Review: The Time of the Fireflies by Kimberley Griffiths Little

The Time of the Fireflies

by Kimberley Griffiths Little

July 29, 2014

Scholastic

Critically acclaimed author Kimberley Griffiths Little spins a thrilling story of one girl's race to unravel the curse that has haunted her family for generations. 

When Larissa Renaud starts receiving eerie phone calls on a disconnected old phone in her family's antique shop, she knows she's in for a strange summer. A series of clues leads her to the muddy river banks, where clouds of fireflies dance among the cypress knees and cattails each evening at twilight. The fireflies are beautiful and mysterious, and they take her on a magical journey through time, where Larissa learns secrets about her family's tragic past--deadly, curse-ridden secrets that could harm the future of her family as she knows it. It soon becomes clear that it is up to Larissa to prevent history from repeating itself and a fatal tragedy from striking the people she loves. 

With her signature lyricism, Kimberley Griffiths Little weaves a thrilling tale filled with family secrets, haunting mystery, and dangerous adventure.

Goodreads / Amazon / B&N / IndieBound / Book Depository

Mysterious phones calls + a very creepy doll + time travel + buried family secrets + one determined and courageous young heroine = a thrilling middle-grade adventure full of addicting mystery, captivating storytelling, and immensely felt heart...Kimberley Griffiths Little’s The Time of the Fireflies is all this and more!

Haunted by a near-death accident, young Larissa Renaud is not having an ideal summer. When she receives a mysterious phone call, from an unplugged, not hooked up to anything antique phone in her parents’ antique shop, she’s sure it’s just a prank. Follow the fireflies. Trust the fireflies the voice on the other end says. And when she does find and follow the fireflies they lead her across time and straight into her family’s tragic, mysterious past. A creepy doll and family curse are determined to ruin Larissa’s family once again, but, with the help of a surprising friend, Larissa must find the courage to end the curse and right some heavy wrongs.

Beautifully and hauntingly atmospheric, with rich, lyrical writing, The Time of the Fireflies is a book that grabs hold and doesn’t let go! Kimberley Griffiths Little weaves a lovely tale that is equal parts heart-warming, heart-wrenching, and heart-pounding. From the moment Larissa receives that mysterious phone call and the creepy, eerie Anna Marie doll is introduced, I just knew this was going to be deliciously spine-tingling, and it was! A jumbled antiques shop, abandoned island, and several different time periods, make for a spellbinding setting. The haunting, vivid atmosphere Little creates really is superb and there’s a genuine spookiness to the whole story...but a fun, delightful spookiness! The awesomely sinister Anna Marie doll is frighteningly fascinating in a way that younger readers will go crazy for. The Time of the Fireflies isn’t all fun scares though; Larissa’s time-travel adventures are full of poignancy and thought-provoking moments as well. Little does a wonderful job of exploring topics like grief, bullying, prejudice, and acceptance.

I so enjoyed following the fireflies and solving the hundred year mystery with Larissa! Larissa, with her determination, courage, and compassion is an admirable, yet completely relatable young heroine. And she’s surrounded by an eclectic group of characters, both in her present and the past. Little crafts complex, compelling characters, with a lot of personality, intrigue, and heart.

My Final Thoughts: The Time of the Fireflies has it all- magic, mystery, time-travel, thrills, chills, and engaging characters! Kimberley Griffiths Little’s beautiful writing and storytelling will entertain and dazzle young readers.

MY RATING

website * goodreads * twitter * facebook

Kimberley Griffiths Little is the critically acclaimed author of the Southwest Book Award, Winner of the Whitney Award for Best Youth Novel of 2010, Bank Street College Best Books of 2011, Crystal Kit Finalist, and New Mexico Book Award Finalist. Her books have sold several hundred thousand copies in the Scholastic Book Fairs and have been chosen for many state reading lists. She lives on a dirt road in a small town by the Rio Grande with her husband, a robotics engineer, and their three sons. Kimberley is a favorite speaker at schools around the country, presenting "The Creative Diary", a highly successful writing workshop and has also been a keynote speaker at various conferences. She is a co-founder of SPELLBINDERS, a national newsletter for Educators and Librarians to create life-long readers.

Character Interview and Cupcake Filled Prize Pack Giveaway

I am SO excited to have fellow cupcake enthusiast, Priyanka Gupta, here today! Pri is one of the awesome characters in Kami Kinard's latest middle-grade The Boy Problem. Learn all about The Boy Problem and Pri below, and enter to win a spectacular cupcake filled prize pack, below...

