Set in 1965, the book follows a thirteen-year-old Gia as she navigates her seemingly boring life until her cousin brings drugs into her neighborhood and soon her own world is flipped inside out when her own brother is caught in the midst of it.

This book was rough and sad, reading about certain addictions, especially how awful heroin can be is both enlightening and heartbreaking.

It was hard following Gia as she watched her brother continuously fall apart, heartbreaking how many times his parents tried to bail him out and the absolutely devastating blow that this kind of addiction can land.

I gave this book 3 stars only for the reasons that at the beginning the writing felt a little all over the place and I had a hard time with it straying at times, and the fact that in the end, some things felt a little farfetched. But in the end, this story is an important one of family and dealing with a very dangerous addiction and I would recommend others give it a shot.

I would read from this author again in the future.

This is another one of those books that focuses on a young girls childhood, innocence, and the need to grow up fast. I like how the characters were describing written, Gia is a very fascinating character to follow. The story is heartbreaking at times because it feels like something that probably happens on a daily basis in our world today. This book is full of hope and you won’t want to miss it.

This book is a beautiful slice of life book. It really shows how quickly life can change without even noticing (or noticing and not being able to change it).

This one sat on my TBR for quite a while before I actually picked it up. Fields has a really beautiful way or narrating and is the example of how to show vs tell. These characters are developed so well and they really pull on your heart strings. I've read so many stories that center around the destruction addiction can cause, but this one feels different. This one hurt in a way others didn't.

This was an interesting coming of age story set in Queens, New York in the mid 1960’s. Our heroine is Gia, the 13 year old daughter of a typist and a police officer. She lives with them and her fifteen year old brother Leo, and is fond of exploring the canals and marshes around her home. This relatively peaceful life is changed utterly when Gia’s cousin Ray brings drugs into the area.

I found the novel poignant and beautifully grounded in it’s time with allusions to local events like the rising drug problem in Queens and global problems like the Vietnam war going on in the background. Gia feels like a naïve and sensitive observer in this changing environment. She yearns for some things, like the marshes, to remain the same, free of chemicals and fertilisers. She sees it as a haven where people can think and recharge their batteries. However, she’s accidentally ended up being the perfect person to observe the changes in her neighbourhood due to new, chemical drugs such as LSD. She wants to fight it’s influence but isn’t necessarily equipped to stop its spread. The author depicts addiction with insight and care, focusing on how it tears apart families and communities. Despite fighting hard to keep some things the same, Gia doesn’t want to be placed in the same gender role as her mother and is determined to live differently. The ending was as devastating as it was inevitable. It is Gia’s character that pulls you along, compelling you to read to the end.

This book is a very long and slow burn. I had a lot of trouble getting into it at first, but then enjoyed it by the end, Not my favourite, but I would like to read another book by this author to see if I enjoy it more.

This was my first book by this author. The story itself was very interesting but I didn't like how the author told it. I felt that the story was very drawn out and overly detailed. There were times in the story where things jumped and didn't connect and I was left wondering how I'd gone from standing in the street to being in a canal. Also at times it felt like the author was trying to be poetic and while the writing was nice out jumbled the story.
Unfortunately this one was a miss for me.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The blurb caught my attention but after that I lost my interest and didn't read this book. Maybe next time.

I am sorry for not reviewing fully but I don’t have the time to read this at the moment. I believe that it wouldn't benefit you as a publisher or your book if I only skimmed it and wrote a rushed review. Again, I am sorry for not fully reviewing!

This was a slow starter for me. i just couldn't seem to get my bearings, get a feel for where it was going, or really connect with the characters. I was well into it when I first felt some emotion and a tug of connection---when Gia's dad danced with her. But the last 30-40%? A whirlwind! A very raw picture of addiction and how this monster tears families apart. I loved it from that point forward and was glad a stuck with it even though I wasn't really feeling it. This is about loss of innocence; it is a family drama; it is about changing communities and the loss of he family dinner after church. There is a lot this book has to say once it finds its voice. Thanks NetGalley and publishers for providing a digital ARC for review.

This was a beautifully written novel! The author has a very engaging style, that its easy to fall into the story. That said, I personally found the pacing to be a tad off. Also, I had a bit of hard time truly connecting with the characters. That said, due to the content of this novel, you have to be in the right headspace, and maybe I just wasn't.

Thank you to NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for the free ARC in exchange for a complete and honest review.

