A Kind of Spark

October 25, 2021
In McNicoll’s contemporary debut of advocacy and allyship, an autistic 11-year-old seeks to memorialize the women once tried as witches in her Scottish village. School is a mixed bag for Addie: while librarian Mr. Allison supports her interest in sharks, and new girl Audrey represents a promising friendship, teacher Ms. Murphy mocks Addie openly in class, and the tween can “see the stares, hear the whispers and the giggles” among her classmates. At home with her presumed-white family, older sister Keedie, who’s also autistic, understands many of Addie’s experiences, including the strain of masking in a largely neurotypical world, but faces her own difficulties at university. Keedie’s twin Nina, meanwhile, is often irritable and jealous of her sisters’ bond. During a school lesson about women who were tried, tortured, and executed for witchcraft, deeply empathic Addie draws parallels between history and her own present-day interactions, and begins to campaign for a memorial, undeterred by the town council’s detractors. Though the unvarnished cruelty that Addie experiences can be painful to read, McNicoll, herself neurodivergent, portrays with clarity Addie’s neurological reality, interpersonal bonds, and thoughtful reflections. Ages 8–12.