Spark written by Alice Broadway, reviewed by Kalie Mehaffy

Summary: Spark, by Alice Broadway, is a sequel to Ink, and the series follows the character Leroa Flint. Although I am sure reading Ink would be helpful in understanding the characters and the world, you can read Spark without having read Ink. We start Spark by meeting Leora, a 16 year old girl who is pulled between two worlds. Each world blames the other for their troubles, and in Spark, Leora learns more about the Blanks, the people who her original Marked society considers to be enemies. As the novel progresses, we learn more about each society, and come to realize that the truth and the actions we should take aren't as clear as we (or Leora) thought they were. It does end with a cliffhanger, however, so we will have to wait until the next book arrives to find out what Leora has decided to do with her new information!

Straight Talk for Librarians: I didn't read the first novel in this trilogy, so I cannot speak on if the world building is consistent or not, but I did enjoy Spark. I think it is capable of standing on its own, although reading the first novel would have made some character motivations and some world building backstory more clear. I do think that Spark does an amazing job of pointing out that in every conflict there are always at least two sides to the story, and that there might be a little bit of truth in each side. I think this would be an interesting book to use in a lit circle, as a way to discuss the idea that there are various sides to every story, and that each side probably has similarities. I love that this is a dystopian novel, and I think it would be a good novel to recommend to students who loved The Hunger Games and want similar stories.