Reviewed by Sarah Tegerdine
A Little Spark is an absorbing
and uplifting narrative that takes you on an emotive pilgrimage of the heart. We
meet thirteen-year-old Caitlyn Carson against the backdrop of Melbourne suburbia:
she is bright and wise beyond her years, has a brilliant talent for writing and
divides her life in two. One half, the everyday is spent with her Mum and Stepdad,
Sam and the other, the world Cate and her dad have created together on weekends.
Cate loves both her parents very much and deliberately
sets them apart: what happens in one world isn’t shared in the other. Cate also
has a best friend, Elise, and it’s only here where those two worlds meet. Life
is okay until one day, the natural order of things is disrupted to a whole new
level. Cates Stepdad is offered a dream job in London.
While facing a potential move overseas and
supporting her best friend through a crisis of her own, Cate feels a deep sense
of frustration over the lack of control she feels in her life. However, through
all the upheaval Cate unearths what she wants and reclaims her voice.
With its warm and upbeat tones, you will
laugh out loud, but it will equally leave you shedding tears with its unforeseen
twists. Difficult themes like attempted suicide, divorce, and grief are explored
with thoughtful care and honesty.
Its powerful storytelling reminds us about
the restorative powers of friendship and compassion, to embrace the present in
all its manifestations and to never let your spark go out.
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