A review by micaelamariem
What the Fireflies Knew by Kai Harris

dark emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

 
What the Fireflies Knewby Kai Harris, published by Tiny Reparations Books, is a literary coming-of-age fiction set in 1995 Michigan. After ten-year-old narrator K.B.'s dad dies of a drug overdoes, she and her sister, Nia, are sent to spend the summer with their grandfather, with no knowledge of where their mom is going or if she's coming back. For K.B., the summer is about healing from the grief and hurt of a separated family, and possibly finding a way back to the family she does have. 
I love that we read this story through the lens of a ten-year-old girl. I think the narration captures not only the hurt of the family, but through a special kind of innocence and confusion as she navigates darker topics. While there are many stories out there that delve into childhood trauma, I also think the important thing that Harris portrays--and that she seems very passionate about portraying--was the Black experience through this trauma. We see K.B. heal from hurt and grief but discover other dark things in the world such as racism and harmful sexual behaviors.  
“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.” 
There is strong character development throughout the story. The main character, K.B, learns the secrets of the family and must grow up over the summer, but also learns how people can move on from hurt. Her older sister learns much the same, and the relationship between the two, from distance and hate back to love, is a heartwarming one. In fact, that seems to be the main theme of the story--moving on from hurt and reaching out to those who love you, even when they make mistakes. 
As most character driven novels, this book can--and did for me--elicit a strong emotional response. There are many times when my heart broke for this family and some times when my heart soared for K.B. I didn't physically cry--but I certainly came close. 
My main critique of the book would be how quickly it ended. After a slow pace (fitting in a character driven novel), it seemed like the ending was rushed, as if the author had to quickly wrap it up. Since the novel didn't quite reach 300 pages, I do think Harris could have taken a little more time to reunite the family and bring everything to a close. 
Despite this, I did very much like the novel. It was fresh, propelling, and most importantly, offered themes and lessons that are necessary: to know we are all flawed but must work through the flaws to forgive the hurt. I would ultimately give this book four stars on a five star scale system. I would recommend this to those who like character driven novels, coming of age novels, literary fiction, or those who loved Toni Morrison as she was an inspiration for this author and the book is reminiscent of Morrison's works. 
 
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