The Boy Problem: Notes and Observations of Tabitha Reddy

by Kami Kinard

April 29, 2014

Scholastic

Tabitha "Tabbi" Reddy believes in signs. Like fortune cookies. Magic 8-Balls. Shooting stars. And this year, she hopes, looking for the right signs will lead her to the right boy! Inspired by her BFF, Kara (star of THE BOY PROJECT), Tabbi starts her own "project" in the hopes of finding a cute crush. With the help of a math lesson on probability, Tabbi tries to predict who the right boy for her might be! Where is she most likely to meet him? What is he most likely to look like? Full of fun illustrations, hilarious equations, and lessons in cupcake-baking, life, love, and friendship, this book has a 100% probability of awesomeness. A perfect "next step" for fans of DORK DIARIES.

Goodreads / Amazon / B&N / IndieBound

Hi, Pri! Thank you so much for stopping by Word Spelunking today and giving us all a chance to get to know you!

I am so excited to be here! This is the first time I’ve been interviewed. It’s going to be so much fun!

What three words best describe you?

Cupcakes. Energy. Family

Can you tell us a bit about your family and home?

Sure. There are four people in my family. My parents, my little brother, and me!

Our home is very colorful. My favorite room is our red living room. I especially like it because it has some beautiful paintings in it, and a few statues my parents brought back from Kolkata.

What makes your family special?

I think all families are special in their own ways, don’t you? But I think one thing that makes us special is that we all love books. And sometimes we act out scenes from our favorite books, just for fun.

I know you LOVE cupcakes, and as one cupcake enthusiast to another, what exactly is it about cupcakes that you love? What are some of your favorite cupcake-ish things you own?

I like the way cupcakes look. They’re so cute! But also, I like the way they make people smile. When you’re holding a cupcake, you’re holding something good, even if other things in your life aren’t all that great at the moment. My favorite cupcake-ish thing is a giant bean-bag chair shaped like a cupcake!

In your opinion, what are the three absolute best cupcake flavors?

Red Velvet, Oreo Surprise, and Lemon

I know you’ve recently become friends with Tabbi and Kara; what’s your friendship with them like? What kinds of things do y’all do together?

Tabbi and Kara are awesome! We started out doing school projects together, then we worked together on a fundraiser. When you work hard with people for a common goal, I think it must bond you, because now we hang out a lot. There’s often baking involved. But when we have sleepovers, we mainly talk…. sometimes about boys, but I’m not mentioning any names!

Are you as boy crazy as Tabbi? What do you look for in a boyfriend? Any special fellas in your life right now?

I think Tabbi just wanted to know that someone would like her for herself, and she really really wanted to find that person. The right guy, not just any guy. I’ve never had a boyfriend, so I would like to know what that’s like. I guess I would look for someone who likes cupcakes. That gives me a lot of guys to choose from! I’m pretty open minded about it. I don’t have my eye on anyone in particular.

 

This OR That

baking cupcakes OR eating cupcakes?  Baking!

Math class OR English class? English!

watching the movie OR reading the book? Reading the book!

getting a gift OR giving a gift? Giving a gift!

slaying a dragon OR being a dragon?  I don’t think I could ever slay anything. So I guess being a dragon. I wonder if you can bake cupcakes with dragon breath?

Fill in the blanks:

I’m really awesome at baking.

I’m really embarrassed to admit that the first time I baked cupcakes they tasted horrible! We didn’t have any baking powder, so I used an equal amount baking soda instead. Yuck!

The last great book I read was It by Stephen King. Just kidding! I could never read something so scary! The last great book I read was Malcolm at Midnight by W.H. Beck. Malcolm is a rat, but he enjoys eating tasty treats as much as I do!

And finally, if you were to create and bake a cupcake inspired by YOU, what would it look and taste like, and what would you call it?

I love colorful things, so it would definitely be colorful. I’m thinking I’d start with red velvet – but I like the idea of a surprise in the center, like the mini oreo we put in the oreo surprise cupcakes – so maybe I’d stick a Hershey’s kiss in the middle of each one. I’d substitute chocolate icing for cream cheese icing, and add lots of sprinkles. And of course a cherry on top! A creation like that should be called something like Red Kiss Surprise! How about that? I’m thinking it might be a best seller someday!

That was so much fun, Pri! And that Red Kiss Surprise cupcake sounds super yummy!!!

website * goodreads * twitter * facebook

Kami Kinard likes being happy, therefore she loves art, reading good books, spending time with family, laughing with friends and watching Sherlock! She is not afraid to make ridiculous analogies, an obscure talent that serves her well. Check out her novels THE BOY PROJECT (Scholastic 2012) and THE BOY PROBLEM (Scholastic 2914). 

A former high school English teacher, Kinard lives in coastal South Carolina with her family and the world's smartest dog.

Win a fabulous cupcake filled prize pack!

Kami Kinard has put together an awesome cupcake themed prize pack that includes:

Large cupcake bead kit, The Boy Problem bracelet, hardback copy of The Boy Problem (shipped from Scholastic), Cupcake ring, eraser, lotion, and bubble bath, and cupcake nail art.

