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What the Fireflies Knew

A Novel

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What the Fireflies Knew

Written by: Kai Harris
Narrated by: Zenzi Williams
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About this listen

An NAACP Image Award Nominee
Longlisted for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize
A
Marie Claire Book Club pick

Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by *
Marie Claire* *Teen Vogue* *Buzzfeed* *Essence* *Ms. Magazine* *NBCNews.com* *Bookriot* *Bookbub* and more!

“Harris rewrites the coming-of-age story with Black girlhood at the center.”
New York Times Book Review

In the vein of Jesmyn Ward's
Salvage the Bones and Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees, a coming-of-age novel told by almost-eleven-year-old Kenyatta Bernice (KB), as she and her sister try to make sense of their new life with their estranged grandfather in the wake of their father's death and their mother's disappearance

An ode to Black girlhood and adolescence as seen through KB's eyes, What the Fireflies Knew follows KB after her father dies of an overdose and the debts incurred from his addiction cause the loss of the family home in Detroit. Soon thereafter, KB and her teenage sister, Nia, are sent by their overwhelmed mother to live with their estranged grandfather in Lansing, Michigan. Over the course of a single sweltering summer, KB attempts to navigate a world that has turned upside down.

Her father has been labeled a fiend. Her mother's smile no longer reaches her eyes. Her sister, once her best friend, now feels like a stranger. Her grandfather is grumpy and silent. The white kids who live across the street are friendly, but only sometimes. And they're all keeping secrets. As KB vacillates between resentment, abandonment, and loneliness, she is forced to carve out a different identity for herself and find her own voice.

A dazzling and moving novel about family, identity, and race, What the Fireflies Knew poignantly reveals that heartbreaking but necessary component of growing up—the realization that loved ones can be flawed and that the perfect family we all dream of looks different up close.

©2022 Kai Harris (P)2022 Penguin Audio
Coming of Age Fiction Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Young Adult Summer
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What the critics say

“Harris rewrites the coming-of-age story with Black girlhood at the center.”New York Times Book Review

"[A] sensitive, realistic portrait of a ten-year-old trying to understand her world in the wake of her father’s death. Sent to spend the summer with a grandfather she barely knows, she contends with her losses and fears while learning more about her family, finding her own voice in the process."Washington Post

"[What the Fireflies Knew] is not an easy read . . . but it feels authentic, and does what good fiction does: takes readers on a journey they otherwise wouldn’t travel."—Associated Press

What listeners say about What the Fireflies Knew

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Family, love, acceptance

This story was not what I expected. I mean this in a good way! The story is told from 10-year-old KB (Kenyatta Bernice)’s point of view. The story for me picks up once KB and her 14-year-old sister Nia are dropped off by their mother at their grandfather’s house in Lansing for the summer. Neither of the girls know when their mom will come back. The summer becomes life changing, as KB matures discovering the cruel and confusing world she lives in. In addition, she realizes the importance of family, love and acceptance.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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Loved the narrator

I think the book could have been longer. On top of the fact that I wish I had more to listen to. I think the character development could have used more time. It didn't so much feel like they were rushed more I wish I had more background on them to see how they became the people they were. Having said that, I loved this book, I just wish it was longer!

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