British Book Challenge: Spark by Alice Broadway

Three Words: Folklore, Segregation, Belonging

"A Walk through the woods is never just a walk through the woods. 
      Not in the stories at least. A brother and sister are abandoned.
A child wearing red takes a wrong turn and meets a wolf. A beautiful 
girl finds a castle and a beast. The forest is where the magic or the 
tragic happens. I wonder which one my tale will be."

I got goosebumps reading the opening, which sets the scene perfectly. I felt like I was there walking through the wood into the unknown, and possibly danger. Spark picks up after Leora has discovered her fathers secret and the truth about her own heritage as a half marked, half blank, and has angered Mayor Longsight by doing the one thing your not supposed to, speaking the names of the forgotten blanks after being marked by Obel with a crow, the mark of the forgotten.

As punishment for what she has done Mayor Longsight sends Leora to Featherstone, home of the blanks, to gather intel on the blank uprising. Not all is as it seems however and as she begins to settle into life at Featherstone she has to choose between what is right and what is expected of her, but there's a price to pay for disobedience, and the number of people Leora wishes to protect is growing.

I love Broadway's writing, and how the main story itself feels like a folklore tale. Spark has been an interesting read as we find out more about the blanks, and there way of life. Their stories are similar to the ones Leora grew up with. The twist at the end has left me dizzy, as I longer have an idea what has happened, or what is going on, and I can't wait for book 3!