I’ve only got a couple days till the NYC trip and SCBWI national conference, but I finished the Prince Robin novel a day or two early (yay!) so had to share a quick shout out. After the conference I want to share notes and news, but suspect that won’t happen till after I’ve been back for a week or two. My February is very very booked.

Today’s spotlight is on a lovely book that I felt was timely to just about every social issue any of us is dealing with. It’s called Spark, and it’s a fantasy MG by Sarah Beth Durst.

This is the story of a quiet girl and her elemental dragon who discover that the idyllic weather in their native land comes at a steep price–a price that’s being kept a secret. Everything seems perfect in Alorria. Lucky kids are given the chance to care for an elemental dragon egg. When it hatches they and their bonded dragon train to become a guardian. As such, they manage the weather within Alorria so that all crops get exactly the amount of water and sun they need, and the weather is safe and lovely for everyone.

But usually dragons and their guardians are an obvious match in temperament. When Mina, the main character, hatches her dragon, Pixit, most people think there’s been a mistake. She’s quiet and cautious, totally unlike the usual daring and reckless electric dragon guardians. However, she and Pixit love each other and have a strong bond, so they’re determined to find a way for her to succeed as a guardian. And as it happens, the very traits that make Mina seem unsuited to becoming an electric dragon help her to put puzzle pieces together and realize a secret truth–that Alloria’s neighboring country pays in lives and crop failures whenever Alloria messes with the weather.

Of course, there are those who don’t want this truth to get out, and prefer the status quo to remain as it is. However, Mina is able to rally her fellow students and they unite in a push to bring about change.

The ending was quite satisfactory so I won’t detail how they bring this change about, but I will say that it felt organic and realistic, which I really appreciated. I also really like that this book shows a character that feels like a misfit overcoming people’s perceptions in order to use their strengths and save the day. That’s a theme I lean into myself, and I feel like can resonate with lots of us even if we don’t identify with the particular traits of the main character–like being quiet. I also felt this story succeeds in one useful way that fantasy can offer, in that it’s easy for students to see the corollaries of the story in their own lives…and what those corollaries might be will likely look different for each student. Some students may recognize the environmental cost that is paid on a national or global scale when one country (or region) makes irresponsible environmental decisions. Other readers may connect with the truth that it’s easy to overlook social issues and disparity in human rights when those problems are kept hidden and out of sight. Like in a good fairy tale, a fantasy novel like this can offer truths that are imbedded in the story and there for the reader to unlock and interpret.

Finally, there are dragons and that’s a big win for many of us! I personally eat up dragon books as well as dragon games…but then, you probably knew that. 😉 In this book I felt echoes of Anne McCaffrey’s Pern dragons in the way these Allorian dragons bonded with someone while in the shell. They also shared telepathy with their special person, which was handled nicely. I also liked the way the world of Alloria was shown to have its strengths and wonders, and Mina’s love for it was detailed even as she came to see the need for change.

I could see Spark being a great addition to a classroom library, as well as a fun book for a family to read together. I don’t think it would be a tough one to get students to read, which is always a win. 😀

Thanks for stopping by! For more MMGM spotlights, reviews, giveaways and interviews check out Greg Pattridge‘s blog, and happy Monday!

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