A Frenzy of Sparks was my first book by Kristin Fields. While there were some aspects of the novel that I liked, there were also quite a few that I didn't. I will start with what I liked. This novel tells the tale of a family that is dealing with an issue that many families across the United States have dealt with for decades now: addiction. I found Field's approach to addiction to be very raw and accurate. She did a nice job at showing the reader just how far an addict will go to score their next high regardless of how much they are hurting their family and friends. Addiction is a disease that starts off slow, which was shown through the character development of Leo from beginning to end. It starts off as just being something you do in your cousin's basement and evolves slowly, or quickly, into this uncontrollable need that drives your very existence. The character of Leo was a strong representation of this. On the flip side, Gia was a strong representation of how the family of an addict tries to do everything in their power to rescue or cure the addict of their illness. I thought that Field's built a strong relationship between Leo and Gia and accurately showed the erosion throughout the story in a realistic fashion.

What I didn't like about the novel is that there were often times where I felt like I could not follow the writing. This was most prominent in the tent scene when Gia is spotted by the Mob after she saw them dumping a body in the canal. It felt very choppy and almost like I was missing important pieces to the story. I also didn't connect with the characters. This could be a "me" issue and not necessarily a fault of the writing or storyline. I just found it hard to empathize with the plight that the characters were facing. I also found it difficult to place the location. It was set in Queens, NY, but felt like it should be taking place further down south in the Carolinas, with exception to the mob storyline.

Overall, I felt that this novel was just ok. It didn't necessarily turn me off from reading other work by this offer, but I don't think I would go out of my way to read another novel.

This wasn`t for me, i didn`t connect with any of the characters. The story was somewhat interesting, but the writing was meh.

An interesting read that I'm glad to have discovered. I'll definitely be seeking out more by this author.

renzy of Sparks

From the author of A Lily in the Light comes a poignant story of innocence lost and what it means to grow up too fast.

It’s 1965, and thirteen-year-old Gia, along with her older brother and cousins, are desperate to escape their sleepy, tree-lined neighborhood where nothing ever happens. The only thing Gia would miss is the surrounding marsh, where she feels at home among sea birds and salt water.

But when one of Gia’s cousins brings drugs into their neighborhood, it sets off a chain of events that quickly turn dangerous. Everyone will be caught in the ripples, and some may be swept away entirely. Gia is determined to keep herself and her family afloat while the world is turned upside down around her. Can she find a way to hold on to the life she was so eager to leave behind, or will she have to watch it all disappear beneath the marsh forever?

At turns heart-wrenching and hopeful, A Frenzy of Sparks explores a world where survival is the attempt to move forward while leaving pieces of your heart behind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Set in 1960s Queens, this is the story of Gia and her family. Her father is a police offer, her mother a typist. She also has a brother Leo. She lives in a neighborhood with most of her family and loves the nearby marshes. When drugs come into their neighborhood and some bad family choices change everything Gia has to quickly grow up and loose her naive thoughts in life. While sometimes difficult and heartbreaking with very dysfunctional characters, this is nonetheless an enjoyable book about families and what it takes to survive. While this is my first by Kristin it will not be my last.

4/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

CW: drugs

Thank you to Suzy Approved Book Tours and Kristin Fields for the review copy of this book

This was my first book by Kristin Fields. Her writing style is full of beautiful descriptions that had the effect of transporting me directly to the time and location in the story. Set in the mid-60's, A Frenzy of Sparks details what happens to young Gia as drugs invade her family life. After a shocking incident, resulting in a loss of innocence and sense of safety, she is left to question everything about her world. A mix of drama, survival, and coming of age, Gia's journey was both difficult and, ultimately, hopeful. Highly recommend!

To be honest, I couldn't finish this one. I think the book has potential but the whole drug use premise just wasn't for me. I tend to stay away from novels that focus on drugs or drug use.

A really emotional tale about secrets you can't escape. A great family drama that keeps me interested in the story.

This was a gripping coming of age novel. It explores the turbulent times of the 60’s and is very atmospheric of Queens in that era. I grew up in the 60’s and remember some of the emotions and thoughts that Gia has. The author draws you in to Gia’s life and has you travel along as she tries to understand the aspects of her world. I was captivated by this story.
Many thanks to Lake Union Publishing and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book was heartbreaking. It tells of addiction and what it does not only to the addict, but to the family. The story was set in 1965 New York City, and had a lot of history that I did not know about. The writing style was so incredible I could feel the story being woven in front of me. It broke my heart to read this story, but at the same time I loved it. It was just so real and touching.