Status
Available
Call number
Series
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Publication
Center Point Large Print (2009), Edition: Lrg, Hardcover, 350 pages
Description
2010 Christy Award winner!Jessilyn Lassiter never knew that hatred could lurk in the human heart until the summer of 1932 when she turned 13. When her best friend, Gemma, loses her parents in a tragic fire, Jessilyn's father vows to care for her as one of his own, despite the fact that Gemma is black and prejudice is prevalent in their southern Virginia town. Violence springs up as a ragtag band of Ku Klux Klan members unite and decide to take matters into their own hands. As tensions mount in the small community, loyalties are tested and Jessilyn is forced to say good-bye to the carefree days of her youth. Fireflies in Decemberis the 2007 winner of the Christian Writers Guild's Operation First Novel contest, and a 2010 Christy Award winner.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member ruthjoec
"What difference does race make in our relationships with people?" is the question explored in this book, sent in the early 1930s in a small town in Virginia. The main character is a Jessilyn, a White thirteen year old who doesn't really fit in with her peers. She likes to read, she is independent
While one character in the book shows that he is not all bad, unfortunately most of the others are either all good (and treat all races equally and with respect) or all bad (and are Klan members). I think this would have been a perfect story in which to show that good people could be products of their culture. In some ways Jessilyn's mother is like that--she likes her daughter's friend, but isn't comfortable taking her into their home, but later comes to accept it.
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and sees boys as a nuisance. Her only real friend is a neighbor a few years older than she is. That girl's parents work for her parents--and they are African-American. A storm strikes and her friend Gemma's parents are killed in a fire. Against all convention, her parents take her friend in as a foster-daugher, rather than a servant. This decision alienates them from both the White and Black communities. The Klan gets involved. First love is involved. In the end there is betrayal, redemption, and a new chance at love. It is Christian fiction, but not heavy-handed. It is a story of separate and unequal justice, a justice that unfortunately has not been unknown in our country's history.While one character in the book shows that he is not all bad, unfortunately most of the others are either all good (and treat all races equally and with respect) or all bad (and are Klan members). I think this would have been a perfect story in which to show that good people could be products of their culture. In some ways Jessilyn's mother is like that--she likes her daughter's friend, but isn't comfortable taking her into their home, but later comes to accept it.
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LibraryThing member vfranklyn
I really liked this book. It was well written and a quick read. I pretty much read it in one day when I was home sick. It's supposed to be "Christian fiction", but I didn't think it was overtly so. The story was very engaging and the characters were believable.
LibraryThing member psychdoc66
The story takes place in the southern US prior to the civil rights movement. The story follows a 13-year-old girl during a summer in which she learns about racism and intolerance, as well as about the importance of family and true friendship.
LibraryThing member missysbooknook
This is an awesome novel. I was hooked by the very first page, and kept reading until I finished. I enjoy books with this theme.....I like to think about how things were when my grandmother was a young woman, back in the early 30's. This story is rich in history, and friendship. It is about the
I highly recommend this book - It definitely earns 5 stars!
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love of a close-knit white family who reaches out to care for an orphaned negro girl. Borders are crossed that will cause outrage among the residents of a small southern community. I loved the character Jessilyn! She was a fiesty 13 year old, wanting to grow up too fast, then is faced with very grown-up situations that she is not quite sure how to handle. With the love and support of her parents and her new-found-friend Luke Talley, Jessilyn finds out what it takes to cross the lines of segregation in Southern Virginia in 1932.I highly recommend this book - It definitely earns 5 stars!
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LibraryThing member debs4jc
Jessilyn Lassiter's struggles, hopes, and dreams feel so real that the reader of her dramatic story can't help but fall in love with her and her book. Jessilyn is 13 and lives in the South at a time when it matters a lot to her community that her family takes in her best friend Jemma--who is
This was an extremely enjoyable book to listen too. There were lots of scenes full of dramatic tension, balanced against lighthearted childhood adventures and ending with a message about the importance of faith. The characters are memorable and I can still call them up vividly in my imagination. Valent well deserved to win the Christian Writers Guild's 2007 Operation First Novel contest and I look forward to reading more from her. Definitely pick this one up, it's a great coming-of-age story but readers of all ages will easily identify with the human drama contained within.
