Broken Sparkles

by Rachel Inbar, Leah Gabrielle Goodman

Adjusting to a new country and language hasn’t been easy, but good things are happening too. Megan and Noah’s little sister, who has Cerebral Palsy, is starting to walk and talk, they’re getting a grasp on Hebrew, and the magic tunnel is an exciting place to escape to... until everything begins to go terrifyingly wrong. 

A chance encounter with a girl on stilts leads to an astonishing discovery. Kinneret's mysterious aunt might have the solution they need to survive... if they can convince her to help them.

Paperback

Published May 1, 2020

About the author

Rachel wrote her first book(let), You're Yucky in Some Ways, as a furious note to her parents for going out to eat and leaving her at home. She was six. Her parents didn't get the fury and roared with laughter. Disappointed but determined, she continued to write throughout her childhood and teens.

At 16, Rachel moved from the US to Israel to pursue a college education. It ended up taking a little longer than she expected. 25 years after she started studying Nursing, her husband and two of her six children were there as she received her BA in Social Sciences.

During the past 20 years, Rachel has authored numerous medical articles, crafted tens of stories, and written dozens of phenomenally fascinating user guides. It was only after relocating to Austria that she found time to focus on her personal writing career. Orange Sparkles was her first full-length fiction book, followed very quickly by Blue Sparkles, due to popular demand for MORE.

In the heart of the Tyrolean Alps, Rachel continues to learn German and admire the incredible scenery. When she's not writing, she's reading, doodling, solving logic problems, doing jigsaw puzzles, trying out another craft, or practicing her medical research skills. She is fluent in English and Hebrew and can get by in German if she must.

Reviews

[Summerlin Conner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed reading Broken Sparkles. The creativity and imagination flowed throughout the book. I could easily get swept into the magic of the tunnels and the children’s imagination as I read along. And I loved how the storyline incorporated Cerebral Palsy as well as Fibromyalgia. Also, it was fun to read the bits about being an author/writer that were included. Following along with the characters and their troubles with their “broken” magic, I became increasingly curious about how everything would turn out and I couldn’t wait to find out. A great read all around!

[Cayson (age 11) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Broken Sparkles is a fun and easy read. I have not read the other two books that came before this one in the series, however, the author wrote in a manner that allowed me to follow along and not become lost. This book would be appropriate for younger readers who are starting to read chapter books.If you love books that encase magic and elements of mystery, this will be the perfect book for you.

[Leah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm one of the authors, so I'm a little biased. We had so much fun writing this and I hope that energy comes through and you guys enjoy reading it as much as we enjoyed writing it!

[Shez · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with all the other two books in the series, Orange Sparkles & Blue Sparkles, this book deals with acceptance and tolerance. I love that we see one of the moms, Leah, dealing with her fibromyalgia and her kids being accepting of it. As a mom who has dealt with a myriad of health challenges, I wish I had had a book like this to read to my kids when they were young.

I love how the authors made a point of stating that the kids spoke to Elise instead of the non-disabled people around her. One of my big bugbears is how disabled people are spoken about, not to. If we can teach our kids to speak to disabled people just as they do to non-disabled people, I will be happy.

The entire Sparkles series provides a rousing story that is full of magic, and at the same time, subtly teaches reader about dealing with the emotions of moving, fitting in to a new school, being kind and treating the disabled as you would anyone else.

I highly recommend this book for all young people.

[Aviva Ernst · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a 77 year old person I brought this book and the other 2 sparkles books because I know the mother of the authors. I thought I would share the books with some of my young friends.

Imagine my surprise when I was reading the books to my daughter who just turned 26 and has Down Syndrome I found I was captivated by children in the story. I kept wanting to go to the site of the magic tunnels. After all it is only about an hour way. The Broken Sparkles had such a twist to the story I could not put it down. Also helped I really knew one of the characters.

Cannot wait for the next book in the series.

Aviva Ernst, Maale Levona