What the Fireflies Knew

A Novel

By: Kai Harris

Narrated by: Zenzi Williams

Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins

Publisher's summary

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

Critic reviews

“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

Heart-Wrenching Story of Complex Love & Loss

This moving, heart-wrenching story was very well written and wonderfully narrated. This was SUCH an emotional book; you'll cry, laugh, weep, and feel everything the main character feels. The author wove the real-life experiences of drug abuse, unforgiveness, racism, spirituality, and grief into a hard but beautiful story told from a child's perspective. And the narrator was RIVETING!! This normally isn't something I would read or listen to, but I'm glad I did.

Amazing read

An incredible book! A heartfelt story of two sisters, an unlikely ally of a grandfather, and a hurting family. The story also introduced racism to this young 11 year old girl, in the form of parental interference and influence rather than directly from her peers. I am angered by parents who perpetuate hate to their children as a means to keep othering people. The narrator did a fabulous job telling this story too!

Beautiful

I loved this. The narration was on point & helped engulf me into the story. I found it hard to put down & think of anything more than the next page. Thank you for sharing this book / story

Growth

such a beautifully told story of life's journey through heartbreak, life lessons and how to grow through it all! we all have lived, experienced things we may not want to and yet we all have an opportunity to choose our perspective, to use each experience to grow to our best selves!
thank you for keeping our hearts open.

Going through changes

A story told through the perspective of a young girl whose family suffers trauma and begins to rebuild their life over one summer. Bonds between mothers and daughters, sisters, and mothers and fathers, are central themes. She watched as her sister hits teenage years, and she experiences racism and other tunes behind her years.

Family and Growing up

A broken family that works on healing. The story is told thru the voice of almost 12 year old KB and her opinions of what is happening to her and her family are mature beyond her age.

A Poignant Youthful Memoir

A compelling story of a black inner city family that struggles to remain together and love one another in the midst of tragedies -- large and small. It's a good story (though painful) well told and expertly performed.

Few content

First time I kept on putting the book away but still finished it. The last hour was ok, but the rest had no content. I read all kinds of books and my ratings are rarely less then 4 stars, but this one no, I would not recommend it.

Good story

I real liked this book. I’m from the Lansing area so I felt a personal connection to the story, being able to picture the landmarks and time period.

Excellent!!

Great messages put In stories relevant to many age groups. The cross generational perspectives weaves together very nicely.
Thank You🙏🏾