I am seriously drooling over this prize pack *_*

DETAILS

-US/CAN

-there will be one winner

-ends 4/30

-must be 13+

-winner will be emailed and must claim prize within 48 hours

-Word Spelunking is not responsible for lost, damaged, or stolen prizes

Fill out Rafflecopter form:

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Waiting on Wednesday (65)

Waiting On Wednesday...is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

So, it's been a very looooong time since I've done a WoW post, but I just had to share my book pick with y'all...

A Snicker of Magic

by Natalie Lloyd

2/25/14

Scholastic

add on goodreads

Introducing an extraordinary new voice---a magical debut that will make your skin tingle, your eyes glisten . . .and your heart sing.

Midnight Gulch used to be a magical place, a town where people could sing up thunderstorms and dance up sunflowers. But that was long ago, before a curse drove the magic away. Twelve-year-old Felicity knows all about things like that; her nomadic mother is cursed with a wandering heart.

But when she arrives in Midnight Gulch, Felicity thinks her luck's about to change. A "word collector," Felicity sees words everywhere---shining above strangers, tucked into church eves, and tangled up her dog's floppy ears---but Midnight Gulch is the first place she's ever seen the word "home." And then there's Jonah, a mysterious, spiky-haired do-gooder who shimmers with words Felicity's never seen before, words that make Felicity's heart beat a little faster.

Felicity wants to stay in Midnight Gulch more than anything, but first, she'll need to figure out how to bring back the magic, breaking the spell that's been cast over the town . . . and her mother's broken heart.

*************************************

Oh my cupcakes y'all! Ya know how sometimes you see a book and you're all "Hmm, yes this looks good. I would like very much to read it" *strokes beard and/or chin thoughtfully*...but then there are books that have you all "OHMYCUPCAKES! THIS BOOK CALLS TO ME AND WAS OBVIOUSLY MADE JUST FOR ME AND I MUST HAVE IT NOW *flails wildly*......well, A Snicker of Magic is definitely the latter for me! I love everything about this book-- the magical premise, the awesome middle-gradeness about it, the town name Midnight Gulch, AND THAT COVER! I seriously want to lick that cover (is that weird?!). I just can't even deal with all this "must have this book" feels right now. I cannot wait until Febuary and this sparkly little booger is in my hands!

WHAT ARE YOU WAITING ON THIS WEEK?!

Review: Endangered by Eliot Schrefer

Endangered

Eliot Schrefer

10/1/12

Scholastic

Format: eARC

Source: Netgalley

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The Congo is a dangerous place, even for people who are trying to do good.  When one girl has to follow her mother to her sanctuary for bonobos, she's not thrilled to be there. It's her mother's passion, and she'd rather have nothing to do with it. But when revolution breaks out and their sanctuary is attacked, she must rescue the bonobos and hide in the jungle. Together, they will fight to keep safe, to eat, and to survive.   Eliot Schrefer asks readers what safety means, how one sacrifices to help others, and what it means to be human in this new compelling adventure.

THREE WORDS: Powerful & Heart-Wrenching

MY REVIEW: Eliot Schrefer's Endangered was one of those books that I went into with absolutely no expectations and walked away from with so much--so many feelings, thoughts, ideas, new information, and inspiration. I'm only sad that I didn't discover this book sooner.

Endangered follows fourteen year old Sophie, as she spends the summer in the Congo with her mother who runs a sanctuary for bonobos. Sophie buys a neglected young bonobo, she names Otto, from a man on the street and takes him to the sanctuary where she nurses him back to health and forges an unbreakable bond with. When her mother must leave to release bonobos back into the wild and a revolution breaks out in war stricken Congo, Sophie must seek refuge in the unforgiving jungle, saving herself and a group of bonobos. She and her furry friends must contend with deadly rebels, near starvation, and harsh weather and journey to meet her mother before it's too late for all of them.

Endangered is a powerfully moving exploration of love, family, friendship, war, and courage. Schrefer has crafted a truly compelling and captivating story about a place and situation that is given very little attention, but he has definitely opened my eyes.

This is not a sweet and sunny story, it is raw, honest, intense and heavy, and entirely impossible to ignore. Schrefer deftly, yet unassumingly, explores the plight of the Congo and its people, not shying away from the dark, painful, and, at times, gory realities of a war stricken country. And he does so on both a very big picture scale and a very intimate, personal level. This is book is a work of fiction and not based on a true story or real people, but the author has fictionalized Congo's very real issues with a great deal of authenticity, respect, and sensitivity.

The world Schrefer has built-the bonobo sanctuary nestled on the edges of the jungle, the harsh, dangerous jungle itself, the bleak countryside dotted with various villages and communities- all feels very real and concrete, and layered. I feel like I learned so much about the Congo, its history, people, and culture, and, of course, I learned a great deal about bonobos and have a whole new appreciation for this amazing animal.

