It has been awhile since I've picked up a Christian fiction book. Mainly I've felt that so many of them were predictable and the same story again and again.Fireflies in December surprised me though. The summer Jessilynn turns 13 she quickly leaves behind her childhood innocence and is forced to mature her thoughts and attitudes to keep up with several dramatic life changes that come to her and her family. Jessi's family begins to have troubles when they take in an orphaned farmhand's child who is African American. From there all sorts of foes and friends are met throughout this adventurous summer. Valent was able to craft a very interesting tale that held my attention and kept me thinking about what would happen next to Jessi and her family. Although I was able to figure out the "twists" long before they were revealed I really like this coming of age story. I would be happy to read another book from Valent. I loved this book. I liked the plot and I liked all the characters. Unlike most christian fiction there was a bit of depth to the characters, and I really liked the fact that I didn't even realize that it was CF until I was very far along in the book. I generally don't read CF because it's so in your face, but this one wasn't. I hope the other books in the series are half as good as this one.
Loved this book. It was a quick and easy read and I fell in love with the characters.
—AccioSandi
Great coming of age book. Wonderful characters.
—kennedy
An incredible story. I could not put it down.
—kasperh10