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Fireflies in December Jennifer Valent 0031809124321 Books

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Fireflies in December Jennifer Valent 0031809124321 Books

I have read 'Fireflies in December' by Jennifer Erin Valent a couple of times now. Each time I find something different that I love about it. Each time I read it something new sticks out to me and really makes me re-examine my own impact on my community. A well written account of southern prejudice in the 1930's and how the choices of one family impacted an entire community, for better and for worse. Jessilyn Lassiter is convinced she killed a man, accidentally. Her family had taken in a 'colored' girl after her family had died in a house fire. Never mind that the family who died lived and worked on Jessilyn's family farm. Never mind that the two girls felt like sisters and spent the weekends, afternoons, and summers together. never mind a lot of things. The whites had a problem with the Lassiter family taking in Gemma because she wasn't white. The black community had a problem with the Lassiter family taking in Gemma because they weren't black. The family did what they believed was right. The family did what they believed was best for all concerned. And they took Gemma into their home and treated her like a daughter. Like they always had, only in their own home. Somehow that residence thing changed everything. Changed the family, changed the community. I read the Kindle edition and for the first time I can remember I added highlights to the story. Reminders of passages, thoughts, observations that I wanted to be able to return to again. In lieu of a typical me review I'm going to share a couple of them here.

'That light is bright enough to light up a little speck of the night sky so a man can see it a ways away. That's what God expects us to do. Were to be lights in the dark, cold days that are this world. Like fireflies in December?"
Jessilyn was talking with her Daddy about the troubles they were facing and had faced. The section goes on to talk about how one firefly doesn't put out a lot of light but when you get several together they can create a light in the dark. A lot like people. One person can make some noise and try to make a change but it when more people join the change it makes a bigger impact. But change has to start somewhere, even with one lone firefly to brighten the darkness.

"Mr. Stokes, ain't nothin' bad ever changed to good without startin' a little commotion' she replied.

But God taught me a lesson about angels that day. They don't always wear wings and carry harps.

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.

Good did come, slowly. But not completely. Friendships were lost. Respect was lost and gained. Love was lost and gained. But self respect always grows when you do the right thing. Even when it's hard. Even when it feels like everyone is against you, from both sides. I highly recommend this book to anyone. Though the spoken slang is difficult at times it flows well so it doesn't annoy me as much as it typically does. This book is very well written but also written simply enough that a middle age reader would do well with it.

Jennifer Erin Valent created something that has the potential to speak to anyone. No matter your faith, no matter your feeling on race, there is something here for everyone to take away from it. If only you take the time to look at yourself in the process.


Tags : Fireflies in December [Jennifer Valent] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. <b>2010 Christy Award winner!</b><br/>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,Jennifer Valent,Fireflies in December,Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,1414324324,Family Life,Christian fiction,Domestic fiction,Girls,Girls;Fiction.,Race relations,Race relations;Fiction.,Virginia,Virginia;Fiction.,AMERICAN FIRST NOVELISTS,AMERICAN HISTORICAL FICTION,Christian - Historical,FICTION Family Life General,Fiction,Fiction - Religious,Fiction Christian Historical,Fiction-Christian,GENERAL,General Adult,Religious & spiritual fiction,United States

Fireflies in December Jennifer Valent 0031809124321 Books Reviews

This is a beautifully written and haunting story of the pains of growing up and doing the right thing when it seems as if all the adults, your supposed role models, are doing the wrong things. Really wrong things.

Jessilynn Lassiter's 13th birthday party should have been a moment of fun in her life, full of new beginnings, but instead ushers in a season of heartache and hatred. When her BFF Gemma loses her parents in a house fire, the Lassiters take her into their home. They knew it might raise some eyebrows. After all, Gemma is black and the year is 1932--well before the Civil Rights act comes into being. The Lassiters are not prepared for the Ku Klux Klan involvement and a barrage of hate crimes with fatal consequences. In addition to all that, Jessilyn is having trouble just turning into a young woman--first crushes and new dresses and high heels are just as difficult to maneuver at that age as social injustice. At least, it seems that way to Jessilyn. The setting is my favorite--full of oozy Southern drawls and heat just dripping off the page.

This one won the 2010 Christy Award and it is well-deserved! This book had a very To Kill a Mockingbird feel to it (one of my favorite books of all time). It is a coming of age story for any age.
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!
I have read 'Fireflies in December' by Jennifer Erin Valent a couple of times now. Each time I find something different that I love about it. Each time I read it something new sticks out to me and really makes me re-examine my own impact on my community. A well written account of southern prejudice in the 1930's and how the choices of one family impacted an entire community, for better and for worse. Jessilyn Lassiter is convinced she killed a man, accidentally. Her family had taken in a 'colored' girl after her family had died in a house fire. Never mind that the family who died lived and worked on Jessilyn's family farm. Never mind that the two girls felt like sisters and spent the weekends, afternoons, and summers together. never mind a lot of things. The whites had a problem with the Lassiter family taking in Gemma because she wasn't white. The black community had a problem with the Lassiter family taking in Gemma because they weren't black. The family did what they believed was right. The family did what they believed was best for all concerned. And they took Gemma into their home and treated her like a daughter. Like they always had, only in their own home. Somehow that residence thing changed everything. Changed the family, changed the community. I read the edition and for the first time I can remember I added highlights to the story. Reminders of passages, thoughts, observations that I wanted to be able to return to again. In lieu of a typical me review I'm going to share a couple of them here.

'That light is bright enough to light up a little speck of the night sky so a man can see it a ways away. That's what God expects us to do. Were to be lights in the dark, cold days that are this world. Like fireflies in December?"
Jessilyn was talking with her Daddy about the troubles they were facing and had faced. The section goes on to talk about how one firefly doesn't put out a lot of light but when you get several together they can create a light in the dark. A lot like people. One person can make some noise and try to make a change but it when more people join the change it makes a bigger impact. But change has to start somewhere, even with one lone firefly to brighten the darkness.

"Mr. Stokes, ain't nothin' bad ever changed to good without startin' a little commotion' she replied.

But God taught me a lesson about angels that day. They don't always wear wings and carry harps.

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.

Good did come, slowly. But not completely. Friendships were lost. Respect was lost and gained. Love was lost and gained. But self respect always grows when you do the right thing. Even when it's hard. Even when it feels like everyone is against you, from both sides. I highly recommend this book to anyone. Though the spoken slang is difficult at times it flows well so it doesn't annoy me as much as it typically does. This book is very well written but also written simply enough that a middle age reader would do well with it.

Jennifer Erin Valent created something that has the potential to speak to anyone. No matter your faith, no matter your feeling on race, there is something here for everyone to take away from it. If only you take the time to look at yourself in the process.