesses and its strengths reflected back in a very human way. It is wonderful to learn along with her about caring for yourself and about The witch trials of Scotland. Addie is horrified when she learns that her town was responsible for the murder of several women who were accused of witchcraft. Addie quickly realises that they were killed not for being witches but for being, as she is, different.

Do read this book. You will feel so happy that you did.

I really liked the headstrong heroine of this novel, and her supportive family. I thought her mission to have her community reckon with unrecognized harms it committed in the past really resonated with the spirit of the times.

Addie is an autistic schoolgirl interested in sharks and witches, read her story about courage, friendship and being different.