A mysterious message on a scrap of paper. A shadowy group whose motives are unclear. A political struggle that pits friend against friend, neighbor against neighbor, and father against son.Eleven-year-old Benjamin Pembroke’s safe, sheltered life is turned upside-down when he meets a strange boy who becomes an unlikely friend in troubling times. Unfortunately, Benjamin has no way of knowing that … knowing that his future, as well as the future of his country, will be changed forever.
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“One Small Spark,” by Jackie Minniti, is an engaging, sensitive tale for middle-grade readers that adults can also enjoy. Released on Oct. 8, 2018, “One Small Spark” is beautifully well written and captivating as it weaves a fictional story around true historical events. The book is both educational and entertaining, which is a hard trick but Minniti pulls it off perfectly.
Set in Boston in 1769, in a time right before the Boston Massacre, the story centers on Benjamin, his twin sister Abby, and their middle-class Boston family. Benjamin is a smart boy of eleven, who wishes to please his parents and do good, while Abby wants adventure. Abby will get her wish when she becomes a spy for Benjamin, and Benjamin will have to balance the new challenges facing him as a maturing young man in turbulent times against his desire to obey his father.
The suspense builds quickly as the family is disturbed at night by a visit from a fellow merchant. Benjamin eavesdrops enough to learn trouble is brewing over a non-importation ban that negatively impact the merchants in Boston. The ban is in response to the oppressive taxation that the British government had placed on the colonies. Over the course of the book, Minniti does an excellent job of explaining the economic and other reasons which led to the American Revolution. She lets the readers learn step by step, even as Benjamin comes to understand the issues.
After church one day, Benjamin and his family go to the home of a wealthy widow, Madam Apthorp. There, readers are first introduced to young Christopher Seider, who played a real and tragic role in the days leading up to the Revolution, and will play a dramatic and climatic role in the story. Through his friendship with Christopher, young Benjamin begins to understand some of the social issues pertaining to taxation and poverty, and he is moved by Christopher’s efforts to help his poor family.
After several conflicts, one of which involved his father being beaten by British soldiers, tensions increase and gradually Benjamin and his father come to side with the Sons of Liberty and with the forces that will eventually lead the county to independence. Benjamin will witness a heart-breaking event, and it will change him, even as the colonies drift closer to war with the Mother Country.
Minniti weaves real historical figures such as Christopher, Madam Apthorp, Samuel Adams and Paul Revere, among many others, into the story with the fictional family. She displays amazing accuracy about the culture and the lives the characters led in the Boston of 1779, and paints with a fine-tuned eye for the descriptive details. The glossary at the end will be a great aid to young readers, as will the explanation of who was a real historical person and who in the novel was fictional.
This is also a faith-filled novel, in which Benjamin reads and contemplates passages from the Bible while at school or church, and learns to apply their lessons to his daily life.
My only complaint is that the story ends too soon. I wish to know more about Benjamin and his family as the Revolutionary War comes to their city.
This is an excellent book, suitable for middle-grade readers, but perfectly capable of being enjoyed by older readers too. “One Small Spark” is a book that every school library should own.
Congratulations Jackie Minniti on another fine addition to your collection of historical novels.
Jackie Minniti writes my favorite type of book – historic fiction with a lot of history, accurate settings, and realistic characters. I have anticipated reading One Small Spark ever since I heard about it. Like her first book Jacqueline, Jackie has once again captured the essence of a time period and placed it solidly in our memories with her story.
Along with being an excellent read, I believe this book will be a wonderful addition to any middle grade study of the Revolutionary War. I plan to recommend it highly to family and friends. I can even suggest it to adults. The history is accurate, and the story reveals the injustices, angst, and events that lead to our nation’s independence.
Great way to teach young readers about American history.