The much anticipated sequel to Alice's first novel, Spark follows Leora on her continuing journey to discover the truth about her family and the feud between the blanks and the marked.
Without giving anything away, in Ink we learn that everybody has their lives tattooed onto their skin; every action and moment (good and bad) is recorded for all to see and, when you die, your tattoos are removed and a skin book is created as a record of your life. When Leora's dad dies and they discover that part of his book is missing, she is determined to find out what has happened.
In Spark, Leora is questioning everything she has ever known about herself and her family. As half-marked, half-blank, she wonders whether she will ever fit in anywhere and Mayor Longsight decides to use that to his advantage, persuading Leora to join Featherstone (the home of the blanks) and act as his spy in order to bring them down. Leora is still desperate to uncover the real truth behind her family so agrees to go (partly because Mayor Longsight threatens the safety of those close to her unless she does as he says); however, will she be able to fulfil the mayor's request or will seeing the other side of life and the stories she heard growing-up change her mind?
O's Opinion:
From the first time I read Ink, I loved the perseverance and courage in Leora. She helps other people that she doesn't know and she tries everything to find out the truth. I love the relationships she makes with the other characters such as Obel and how she finds the happiness of people that seem to be very sad or grumpy. And Spark was no different.
I loved that it was written from Leora's point of view as it made me see things the way she did: curiously. It made me wonder about things I hadn't wondered about before and it helped me realise what it felt like for her to be caught between two worlds and doubting everything she grew up with. This is what I loved most about the book.
K's Opinion:
Having read and loved Ink, I was very keen to get my hands on Spark (in fact it had only just arrived in Waterstones Newcastle when I went in for it so our copy didn't even make it to the shelves!). O stole it first so I had to wait even longer but it was worth it. As the story picks up pretty much from where we left Leora at the end of Ink, I found it easy to get into the plot. The style of writing is beautiful and the interweaving of the folktales gives the whole book a real fairy-tale feel. I liked the unpredictability of the book and couldn't make up my mind which way Leora was going to turn until the very last page (which, I have to say, made me audibly gasp!).
Leora is a complex character but one I like. I admired her strength but, at times, I wanted to shout at her and tell her what to do so I was pleased to hear Alice herself (in conversation at Waterstones Newcastle earlier this week) describe Leora as under-confident, intuitive, loyal and brave! She is certainly determined and questions what she discovers as she begins to realise that things are never as simple as they may first appear, and I think that the next book will reveal even more about her (Yes, I am pleased to say that Alice confirmed that there will be a third book!).
This is a great book and one which I feel perfectly crosses the MG/YA categories. It's perfect for those beginning to dip their toes into YA as well as those who already love YA (and indeed parents and grown-ups as well!).
O and I had a great evening at Waterstones on Wednesday and were thrilled to hear Alice's thoughts and inspirations for the series. She came across as modest and rather humble about her books but we both think that she should be shouting about them from the roof-tops ... we are! We can't wait for book 3!
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