A dear friend of mine suggested Fireflies in December to me last year. I had bookmarked it on my Nook but just decided last week, when she recommended the same book to me again, to actually download it and read it.
Jennifer Erin Valent is a Richmonder and I liked knowing that I was reading a book by someone local. Fireflies is the first in a trilogy of books centered around the same small town and the same main characters, namely, Gemma and Jessilyn. I have bookmarked the second book Cottonwood Whispers and will eventually bring myself to read what happens next to this town and these people. I just don't feel compelled to read on right now.
Because, I am sad to say, this book was good and I did like meeting the characters and hearing about the events in their lives during that rather hard summer, but this book didn't move me. It didn't leave me with a profound thought, it didn't cause me to stop and reflect upon my life, it didn't change me in any way. Now, does that make Fireflies a bad book? Absolutely not. In fact, I think it would be a great book for Abigail to read, to introduce her to literature about the black/white conflict that tore our country apart for so many years, when she begins to learn about this in her social studies class. The book is actually built around the friendship of two teenage girls--Jessilyn is white, Gemma is black--at a time when blacks and whites were not friends, much less living in the same house, as these two girls end up doing. Sadly, we read about the KKK, cross burnings, and murder based on race. We are exposed to neighbors disrespecting neighbors because of their beliefs. It's all very sad and I did not turn a single page without thinking about how relieved I am that we no longer have to live in a society like this. But, aside from that thankfulness, that's about all I took away from this book. Well, that and one reminder from the text: "Ain't no way to change the world for the better of you can't stand up for what's right when everyone else is wrong." (pg. 169) Amen to that.
Please don't misunderstand, I did very much enjoy Fireflies in December and I will love reading more about Jessilyn and Gemma in the coming two books, especially to see what happens with Jessie and Luke. I just didn't take much from the book beyond it being a great story (and the reminder to stand up for what's right). I just have lukewarm feelings about the book as it seemed more of a book directed to young adults than grown adults. Everything presented was realistic, but not shocking. It didn't present the race relations issue in a new way, but in the same old way and in a light that seems most appropriate for middle and highschoolers. This was not John Grisham's A Time to Kill. Now that book moved me to tears and made me think.
Happy reading, everyone!
:) Dodie
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