Sparks

by Ally Kennen

Grandpa's written Carla a letter telling her his secret dream. She's determined to make it come true, even though she'll break the law, and every rule she's ever known. Her plan is highly dangerous and completely crazy, but she is going to give Grandpa what he always wanted. A real Viking funeral.

Genres: Childrens, Middle Grade

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Margaret McCulloch-Keeble · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book left me a little bit gobsmacked. It has pathos, tear jerking moments, humour, security issues, bereavement, body snatching, intrigue, technical terminology that might leave you searching for a dictionary, a shotgun wedding, step-family tensions .......and it's a children's book! Blimey! It's a little unlikely but written in a mature and reasonable way, not at all patronising or condescending.

[Grace Sargeant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Liked it.

[Justine Laismith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is about a girl's determination to see her grandfather buried in the way he wanted. It is suitable for the younger to mid-range of middle-grade readers.

Carla discovers a letter taped under Grandpa's cake tin, where he tells her how he wished he could have a viking funeral. Sitting in Grandpa's workshop is a nearly finished viking ship he was building. She ropes in help from another local group, who are happy to return the favour as Grandpa had kindly offered his workshop for them to build their float for the upcoming carnival. The gang get right into getting the ship ready for the carnival.

My favourite part of the story was when Carla did a dry run. The drama that ensued was brilliant; you'd never think something so simple could have so much repercussions. I liked the author's characterisation of her half-brother Gus.

There were a couple of things that did not sit quite right for me. Carla is thirteen years old, and her youngest sibling is a sassy girl who sounds older than Carla. Stealing Grandpa's body from the funeral director involved a lot of planning and the pacing slowed in these areas. For these reasons, overall I rate it 2.5*.

[Candy Wood]

Good combination of home-based adventure, characterization, and humor. It’s not first-person narrative, but 13-year-old Carla is the only focalizing character. After finding Grandpa’s body in his workshop and then a letter asking her to burn some old letters he had hidden, she decides that not just the letters but he should have a Viking sea-cremation. She knows it isn’t a realistic goal, but he always encouraged her to reach beyond what she thought possible, so she gets her younger brother and sister to help and eventually (not deliberately) includes many others in the project. The title Sparks literally refers to a club that is working on a float for the village carnival and gets involved, but figuratively it’s the way the spark of an idea can spread beyond the original intent. Deservedly on the 2010 Guardian longlist.

[Cc · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was really good until the ending…
The ending felt as if the author had rushed it, and sure, it’s a kids book so it’s not like Carla and that can go to jail, but give me a decent ending at least! While reading the book all I was think was “what’s everyone else gonna do when they find out what Carla and that are doing” only for everyone to be like “no it’s fine that you set a body on fire and pushed it out to sea” which isn’t consistent with what happened earlier in the book, where they set a toy boat or something on fire and do you know what happened? The police and military showed up, but a dead body on fire, no that’s fine, no police needed. It’s such a disappointing ending and ruins the whole book for me, it’s not a book I would recommend you wasting your time on

[Seawood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm surprised this book hasn't had more love! It is a really charming story about a girl's quest to see her beloved Grandpa buried according to his wishes - a full-on Viking funeral. There are SO many obstacles (really, have you ever wondered how hard it is to retrieve a body?) and Carla deals with it all. With the help of her younger siblings and a motley crew of carnival float builders, Grandpa's last journey is a thing of love and beauty that will warm your heart.

I do think the cover is quite misleading - it suggests it should be in the same sort of category as How To Train Your Dragon, and it's really not a fantasy, it's a contemporary family novel.

[Kamentag · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un intrigue très amusant et original (ce qu'on ne trouve pas tout le temps) . L'histoire en tout est captivante mais l'exécution souffre un peu de lacunes : je voulais plus d'émotion ; plus d'humour pour que sa soit encore plus drole . Je me suis senti un peu perdu a cause du style d'écriture qui ;a mon avis a besoin plus de finesse . Mais en tout cas je l'ai pas détester .

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not set in Viking times but modern day with a Viking element. An enjoyable read :)