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black--after Jemma's parents die. In fact, a local branch of the KKK meets just down the road from Jessilyn--and her adventurous spirit finds her tangled up with them more than once. Fortunately she has the protection of her father, the wisdom of her God-fearing Mother, and the friendship of Luke Talley to guide her through the most tumultuous summer of her young life.This was an extremely enjoyable book to listen too. There were lots of scenes full of dramatic tension, balanced against lighthearted childhood adventures and ending with a message about the importance of faith. The characters are memorable and I can still call them up vividly in my imagination. Valent well deserved to win the Christian Writers Guild's 2007 Operation First Novel contest and I look forward to reading more from her. Definitely pick this one up, it's a great coming-of-age story but readers of all ages will easily identify with the human drama contained within.
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LibraryThing member mossjon
Jessilyn Lassiter tells her tale of mishaps, struggles and discoveries during the summer of 1932. She's just turned thirteen and she finds trouble, or trouble finds her, just about every time she opens her mouth. Her best friend is Gemma, a slightly older African-American girl whose family lives on
All is as it should be in the south in the 30s, including segregation of the races, and everyone knows their place in the world. That is until a freak lightning strike from a thunderstorm kills Gemma's parents, leaving her orphaned and alone in the world. The Lassiters take Gemma into their home as a member of their family, and thus starts the insanity of bigotry and hate delivered by friends and neighbors.
Even now, nearly two generations later, I can't grasp why anyone would treat other human beings with such disdain, fear and hate. Is it because I was raised in Kansas, where the fight to be admitted as a free-state made bleeding headlines in national newspapers in the 1850s? Or because I grew up with civil rights already a fact, albeit not equally applied, but definitely a step further down the road to freedom and tolerance.
This is a good first novel for Jennifer Valent. I struggled a bit with the amount of dialog, and the southern colloquialisms, and I was breathless most of the time trying to keep up with a headstrong impulsive foolish thirteen year-old girl with more guts than sense.
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her daddy's farm. All is as it should be in the south in the 30s, including segregation of the races, and everyone knows their place in the world. That is until a freak lightning strike from a thunderstorm kills Gemma's parents, leaving her orphaned and alone in the world. The Lassiters take Gemma into their home as a member of their family, and thus starts the insanity of bigotry and hate delivered by friends and neighbors.
Even now, nearly two generations later, I can't grasp why anyone would treat other human beings with such disdain, fear and hate. Is it because I was raised in Kansas, where the fight to be admitted as a free-state made bleeding headlines in national newspapers in the 1850s? Or because I grew up with civil rights already a fact, albeit not equally applied, but definitely a step further down the road to freedom and tolerance.
This is a good first novel for Jennifer Valent. I struggled a bit with the amount of dialog, and the southern colloquialisms, and I was breathless most of the time trying to keep up with a headstrong impulsive foolish thirteen year-old girl with more guts than sense.
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LibraryThing member susancrowe01
Such a good book. I will most definitely read the other 2. One of those books you think about for a long time after you read it.
LibraryThing member Bettyb30
I really enjoyed this book. It gave insight to prejudice and how it is so wrong, then and now. You will truely enjoy the characters they are true to themselves and others.
LibraryThing member twileteyes
This wasn't the typical Christian historical novel. I infact didn't realize it was meant to be classified as Christian until near the end when the author chose to have one of the characters get a little preachy. I did feel that the morals and themes throughout the book did convey a Christian
I loved the story, I was 3/4s through and trying to figure how it could possibly be resolved before the end of the book without being continued.
I think the author did an excellent job of creating believable, realistic characters. I do wish that Gemma's character would have been explored a little bit more, but since the story is told in the first person POV of a 13 year old girl it may not have been an easy task to integrate more of her into the story. (well it could have been shown through more interaction but as it is already a fairly long book it may not have been possible).
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perspective, but it wasn't overbearing as some books can be. The above mentioned incident felt forced to me, it had contradicted Jessie's comments in the book about her father--he is the one who gave the mini-sermon and it didn't feel like he was talking to his daughter, it felt like the author was trying to talk to her readers, which the majority of people who would read this book are likely to be Christian already and it seems like it didn't need to be so forced.'I loved the story, I was 3/4s through and trying to figure how it could possibly be resolved before the end of the book without being continued.
I think the author did an excellent job of creating believable, realistic characters. I do wish that Gemma's character would have been explored a little bit more, but since the story is told in the first person POV of a 13 year old girl it may not have been an easy task to integrate more of her into the story. (well it could have been shown through more interaction but as it is already a fairly long book it may not have been possible).
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Awards
Audie Award (Finalist — 2011)
Christy Awards (Nominee — First Novel — 2010)
Language
Physical description
350 p.; 88 inches
ISBN
1602854467 / 9781602854468