by Elle McNicoll
When 11-year old Addie learns that people from her Scottish village were wrongly persecuted as witches in centuries past, she is moved to campaign for a memorial in their honour. For Addie, this is far more that a school history project: it becomes a journey of self-discovery and social justice as she challenges her community to set aside their current prejudices about her, an autistic child, in order to collectively rectify past wrongs, and to tackle the on-going discrimination of anyone regarded as ‘different’.
Elle McNicoll’s powerful novel will appeal to readers across the primary years into early secondary. Its well-written, witty, fast-paced plot engages readers with critical questions about history and power, such as whose stories get told, whose experiences are silenced and why might that be? Narrator Addie’s neurodivergent lens offers a perspective on growing up, schooling and friendship that is so rarely heard in children’s literature, making this book a welcome addition to any classroom.