"Fireflies in December"

"Daddy didn't say anything for a minute or so, and then he reached up and caught a firefly as it glowed beside him. 'See this light?' he asked me when the firefly lit up his hand.
'Yes'r.'
'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. We're to be lights in the dark, cold days that are this world.
Like fireflies in December.'
'Ain't much lightin' one of them can do, Daddy.'
'Not by himself. But give him some company, and you'd get a good piece of light.'
'Don't look to me like we got much company in this town.'
He leaned over and patted my knee softly, 'It's got to start somewhere, Jessilyn. It's got to start somewhere.'"



Loved this book! Written in the viewpoint of a 13 year old girl living in the South in 1932, it reminded me of To Kill a Mockingbird and The Help. Starting with "The summer I turned 13, I thought I'd killed a man.", the author pulled me into the story immediately. Jessilyn tells of the summer her family adopts a black girl as their own when her parents die in a fire. As a result, Jessilyn's family is ostracized by the town and attacked by the Klan. Jessilyn describes how her family stood firm for their viewpoint, "like fireflies in December."

I would definitely read this aga................oh my goodness! I just realized there are sequels! I don't have time for writing book reviews! I have books to read! :)