A Glimmer of Change

Ages 8 to 12, Grades 3 to 7

Thirteen-year-old Keedie Darrow is used to bullies. Growing up neurodivergent makes you an easy target. But when her friends fall victim, Keedie launches an anti-bullying agency—and business is booming. A moving and inclusive prequel to the award-winning novel A Kind of Spark.

Keedie Darrow has never been afraid of standing out. Her autism makes it clear she sees the world differently from others. But ever since Keedie and her twin sister Nina entered middle school, NOT standing out seems to be the only thing that matters.

And the more Nina tries to fit in, the less Keedie understands her--or her classmates who become increasingly cruel to anyone who is different. Determined to take a stand, Keedie launches an anti-bullying agency. Soon, kids are lining up to have her tell off their biggest nemeses. 

But Keedie will have to be careful. It's a fine line between speaking up for what you believe in and becoming a bully yourself.

Series Overview:

FALL 2024:

10/1/24 - SOME LIKE IT COLD (YA debut with Macmillan)

10/22/24 - LIKE A CURSE paperback (Book 2 in the Like a Charm duology)

FALL 2025:

10/7/2025 - KEEDIE Hardcover (prequel to A KIND OF SPARK)

About the Author

Elle McNicoll is a bestselling and award-winning novelist. Her debut, A Kind of Spark, was a Schneider Family Honor title, an overall winner of the Waterstones Children’s Book Prize, and a Blackwell’s Book of the Year. She has been nominated for the Carnegie Medal and was shortlisted for the Books Are My Bag Readers Awards, the Branford Boase Award, and the Little Rebels Children’s Book Award. Her second novel, Show Us Who You Are, was a Blackwell’s Book of the Month title and one of the Bookseller’s Best Book of the year. She is an advocate for better representation of neurodiversity in publishing and currently lives in London.

Author Residence: London, England

Author Hometown: Edinburgh, Scotland