A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll follows Addie, an autistic eleven-year-old girl living in a small Scottish town. When Addie learns that women in her town were once accused of witchcraft and punished simply for being different, she feels a deep connection to their story. Determined to honor them, she begins campaigning for a memorial, even as the adults and classmates around her struggle to understand why it matters so much.

As Addie pushes to make her voice heard, the novel explores friendship, courage, neurodivergence, and the harm caused when people are judged for not fitting in. It is a thoughtful, moving middle-grade story about standing up for others, standing up for yourself, and recognizing the spark in people who have too often been misunderstood.