Spark
When a shy girl and her dragon-like companion discover their country’s idyllic weather comes at a steep—and secret—cost, they recruit fellow students to defy authority and attempt to spread the truth.
Storm beasts and their guardians create perfect weather every day, and Mina longs for a storm beast of her own. But when the gentle girl bonds with a lightning beast—a creature of fire and chaos—everyone’s certain it’s a mistake. Everyone but Mina and the beast himself, Pixit. Quickly enrolled in lightning school, Mina struggles to master a guardian’s skills, and she discovers that her country's weather comes at a devastating cost—a cost powerful people wish to hide. Mina’s never been the type to speak out, but someone has to tell the truth, and, with Pixit’s help, she resolves to find a way to be heard.
Storm beasts and their guardians create perfect weather every day, and Mina longs for a storm beast of her own. But when the gentle girl bonds with a lightning beast—a creature of fire and chaos—everyone’s certain it’s a mistake. Everyone but Mina and the beast himself, Pixit. Quickly enrolled in lightning school, Mina struggles to master a guardian’s skills, and she discovers that her country's weather comes at a devastating cost—a cost powerful people wish to hide. Mina’s never been the type to speak out, but someone has to tell the truth, and, with Pixit’s help, she resolves to find a way to be heard.
BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
Quality of Writing: 9/10
Pace: 10/10
Plot Development: 7/10
Characters: 8/10
Enjoyability: 10/10
Insightfulness: 9/10
Ease of Reading: 10/10
Overall Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Hey y'all! I'm back with another review of Sarah Beth Durst's middle-grade fantasy. She did a great job, so I'm just going to swing right into my review.
Quality of Writing: Durst's worlds are always full of color and vivaciousness. Each book is set somewhere unique and this one is no different. Alloria was grand, Mytris Lightning School was imposing, and the river system was ingenious. But I couldn't live there. In her last book I felt like I could walk into the pages and blend right in. I didn't quite feel that way with this one. One of the main questions I walked away with at the end was, what do the normal people do? We learned all about storm beasts and guardians, but only one in four children receive eggs. And each member of Mina's family who was old enough has received one. That's four out of four. They must be pretty lucky. And I never learned why storm beasts run out of power after a few years. If these things had been addressed I could have bumped it up to a ten. Even without these answers, the setting and the writing were very good.
Pace: Well done. I was never bored, nor did I feel like it went to fast. An upbeat pace for an exciting book.
Plot Development: I loved most of this book, but the climax just didn't hit me with the force I was hoping it would. I don't want to spoil anything for my readers, but I didn't feel like there was any real oomf behind the climax. There wasn't a sense of real danger, so it just felt very...tame. Throughout the book there were only a few moments where I was on the edge of my seat, and most of the time they didn't last long. While I still loved the plot line and the ideas behind it, the ending was too simplistic for me.
Characters: Mina and Pixit were great characters. I loved witnessing their transition from the beginning of the book to the end. They really grew and blossomed. Jyx, Ferro, and Zek were also fun to read about. The support they gave her and how well they knew her just warmed my heart.
Enjoyability: This book was a quick and fun read for me. The story was interesting and light.
Insightfulness: Mina had a lot of good thoughts and she learned to choose her moments to shine so that people paid attention when she talked. The book had a wonderful theme about how you don't have to be loud to be a leader, and how everyone has something to say. I only took a point off for the Prime Minister, who I didn't really understand. Her motivations and reasonings move the plot forward, but they didn't resonate with me. I wanted her to be a character I could relate to, but she felt very two dimensional.
Ease of Reading: As a middle-grade fantasy book, this is very easy to read.
What a wonderful book, Sarah Beth, and I plan to read more of your books in the future!
Quality of Writing: Durst's worlds are always full of color and vivaciousness. Each book is set somewhere unique and this one is no different. Alloria was grand, Mytris Lightning School was imposing, and the river system was ingenious. But I couldn't live there. In her last book I felt like I could walk into the pages and blend right in. I didn't quite feel that way with this one. One of the main questions I walked away with at the end was, what do the normal people do? We learned all about storm beasts and guardians, but only one in four children receive eggs. And each member of Mina's family who was old enough has received one. That's four out of four. They must be pretty lucky. And I never learned why storm beasts run out of power after a few years. If these things had been addressed I could have bumped it up to a ten. Even without these answers, the setting and the writing were very good.
Pace: Well done. I was never bored, nor did I feel like it went to fast. An upbeat pace for an exciting book.
Plot Development: I loved most of this book, but the climax just didn't hit me with the force I was hoping it would. I don't want to spoil anything for my readers, but I didn't feel like there was any real oomf behind the climax. There wasn't a sense of real danger, so it just felt very...tame. Throughout the book there were only a few moments where I was on the edge of my seat, and most of the time they didn't last long. While I still loved the plot line and the ideas behind it, the ending was too simplistic for me.
Characters: Mina and Pixit were great characters. I loved witnessing their transition from the beginning of the book to the end. They really grew and blossomed. Jyx, Ferro, and Zek were also fun to read about. The support they gave her and how well they knew her just warmed my heart.
Enjoyability: This book was a quick and fun read for me. The story was interesting and light.
Insightfulness: Mina had a lot of good thoughts and she learned to choose her moments to shine so that people paid attention when she talked. The book had a wonderful theme about how you don't have to be loud to be a leader, and how everyone has something to say. I only took a point off for the Prime Minister, who I didn't really understand. Her motivations and reasonings move the plot forward, but they didn't resonate with me. I wanted her to be a character I could relate to, but she felt very two dimensional.
Ease of Reading: As a middle-grade fantasy book, this is very easy to read.
What a wonderful book, Sarah Beth, and I plan to read more of your books in the future!
See why thousands of readers are using Bookclubs to stay connected.