Fireflies in December by Jennifer Erin Valent (Book Review)

Title: Fireflies in December
Author: Jennifer Erin Valent
Publisher: Tyndale Fiction

First sentence: The summer I turned thirteen, I thought I'd killed a man.

About the book: This story is set in 1932 in Virginia. Jessilyn Lassiter lives with her parents and her best friend is Gemma, a young black girl who lives close by with her mom and dad. Gemma's parents have worked for the Lassiter's for a long time, so when they die in a fire, Harley (Jessilyn's dad) takes Gemma in to his home. This was taboo in the South in this era and caused the Lassiter's many problems. Fortunately there is a highlight to Jessilyn's summer. Luke Talley has moved on to the edge of their property and has taken on the task to help keep Jessilyn safe - and he eats dinner with them every night. Though Luke is about 6 years older than Jessilyn, it does not stop her from having her first crush.

The KuKluxKlan pay them more than one visit and all of their previous friends shun them when they come to town. This shadows pretty much all of Jessilyn's summer, and it doesn't help when she fires a gun on some KuKlux members who come to "call". With the threats getting more personal and the hired help acting more suspicious, Jessilyn doesn't know who she can trust.

My thoughts: Jennifer Erin Valent is a new author for me and I really enjoyed this book. Jessilyn was definitely my favorite character and I enjoyed how she discovered what it was like to become a young lady and her crush on Luke. Who out there doesn't remember their first crush? I believe this story continues in Cottonwood Whispers which I will be digging out to read soon!

(Fireflies in December was a library book.)

Fireflies in December
Publisher/Publication Date: Tyndale House, Sept 2008
ISBN: 978-1-4143-2432-6
352 pages