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Finding My Spark

By Tina Wayland

A review of Finding My Spark by Isabelle Jameson

Published on October 29, 2026

When author Isabelle Jameson’s son came out as trans, his family searched for a book to help him break the news to his class – but came up empty. So Jameson decided to write one herself, to help children and families navigate the difficult and joyous transition to an authentic new identity. 

Finding My Spark
Isabelle Jameson
Translated by Ann Marie Boulanger
Illustrated by Sylvain Cabot

Orca Book Publishers
$18.95
hardcover
40pp
9781459843356

In Finding My Spark, Alex struggles with who he really is. No longer interested in dresses and growing increasingly uncomfortable in his changing body, Alex begins to wear baggy clothes, cuts his hair short, and paints his room a dark and uncheerful colour. 

With help from his therapist, Alex decides to write a letter to his mom and come out to his family, then his friends and classmates. Now that his outside matches his inside and he’s allowed to fully shine, Alex can finally be his true self. 

This book is designed as an accessible tool to help older kids understand gender identity and provide a positive example of coming out as trans. Sylvain Cabot’s thoughtful illustrations provide a sense of calm and community that allows young readers to find acceptance in themselves or support a friend.mRb

Tina Wayland holds an MA in Creative Writing from Concordia University, winning the department’s McKeen Award in 2021 and 2023. She’s published in carte blanche, yolk, Headlight, Scrivener, and LBRNTH, and has been a finalist for the CBC Nonfiction Prize, gritLIT short story contest, and Room Magazine’s short forms contest. Tina is currently completing a book about her Lithuanian grandmother, funded by the Canada Council for the Arts.  

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