SPARK

For any young person who's ever felt powerless against the world, here is a story about two kids doing all they can to understand their natural world and preserve it.

Finn and his friend, nicknamed Rabbit, live in a rural area that's been hit hard by wildfires. Families were displaced and school was interrupted. Moreover, their beloved forest is suffering animals and plants haven't been able to come back, and the two friends wonder if there's anything they can do to help. Rabbit's uncle, a science teacher, is part of a study that may help bring the forest back to life, but Finn and Rabbit wonder if the forest can wait. And what if another fire comes in the meantime? They believe a small part of the forest the forest heart that survived the wildfire may hold the key to regrowth, but first, they have to find it and then convince the adults around them to listen. Chris Baron is the award winning author of ALL OF ME, an NCTE Notable Book, and THE MAGICAL IMPERFECT, a Sydney Taylor Book Award Notable Book & a SLJ Best Book of 2021, as well as THE GRAY (2023) and the forthcoming SPARK (2025), all from Feiwel & Friends / Macmillan. He is a contributor to the YA anthology EVERY BODY SHINES (Bloomsbury, 2021) and the author of LANTERN TREE (poetry, CityWorks Press, 2012), winner of San Diego Book Award. Baron is a Professor of English at San Diego City College and the director of the Writing Center. He completed his MFA in Poetry in 1998 at SDSU. He lives in San Diego with his family