Each Tiny Spark

by Pablo Cartaya

Puffin Books

6/30/20, paperback

SKU: 9780451479747

From award-winning author Pablo Cartaya comes a deeply moving middle grade novel about a daughter and father finding their way back to each other in the face of their changing family and community.

Emilia Torres has a wandering mind. It's hard for her to follow along at school, and sometimes she forgets to do what her mom or abuela asks. But she remembers what matters: a time when her family was whole and home made sense. When Dad returns from deployment, Emilia expects that her life will get back to normal. Instead, it unravels.

Dad shuts himself in the back stall of their family's auto shop to work on an old car. Emilia peeks in on him daily, mesmerized by his welder. One day, Dad calls Emilia over. Then, he teaches her how to weld. And over time, flickers of her old dad reappear.But as Emilia finds a way to repair the relationship with her father at home, her community ruptures with some of her classmates, like her best friend, Gus, at the center of the conflict.

Each Tiny Spark by Pablo Cartaya is a tender story about asking big questions and being brave enough to reckon with the answers.

Target age: 10 and up

Reviews:

"Hand to tween fans of realistic fiction." -- School Library Journal

"A pitch-perfect middle-grade novel that insightfully explores timely topics with authenticity and warmth." -- Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Plenty of kids will relate to [Emilia's] passion and perseverance." -- Booklist

About the Author:

Pablo Cartaya is an award-winning author, speaker, actor, and educator. In 2018, he received a Pura Belpré Author Honor for his middle grade novel The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora. His second novel, Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish, is available now.