Baron, Chris. Spark. Feiwel & Friends, 07/2025. 320pp. Fiction. Trade $19.99. 978-1-250-86474-1. GRADES 5–7. HIGH ADDITIONAL.
At the start of eighth grade Finn knows where he’s from and what’s important. Redwood Hollows, at the entrance to a national forest, is a tight-knit community and with his best friend Rabbit, and her dog Thorn, Finn explores the woods, hoping to glimpse the area’s first wolf in over a century. When a wildfire devastates the town and upends lives, Finn and Rabbit struggle to put the pieces of their community and their friendship back together. Set in northern California, this quick-moving verse novel is told from Finn’s perspective. Issues of fire ecology, wildlife-urban interface, and climate change are centered, but are leavened by realistic friendship strains and the drama of a natural disaster. A great book for a class discussion or to hand to an ecology-minded child. Finn reads as white and Jewish, Rabbit’s family is Filipino. Includes California-specific content. Review based on an ARC.
Melissa McAvoy—Retired