Reviews for Fireflies in December

The average rating for Fireflies in December based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2011-02-08 00:00:00 Allen Probert It's no secret that I often rate books not by plot but by how much I loved the characters. I know that makes me somewhat of an emotional reviewer, making allowances for horrible plot-holes because "the characters were just so wonderful" but I will freely admit to it. This book, however, was not one in which I make allowances for problems with plot and pacing because of my love for the characters. This book, with its wonderful cast of realistic characters, also had a perfectly paced, tightly crafted plot. And I loved it. I loved every second of it. Valent's depiction of the south in the summer of 1932 and the racial prejudice that existed during that time was well done. Having already read the Shiloh Legacy (a trilogy by Brock and Bodie Thoene) I thought that this seemed, not necessarily watered down, but much milder. Still, it was believable, and that's what counts in my book. Secondly, oh my goodness, the characters. I didn't rate this book for the characters alone, as stated above, but oh…how I loved them! They were amazing. The way they interacted was funny and understandable. Valent has an understanding for human behavior that impressed me very much. Jessie is a little tomboy, gradually growing into a woman. There were moments when she very much reminded me of a slightly older version of Scout Finch. (Not to mention that I may be just a teensy weensy bit in love with Luke Talley. I don't care if he's six years older than Jessie, they must end up together! MUST, I SAY!). Thirdly, the Christian message. It was done perfectly. It wasn't preachy or overdone, it was just softly woven in and I loved that. I always cringe when Christianity comes over too loudly in a novel and just ends up seeming cheesy. This book gets it right. Jessie isn't a Christian, but she believes that God exists. She just hasn't seen a need in her life for repentance. I like when she's locked in a shed, afraid she's going to die and she says, "But even as I sat in that dimly lit shed, I wasn't asking for salvation of my soul. I was asking for salvation of my body." Sometimes I think we all lose sight of the fact that it's not our body that will last for an eternity, it's our souls. "Jessilyn, ain't no man can't get someplace he never thought he'd get to. You let enough bad thoughts into your head, you can end up doin' all sorts of things you never thought possible. […] We best be on our guard and keep our minds on what's right and true so we don't become things we'll regret." I'm so happy my birthday is coming up soon, and I'll probably get at least one Barnes & Noble gift card which I can "blow" on Cottonwood Whispers and Catching Moondrops. I must have them. I should buy the actual books, rather than the ebooks. But I get ebooks instantly, and I don't know if I'll be able to wait an extra week waiting for the physical books to get to me. But yeah, these books are worth buying the real thing. They're phenomenal.

Review # 2 was written on 2017-06-01 00:00:00 Adahlia Cowan Man, reading this book made me feel hot. I literally mean that. It made me feel HOT. It's set in southern Virginia in the 1930s (ergo: pre-air-conditioning), and it takes place in the summertime; and I'm not kidding when I say every single chapter comes up with some new and inventive way of mentally re-creating the "steam bath" that is Deep South weather. Really good descriptions. Very atmospheric. I liked that. I also loved the interactions between the characters--particularly Jessie and Gemma, and then again Jessie and Luke. Gemma is like the sensible older sister, the responsible kid who has to be yelling at Jessie every other minute to not do whatever it is she's doing (CAN I GET AN AMEN HERE); and Luke is adorable!!! "You and me, we gotta talk." "What for?" "WHAT FOR?!?" Yep, I loved him. The author did an excellent job making it clear how much he liked Jessie, without letting him seem at all creepy for it (I mean, sure, he's older than her; but it all stayed very innocent and appropriate and I appreciated this). I'm really looking forward to seeing more of them as a couple later in the series [even though my library doesn't have the rest of the books--DARN YOU, LIBRARY.] The one thing I really didn't like was the fact that parts of this book made it feel like it was modeled after "To Kill a Mockingbird"? Like, I definitely understand that any story about racial violence in the Deep South in the 30's is going to have some broad similarities; but I just felt like the similarities were a little too strong here . . . Jessie's overall personality, the courtroom scene, Miss Cleta, the violent confrontation at the end, etc. And maybe I wouldn't have been so bothered by that if TKAM wasn't my 3rd-favorite book of all time; but as it is, I'm kind of sensitive on this point. (Sorry, guys . . . I mean, you've seen my profile picture and all . . . :-P) So yeah. Overall, though, I thought this was a really good story; especially for Christian historical fiction, which (as you all know) is a genre of which I am not terribly fond. And I'm definitely interested in checking out more of the series and seeing how my ship turns out (Luke + Jessie forever <3)