What the Fireflies Knew

What the Fireflies Knew, by Kai Harris

40/30 | Started 09.16.22 • Finished 09.24.22 | 3.5 stars rounded up

This coming-of-age novel about 11-year-old Kenyatta Bernice, "KB" for short, is at once heartbreaking and infuriating and moving. After her father dies of an overdose and her mother loses their Detroit home, KB and her sister Nia are taken to Lansing to live with their mother's father, known as Grandaddy. I enjoyed reading the story in KB's voice; I think it enhanced her vulnerability and drew a tighter connection between reader and narrator.

I feel the sting of tears before I make it back to my room. As soon as my door is closed, they fall from my eyes like traitors.

Like any pre-teen, KB yearns to be let in on all the secrets that are kept just out of her reach. And between where her mother really is, why her mother and Grandaddy don't get along, the changes taking place in her relationship with Nia, there are a lot of them. Over the course of a summer, we learn how KB comes to learn of these secrets, and others she doesn't necessarily want to know.

I wanna know it always, but I always wanna leave. This is how I spend each moment: busy loving and hating, having and letting go.

I'm totally sold on the creation of Harris's characters, especially KB and Grandaddy. KB's innocence in the face of so much dysfunction is extremely well communicated, as is her confusion about what's going on around her. She is confronted by so much over that summer - from racism to promiscuity, depression to abandonment. Her desire to be like her sister while at the same time abhorring what she sees going on with her is also quite believable. How often we wish for the supposed freedom that someone else seems to be grabbing hold of, all the while hating the results. Meanwhile, Grandaddy is a grizzly bear with a soft heart, made both harder and softer over time as he deals with the estrangement from KB's mother.

the space between us feels smaller now, like it’s packed tight and cramped with all the stuff we ain’t gon’ say.

Be warned, there is some troubling content that is important to the story but easily skimmed over. I won't spoil the story by telling you what happens to KB and her relationships, but I will say that her resilience is heavily evident, as it seems to be in many real-life children who suffer and survive as KB does. Worth the read.

It’s like I’m standing in a field full of fireflies, struggling to catch ’em all, when really, I just gotta slow down and catch one.

Children of the Longhouse

Children of the Longhouse, by Joseph Bruchac

Started 09.02.22 • Finished 09.20.22

My favorite quote from this book was probably "You... will... not... leave me?" It was said by Grabber. Grabber had just fallen down a ravine and broken his leg. But even though Grabber was an arrogant and rude person who had tried to hurt Ohkwa'ri, Ohkwa'ri still helped him. It shows that everyone needs help sometimes. I thought that I would like learning about the people's life at the beginning.

Ohkwa'ri is the main character, as well as his sister Otsi:stia, and they are both kind, thoughtful, respectful, and brave. They both want Grabber to change himself from hating Ohkwa'ri and being selfish, rude, and arrogant. and to being kind, selfless, and thoughtful. But Grabber is stubborn and he thinks that his way is best no matter what. Eventually Grabber learns to respect Ohkwa'ri after breaking his leg in the ravine and Ohkwa'ri helping him. He and Otsi:stia had painted animals on their heads so they could "match" each other. Otsi:stia somehow knew when Grabber was hurt, and took healers to him.

Out of a scale from 1 to 5 I'm going to give this book a 4.75. I really like how Ohkwa'ri was always kind of selfless, even when someone that had tried to seriously hurt him broke his leg.

Neph, age 11

Gone Girl

Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn

39/30 | Started 09.02.22 • Finished 09.16.22 | 3.5 stars

I was late to the game on this popular long-released thriller. A well put together story with a major twist I didn't completely figure out beforehand. It's a bit of a long book, but worth it in the end, though I could have gone without the majorly bad language directed towards women, and Amy in particular. Still giving it a solid 3.5 stars for story arc.

And she laughed. From the bottom of her throat, from right behind that small finger-shaped hollow, which is the best place to laugh from. She released her grievances like handfuls of birdseed: They are there, and they are gone.