Sparkers by Eleanor Glewwe

Marah lives in a world where the magicians are in power.  She helps out in the market at the book stall and has managed to teach herself many languages in the process.  There she witnesses the brutality of the magicians and knows to fear them.  But it is also where she meets a little girl who doesn’t mind that Marah is a poor Sparker.  Soon Marah is visiting their home, which is much more opulent than her own.  She meets the girl’s brother and discovers that he shares her love of languages.  When a plague hits their city and people whom both of them love are threatened, the key to figuring out the cure is in a forbidden language.  Marah has to find the courage to trust those she fears as well as her own intelligence in order to save the world she loves and those she holds most dear.

Glewwe herself has a background in linguistics, which means that when she writes about languages it all makes sense and really clicks.  The world she has created is complex with almost a caste system of rank within it.  Tied directly to magical ability, the differences are also racial, so the entire story ties closely to our own world’s struggles with racism and bigotry in a variety of forms.  Glewwe has created a story where the children are truly those who save the world.  They cross the barriers of their society and proceed to have the knowledge themselves to create the solution, but only because they worked together. 

The world building here is exceptional.  The society is unique but also frighteningly familiar at the same time.  The central theme of exclusion and privilege and abuse of power makes for a taut novel that will keep readers going.  The mystery of the plague carries the story forward, so that readers will be compelled to read to the end to figure out the extent of the deception and greed. 

A very strong middle grade fantasy that grapples with some of the most difficult of societal issues, this book is a magical and danger-filled read.  Appropriate for ages 11-13.

Reviewed from copy received from Viking.