Ik hoor de woorden al lijken ze van ver te komen, alsof ze door een muur worden geschreeuwd. Ik blijf naar het vel papier staren. Ik kan lezen wat erop staat. Woord voor woord, zelfs door de waas van tranen heen.” I'm struggling with how to write my review of this because I feel it's such an important book to read, and I can't quite express how much I want everyone to read it. I've given it 4 stars, but this, I cannot stress enough, is purely due to my own personal taste plot wise. I'm not a massive fan of contemporary or witches. This takes nothing away from how amazing this book is. Written by an own voices, neurodivergent author, you can really feel Addie's emotions and struggles because you know just how real they are. Every injustice, every act of unfairness, stands out and hits the reader in the gut. So many times I wanted to cry when an unkind word is thrown Addie's way, and when an adult dismisses her feelings and opinions. I absolutely adore a kind of spark. It is the best book with a neurodivegent character i have ever read. Its plot is compelling, the characters are wonderful and I highly recommend it. Big Sister Instinct: Nina and Keedie both fiercely defend Addie to her cruel teacher when she's almost suspended for beating up a bully. But also it’s just a truly great story. It’s about difference and asking for space and the joy of being seen. It’s about family who love and support each other. It’s about history and recognition. I cried so many times for so many reasons.⁠

Addie’s class are told they have a ‘fun’ new project to study in the run-up to Halloween. As the teacher recounts how 16 th century women were accused of witchcraft for reasons as innocuous as being left-handed, 11 year old Addie is left stunned. She’s horrified that innocent people, including women from her own area, were persecuted, executed, then forgotten by society. The revelation leaves her determined to lobby for a local memorial in her small Scottish village.

I really don't have words to describe how incredible this book has been to read. It is the first book with neurodiversity that feels authentic and relatable and has made being different something to be proud of. It's really not just book, but a comfort and escape from the confusing ways of 'traditional thinking'. All I can say is thank you. The Illegible: Thanks to her motor control problems, Addie has poor handwriting, which results in her teacher Miss Murphy ripping up her story, throwing it away, and screaming at her for writing "lazily." Okay so I have to tell you about A Kind of Spark by ⁠Elle McNicoll which is one of the best novels and representations of autistic people I have ever read. The story follows Addie, a young autistic girl, who campaigns for a memorial to the witch trials in her village.⁠ A 10-episode TV series adaptation was released on the BBC iPlayer in March 2023, late debuting on the CBBC Channel with a parallel subplot about one of the young women accused of witchcraft in the Juniper of the 16th century.

A deftly told story that dramatizes how Danes appointed themselves bodyguards—not only for their king, who was in the habit of riding alone in Copenhagen, but for their Jews. Cool Teacher: Mr. Allison. Although he’s the school librarian, he’s far kinder to Addie than her actual teacher, encouraging her campaign and interests and allows her to eat her lunch in the library.

Shortlisted for the UKLA Book Award 2022 ages 7-10 | Winner of the Blue Peter Book Awards 2021, Best Story | Shortlisted for the 2021 Branford Boase | Award Shortlisted for the Little Rebels Award 2021 Miss Murphy tries to provoke Addie by doing this to prove her point, although they are mostly accusations that are not true ("I know you cheated on that test" for example) and outright insults. Addie does this because in the story of the witches she recognises the persecution of difference that autistic people face, and she wants people to see and to listen and to remember. It’s a story of demanding to be seen.⁠ Een meisje in tranen. Zo ontmoeten we ons hoofdpersonage, Adeline – liever Addie genoemd – is op zoek naar haar eigen plek in de wereld. Op school heeft ze dat nog niet helemaal gevonden. Want haar juf heeft net haar verhaal verscheurd en in de prullenbak gegooid, omdat ze Addie’s handschrift niet kon lezen en omdat Addie op haar leeftijd beter moet weten. In haar thesaurus – een synoniemenboekje – zoekt Addie een woord wat deze situatie kan beschrijven. En tegelijk is het een zoektocht om het schreeuwen en scheuren te verwerken. Verschrompeld is het woord wat haar aanspreekt.