Erik Christopher Martin's 3 favorite reads in 2023

During World War Two, an Englishman named Nicholas Winton anonymously saved the lives of 669 Jewish children living in Nazi-occupied Czechoslovakia by arranging visas and finding foster homes for each one.

The book tells the story through the experience of Vera, one of the children saved by Mr. Winton. While he never told anyone about his actions, years later, his wife found the records and arranged a surprise meeting between Nicholas and dozens of the children, now middle-aged adults, whose lives he saved. I was brought to tears reading it, not just the first time, but when I re-read it prior to writing this.

A heartwarming book and an amazing story about the good one compassionate person can do.

Ruby Finley is a gifted child with an interest in science...particularly entomology, or the study of insects.

One day she discovers a new species of bug. Men from the government appear almost immediately. They tell her it is an invasive species that must be eradicated, but she suspects things are not as they seem. Is it simply an ecological threat? Or a full-blown alien invasion? 

I loved this book for Ruby. She’s a delightful protagonist that I think would be best friends with my own main character, Dotty Morgan.

Addie is a young, autistic girl in Scotland. She learns dozens of women were executed for witchcraft right in her own village. She is horrified even though it took place hundreds of years before.

Addie feels a kinship with the women and becomes determined to create a memorial for them. Unfortunately, other than her big sister and her best friend, no one else understands her passion for women who died so long ago.

The story is written in first person, and is an #ownvoices book, as the author, Elle McNicoll, is autistic herself. Neurodiverse people are under-represented in literature, but A Kind of Spark helps readers see that autistic people can be the heroes of their own stories.