Spark and the League of Ursus - Review

 

Author: Robert Repino

Genre: Middle Grade

Format: Hardback

Pages: 192

A huge thank you to Quirk Books for my copy of Spark and the League of Ursus, what follows is my honest review!

The best way to describe this book is a cross between Toy Story and the movie Small Soldiers. Only unlike Toy Story, not all the toys come to life, only the ones that children truly bond with manage to come to life. But, no all the toys that come to life are protectors. There's a cute little sock monkey in this story who only has a little bit of courage. 

Despite the comparison Spark and the League of Ursus stand as its own story. It's about the teddy bears that protect us from the monsters that hide in the dark, and for me, an older reader, it was a reminder of all the best parts of childhood. That fear of never letting your feet stick out from under the covers, jumping on the bed so the monsters under your bed can't grab at your feet, and curling up with my favorite bear during a storm, snug under all my blankets. 

It was also a little bit creepy as well. I have to admit the Jakmal was creepy and I would not enjoy waking up to find something like that on my wall. Though, I think it's the right amount of scary a Middle Grade. There's the fear of losing a sibling and the monster you thought you saw and for Spark the fear of finding your way.

I really liked the way we learned about the League of Ursus as well, and about the family that Spark is protecting. It's all told through flashbacks, and I felt that fit into the story quite nicely and kept the story from slowing down. It also leads to the discovery of who the Jakmal is and kind of why it does what it's doing. Our monster isn't just doing this because it's a monster, but because it was sort of driven to it by one of the original members of the League.

For me, this felt like a perfect spooky bedtime story. I could see it being read aloud with voice, or read under your blankets with a flashlight, only to sleep with the lights on for the next couple of nights. Or, for us older readers, curled up on the couch.

The other part I really liked was the human aspect of this book. It's not just about Spark trying to save this family from the monster. You also see real emotions from the family as one of them goes missing. They struggle, but they never give up. I felt like seeing that through Spark had me rooting that they managed to save the day. It's one of the few times I had my fingers crossed for that happy ending.

Also! I cannot forget this because I thought it was really neat. The story does mention that the older people get the less they believe and can perceive magic and monsters. However, that doesn't mean they can't see the aftermath. I really like that few times got destroyed a few pages later a logical explanation of that damage was given. Things weren't just magically fixed when a monster destroys something, but it fixes the perception so adults don't question as anything but an accident. For example, the monster destroys one fo the family's cars, and the next morning a tree branch has fallen on the car. A logical explanation. I just through it was cool there was the little sidebar of why adults lose a belief in monsters.

All-in-all this was a really cute and spooky book. The perfect way to start off my Spooky Season reading!

HAPPY READING!!