Customer Reviews

Fireflies in December (Jessilyn Lassiter)

5 star:		(143)
4 star:		(41)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

"The summer I turned thirteen, I thought I'd killed a man."

In these first eleven words of Fireflies in December we realize Jessilyn Lassiter's world is pregnant with change. Not only is she walking that tenuous line between childhood and womanhood, but during the summer of 1932 Jessilyn finds herself in the crosshairs of man's hatred for his fellow man.

When her best friend Gemma's parents are tragically killed in a fire, Jessilyn's father takes the girl in. No matter that she's as dark as coffee and sticks out in their white family like a sheep in a cow field. Harley Lassiter sees people for their hearts, not their skin color. If only the rest of Calloway County felt the same way. Soon Jessilyn is ostracized by whites and blacks alike. This racial mingling "just ain't done", and it isn't long before the Lassiter family becomes a target for something much more sinister, and deadly. The Klu Klux Klan.

In Fireflies in December Valent has skillfully dropped us into the middle of southern Virginia during a turbulent time in our country's history. Less than seventy years had passed since the Civil War, and unfortunately not everyone embraced its outcome. The Great Depression's talons still clung to many families. "Things were poor, especially in our parts, and for having a working farm and a good truck, we were fortunate. We even had some conveniences that other people envied, like a fancy icebox and a telephone..."

Fear has a way of bringing out the worst in folks, and perhaps that's why racism was still so prevalent in the south of 1932. As I read this novel, I found myself amazed that such hatred existed. Certainly racism still shows up in today's America, but during the year we've elected our first African-American President it's striking how far we've come.

Valent knows how to involve us in the setting. We feel the oppressive humidity of summer and hear the cicadas buzzing. We lie on our backs in bed all day with Jessilyn and Gemma because moving feels like wading through a furnace. And without bogging us down in pages of narrative we understand the anguish Jessilyn suffers when she thinks she killed a man. In fact, Valent could've used more exposition and it wouldn't have detracted. Perhaps it would've added even more depth to this coming-of-age story.

Fireflies In December brings to mind the themes and characters of To Kill A Mockingbird. Jessilyn is older than Scout, but just as stubborn. Their fathers stand by what they believe is right, even when everyone else is against them. Jessilyn and Scout both find their lives in danger. However, Valent has a voice and nack for description all her own. Her scenes move quickly, and even if you're not a historical fiction fan you'll find yourself drawn in. People are people, whether it be 1932 or 2003. We all feel pain; we're all searching for meaning. And this becomes clearer as you turn the pages.

The spirituality is never heavy-handed, being shown rather than told, for the most part. The Lassiters are practicing Christians, and they talk about that aspect of their lives like they would anything else. But even when Jessilyn's parents do share a spiritual insight with her or talk about Jesus it doesn't feel like a sermon. We're listening, too, and we glean their nuggets of wisdom.

Fireflies in December is a tight, finely crafted novel that challenges us to root out any hint of prejudice in our own hearts, whether we're black or white, male or female, rich or poor. That's a message that'll stand the test of time.

--Reviewed by C.J. Darlington for TitleTrakk

I just finished one of the most delightful novels I have read in a long time. Jessilyn Lassister is a captivating 13 year old girl in the South in the early 1930's. Although this book is suited for all age groups I found as a woman in my sixties I had the joy of reliving that summer I turned 13 along with Jessie. Jennifer Valent invited the reader into the pages of the novel and as each page turned one could feel what Jessie felt, the heat, the emotions, etc. As other reviewers have mentioned it will cause you to search your own heart to check your prejudice level. It raised the question would you respond to Jessie's family decision the same way as the town or would you be more like Miss Cleta? I will be keeping my eye out for new books from Jennifer who has a real story telling gift.

Color me "amazed." But I knew from the first word of this novel that I would be hooked until I read the last. I knew that my own writing would somehow take second place to the reading of someone else's. I knew I'd found a part of the South -- my own heritage -- that I stand proud in the shadow of and that causes me to hang my head in shame.

I had a few questions along the way, however. For one, even though Gemma had no biological family left, why wouldn't someone of "color" come forward to take her in? While I understand why the "whites" in town were upset with the Lassiter's decision to raise Gemma, why weren't the "coloreds?" (Remember, I grew up in the South, too, and I know both sides of this card.)

But even with the questions, I was reminded of my family heritage, rich in reaching across race lines. Many, many years ago my great uncle and great aunt "took in" a black child who was severely burned (my great-uncle was the physician who treated him) and whose family had rejected him because of his "pink" skin. NFL great George Rogers was practically a member of my 2nd cousins family. For those memories alone, this book was valuable to me.

One other issue I had was that I was not fully aware of the era until about 1/3 way through the book. I may have missed the clues before that ... I began this book on an airplane with lots of little kids anxious to get to Disney! So, take that issue with a grain of salt.

