Each and Every Spark

Parallel plots set 80 years apart follow two 13-year-old girls as they navigate war and its aftermath in this stellar historical novel by Swinarski (Take It from the Top). Penny Marks resents her mother for taking a job at a “fancy art museum” in Paris, a decision that forces the family to leave their Wisconsin home to spend a year in France. When Penny and her mother learn that contractors have found a 1944 painting, along with a letter from someone named Marie Bonnet, hidden in an apartment wall, Penny’s bitterness turns to interest in the history of Paris and the mysterious correspondent. Meanwhile, a second narrative set in 1943 centers Marie, who fears imminent war living in Nazi-occupied France. With her mother long dead and her father sent to labor in Germany, she half-heartedly attends school while her older sister Héloise works as a cleaner at the Ritz. Upon discovering that Héloise is secretly aiding the Resistance, Marie pleads to help, too, as the city becomes increasingly dangerous. Educational, empathetic, and emotional prose expertly weaves together alternating story lines in a timely and resonant read that offers accessible insight into the impact of war and the importance of art and its ability to sustain people through dark times. The cast is described as white. Ages 8–12. Agent: Sarah Phair, Sanford J. Greenburger Assoc. (Feb.)