EACH AND EVERY SPARK

During World War II, a girl becomes embroiled with the French Resistance; in the present day, another girl investigates her story.

In November 1943, 13-year-old Marie Bonnet and her older sister, Héloise, are living alone in Nazi-occupied Paris. Their father was ordered to go work in Germany earlier that year, and their mother died long ago. When Marie discovers that Héloise has been working for the Resistance, she jumps at the chance to help too. She’s initially assigned small tasks, like leaving flyers on park benches, but her responsibilities soon escalate to transporting artwork to hide from the Nazis. In the contemporary timeline, Penny Marks has recently (and begrudgingly) moved with her family from Wisconsin to Paris for her art historian mother’s one-year teaching fellowship. While accompanying Mom to a work site where a mysterious painting has been found within a wall, Penny discovers and secretly takes a letter that’s hidden behind the plaster. She’s intrigued to discover that it alludes to Marie’s involvement in the Resistance, and she begins researching what happened. In alternating chapters, both white-presenting girls learn of the ripple effects that seemingly small actions can have. The parallel storylines are well-paced and engaging, although Penny’s arc incorporates multiple topics—defunding the arts, a terrorist attack, her brother’s health scare, friendship drama—that would have benefited from further development.

A moving story showing that even the smallest sparks of resistance can ignite change.