Bottom line: do I recommend this to other readers??? Only those I really, really like!!! :) I LOVE THIS BOOK! And I cannot wait to see what comes next from Jennifer Erin Valent!

Eva Marie Everson
Author: Things Left Unspoken: A Novel

I almost quit reading this novel after the first few pages, but stuck it through in the interest of giving it a fair chance. It did not get any better. The characters were one-dimensional and cliched, the plot was predictable, and there was no literary depth whatsoever. The moral lesson was overly simple with no intriguing subtleties at all. It's been done before, and done far better.

It's not that the author is a bad writer entirely. She has a talent for putting together good sentences. She does a better job with dialect than many writers do. Unfortunately, to my ear, the dialect was overdone to the point that I was hearing "The Beverly Hillbillies" whenever a character spoke after just so long. It became caricatured. Sometimes, it seemed that a phrase was used just for the sake of the phrase itself, even if it didn't quite fit. For example, "There ain't no call to be hangin' up my bloomers." Huh? The mother was hanging up laundry, like always, except that the daughter was embarrassed to have her underwear seen by the boy she had a crush on. I can see her begging her mother not to put them up just then, but to say, "there ain't no call" to do it just shows a lack of understanding of the precise meaning of the phrase.

In another instance, the mother writes in a note, "Daddy's hankerin' for some ice cream." Okay, even though we're going to leave off every "g" at the end of every word every character speaks in the interest of making it sound precisely like they're saying it, those people are not going to be writing their words without the g on the end--not unless they're extremely uneducated, which does not seem to be the case with these characters. I think the handling of the dialect could have been toned down--a lot--and would have been as effective at providing verisimilitude, without drawing so much attention to itself that it overshadowed the story itself.

On the other hand, maybe the distraction of the heavy-handed dialect keeps the reader from noticing that the story was not particularly original, and the characters had little depth. The focus was mainly on the brave, plucky, rebellious, 13-year-old tomboy-just-on-the-verge-of-becoming-a-woman. How many times have we seen that same character in books (mainly for young girls) and in made-for-TV movies? There was nothing to set this particular young girl apart from all the others in all the other stories. And every other character was even less fleshed out than she was. I would have loved to have had a deeper glimpse into Gemma in particular. She seemed more a prop for the story than a real human being. Jessie's parents were cookie-cutter parents. Absolutely the only character that showed any complexity was the "surprise" bad guy, but he wasn't fleshed out well enough to be believable. On the other hand, the author's handling of the mixed feelings of the people who knew him was one of the things that she did handle quite well.

The book is not without merit, which is why I gave it 2 stars. Certainly, there is a nice, uplifting moral there for those who like simple, nicely packaged messages of that sort. I think it will appeal to readers who also like romance novels, Hallmark movies, and "inspirational" chain-letter emails, as well as to girls younger than 12 or 13. In addition, although I feared that the author might go overboard with religion, she actually handled that with a surprisingly smooth and light touch. But quite frankly, anyone reading this most likely already believes that racism is bad and the Ku Klux Klan is/was evil and I'm pretty sure we all know that this sort of thing was not uncommon in the Depression-era South. So I don't think this will actually teach anyone anything; rather, it is a way for people to identify with the "good guys" and feel superior to those less enlightened.

A good first novel for the most part. All the pieces are in place and the writing is pretty strong. But it just didn't grab me because I "knew" all along what was going to happen. No surprises. I kept wishing the author would dig a little deeper, but it remained tepid. Would probably be a good read for ages 10-12.

I downloaded this book for free, and now I see it's selling for over $9 (kindle edition). Had I paid that for it, I think I would have felt like I didn't get my money's worth. I liked it well enough, but it's a little more suited to teens or young adults. Not a bad story, a little predictable, and reminiscent of To Kill a Mockingbird, Roll of Thunder Hear my Cry, and other books about racism in the South.
I just found it a little too simple. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but as I said,the simple story and lack of subtlety make it a better read for teens. I could easily see it being read in an 8th or 9th grade classroom, and generating lots of thought and discussion about the mores of the 1930s in the South.
I gave it 3 stars. A nice, quick and entertaining read.

I received a Kindle as a birthday present. One of the perks is that I can get books for a cheaper price. I was browsing selections, and I saw Fireflies in December with a $0.00 price. I don't get every free book, but I read the synopsis and thought I would give this one a try. I simply cannot believe I got this book for free. I would have paid full price for it. The characters are thought provoking. The story line is colorful. The plot is completely believeable. It was thoroughly enjoyable, and I would recommend this book to anyone!

I only read this because it was a free e-book, but I enjoy young adult fiction (I'm a middle school reading teacher) so I approached it with an open mind. Valent is a pretty decent narrator. I enjoyed the sub-plots more than anything, and really wanted to like the book more, but I could not swallow the premise and the way it was presented.

