A LITTLE SPARK

From the bestselling, multi-award-winning author of My Life as an Alphabet and A Song Only I Can Hear comes another wonderful middle fiction novel that is warm, upbeat, intriguing and wholly absorbing.

"My name is Caitlyn Carson but you can call me Cate or CC. This is mainly about me. I'm thirteen years old and not especially remarkable, which, I know, is not the most compelling reason to read on. But it's not only about me. I have parents that play significant roles in this story. My father is Michael Carson and he loves me. My mother is Lois Houseman and she loves me. They don't love each other. I suppose they must have done at some stage, but if so, no one talks about it." CC lives with her mum and her mum's partner Alan, and she spends every other weekend with her dad who ensures their precious weekends together are always surprising and fun. Her best friend, Elise, is having a tough time at home. In contrast to Elise's situation, CC's parents divorced many years ago and they now have an amicable relationship. And everything is fine until CC's stepdad, Alan, gets offered his dream job in London and her mum decides they are going to move to England with him. CC must decide what she wants for herself. She loves both her parents - and choosing between them is not easy. A warm and funny novel that has unexpected twists and turns, is underpinned by serious themes, celebrates creativity, and takes the reader on a hugely satisfying emotional journey. A triumph of storytelling! Barry Jonsberg is a highly acclaimed, internationally successful author who lives in Darwin in the Northern Territory. He used to spend some days teaching English at a local school but gave it up after 38 years of classroom contact. That is a very long time and he'd had enough. So now he spends most of his time tapping away at his computer trying to make sense of the stories in his head. He doesn't get much leisure time, but what little there is, is spent walking the dog and reading. He does a lot of reading and a lot of writing.