Anyone who is at least vaguely familiar with American history of the past hundred years will realize that for a white family to take in a black child in the South would have been absolutely radical. A typical white southern family, Christian or not, would have been extremely unlikely to even consider letting a black child stay in their house for more than overnight, much less adopting her. (Christianity was just as segregated back then as anything else, despite the syrupy sweetness Valent coats it in.) Mr. Lassiter is no Atticus Finch. Though he has no real moral, logical, or political reasons to back up his (extremely radical) beliefs, we are just supposed to accept that he believes it is the "right" thing to do. The very idea, to me, was an insult to the history of racism and segregation in this country. Valent completely glosses over the fact that this time and place had a completely different set of morals than our present day. She appears to be telling us that these moral choices were obvious, that we all know which side we'd be on if it were us. But the sad thing is, we don't know what side we would have been on. The vast majority of whites AND blacks at the time did not believe in the "mixing" of colors, and did not believe they were morally wrong in thinking so. To pigeonhole the issue as "good/bad", "Christian/unChristian" is to patronize the people who worked hard to change the mentality of the day. Valent portrayed the issue as a "no-brainer", when in fact it is an issue we still struggle with today. Interracial adoption is still a hot-button issue, but Valent wants to tie up all the moral ends into a neat little bow. It simply would never have happened like this in real life.

Even the little things began to bother me. Take for instance when Gemma and Jessie go to town, and they address their black driver as "Mr. ____" Culturally, Jessie would have never addressed a black man by anything other than his first name. Again, to leave out details like this made me feel Valant was sugarcoating. Even the (one) villain is so purely evil that he makes everyone else seem almost supportive in contrast. In reality, the entire town would have been a danger to the Lassiters and especially Gemma. One of the scariest things about this time was that racism was cultural and legal - it wasn't just a few really evil guys in white suits. Again, oversimplifying the issue downplays its severity.

And, my final complaint, Gemma herself is one of the most boring characters I've ever skimmed over. It's fine to have a quiet, introverted character, but Gemma is going through what is surely the most confusing and emotional time in her life, yet we know almost nothing about it. She and Jessie are supposed to be like sisters, but they rarely talk about their true emotions. The reckless tomboy vs. the responsible wet dishrag routine got old fast.

I think the story would have been more believable and meaningful if the year were moved up. In fact, a similar plot line set in modern times would have been an opportunity to discuss our own feelings about race, rather than playing moral judge of the past.

If you want a book that will actually give you something to think about, read "To Kill a Mockingbird" instead. In fact, please just read it anyway...it's just much, much better than this book.

As I began to read this award-winning novel by Jennifer Erin Valent, it's difficult to believe it's a "first novel"! She opens with the revelation that when she turned thirteen, she 'thought she'd killed a man'.
The story keeps you pretty much on edge from the beginning with life-like characters who speak very early southern dialect from down on the farm or cotton patch.
It's very easy for me to understand such dialect, having grown up in the early 1950's (although this was set in the 1930's), because I grew up in Kentucky coal country, where we spoke in the same manner.
Excitement grows as the character and her family take in a little black child whose house was burned down and her parents killed in the fire.
You just don't do that in those days with the KKK living in your town! Trouble is constantly brewing and people want you to do things their way-and taking in a colored girl.....well, that "ain't right" for white folks to do.
Not wanting to allow anger, hatred, and injustices dictate over love and compassion, the family firmly decides to keep her anyway.
Murder, arson, and threats become the normal for this compassionate and loving family. Justice? Well, where is it? Faith in God to prove that love will conquer over evil is this family's sustaining belief.
If you enjoy suspense and intrigue, you should love this story......it's a series of three, so you may want to buy them all at once!

Summers were always difficult as Jessilyn Lassiter tells us. The summer of 1932 would be no exception for her. She was thirteen that year when she ran head on into the Ku Klux Klan. To her horror, she discovered some were her friends and neighbors.

Jessilyn and her family took in little black Gemma as her parents died in a fire that was caused by lightning. No one thought that such problems could arise by an act of kindness as the Klan attempts to drive the family and adopted child out of their small Virginia community.

Jessilyn was convinced she killed one of the members one night as she stood on the family front porch defending the family with her father's shotgun. She knew she hit at least one member as she fired several shots in the air to try to scare them away.

That summer became terrible for her as she lived with mixed feelings of guilt. She become even more confused with her thirteen year old mind as it threw jealousy and puppy love into the mix. She was falling in love with the hired farm hand who was not much older than herself.

As with many thirteen year olds, Jessilyn found it difficult to express herself to her parents as she worked on becoming mature in her own ideas about life in the south in 1932.

Jennifer has done an excellent job of putting the reader back into time and allowing us a taste of what the country felt like. I loved the way that she wrote in the deep southern language used then. The dialogue was fascinating to me. She consistently wrote this book well.

I gave her five stars and would recommend it to many people for a variety of reasons. All age groups would enjoy it in my humble opinion.

Good job Jennifer!