Through Sophie's relationship with her parents, her relationship with Otto, the relationship and interaction between the bonobos, and the behaviors and actions of all the characters, the author has managed to capture so much about the essence of family, love, and humanity, and has done so with such finesse. The heart of this book is the relationship between Sophie and Otto; a relationship that is heart-achingly beautiful and awe-inspiring. The bond and pure love between these two touched me greatly and moved me to tears. This is one friendship that will never truly leave readers.

Sophie's journey is a harrowing, yet inspiring one that had me on the edge of my seat. Her adventure through the jungle is one of suspense, survival, and courage, and I found it equal parts heart-stopping, enthralling, and terrifying.

MY FINAL THOUGHTS: Endangered left me breathless, inspired, and thoughtful. This book, its characters; story; and message are unforgettable and powerful. Readers will walk away from this book inspired and changed. A fantastic read for older MG readers and up.

MY RATING

Connect with the author: Website / Goodreads / Twitter / Facebook

Purchase: Amazon / B&N / Book Depository

"Waiting On" Wednesday (39): That Time I Joined The Circus

"Waiting On" Wednesday...is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm excitedly waiting on....

A music-obsessed, slightly snarky New York City girl, Lexi is on her own. After making a huge mistake—and facing a terrible tragedy— Lexi has no choice but to track down her long-absent mother. Rumor has it that Lexi’s mom is somewhere in Florida with a traveling circus.
When Lexi arrives at her new, three-ring reality, her mom isn’t there…but her destiny might be. Surrounded by tigers, elephants, and trapeze artists, Lexi finds some surprising friends and an even more surprising chance at true love. She even lucks into a spot as the circus’s fortune teller, reading tarot cards and making predictions.
But then Lexi’s ex-best friend from home shows up, and suddenly it’s Lexi’s own future that’s thrown into question… 
With humor, wisdom, and a dazzlingly fresh voice, this debut reminds us of the magic of circus tents, city lights, first kisses, last heartaches, and the importance of an excellent playlist.

That Time I Joined The Circus

J.J. Howard

2013

Scholastic

Like many children, I often declared that I was gonna join the circus when I was a kid...honestly, even as an adult there are times when life just becomes Too Much and I want to scream " Screw it! I'm running away to the circus!". So, when I saw the synopsis of this book I just knew I had to read it. I cannot wait to join Lexi on her journey!

Plus, I'm in love with that gorgeous cover!!! I just want to reach through my computer screen and pet it ;-)

What are you waiting on this week?!

Goodie Basket (3): Weekly Haul and Recap

Goodie Basket... is a weekly feature hosted here at Word Spelunking that showcases all the goodies (books, bookish things, reviews, interviews/giveaways/guest posts, blog tours, etc) that popped up in the Goodie Basket that is Word Spelunking each week.

In my goodie basket this week...

From Harper Collins

FOR REVIEW

The Unseen World of Poppy Malone: A Gaggle of Goblins

Suzanne Harper

 ARC The Turning 

Francine Prose

ARC  Team Human  

Justine Larbalestier & Sarah Rees Brennan

ARC  Sweet Shadows (Medusa Girls #2)

Tera Lynn Childs

ARC  Ten

Gretchen McNeil 

ARC  The Other Normals

Ned Vizzini

All books above sent for review from Harper Collins, who continues to rock my face and bake my cupcakes!

Other books

WON

Born Wicked 

Jessica Spotswood

Putnam

won from pub on Goodreads

GIFTED

Beswitched

Beswitched Witch

Molly Snow

The author generously sent these to my little sister so she has something fun to read while she gets better.

FOR REVIEW

ARC The Infects

Sean Beaudoin

Candlewick Press

sent from pub for review

EBOOKS FOR REVIEW

ARC  Florence

Ciye Cho

sent from author for review

ARC  Goosebumps: Most Wanted #1: Planet of the Lawn Gnomes

R.L. Stine

Scholastic Inc.

sent from pub for review via Netalley

ARC  Behind the Bookcase

Mark Steensland

Random House

sent from pub for review via Netgalley

I want to thank Harper Collins, Candlewick, Scholastic, Random House, Putnam, Molly Snow and Ciye Cho for all the book awesomeness!!!

Weekly Recap

Reviews

• Three Times Lucky by Sheila Turnage
• Fall From Grace by Charles Benoit
• Night of the Purple Moon by Scott Cramer

This Coming Week

Blog Tour

• Closed Hearts Blog Tour (Susan Kaye Quinn): review, guest post, giveaway

Reviews

• Fairystruck by J.L. Bryan
• Closed Hearts by Susan Kaye Quinn
• Onyx by Jennifer Armentrout

LEAVE LINKS TO YOUR WEEKLY HAULS/RECAPS IN THE COMMENTS AND I'LL STOP BY :)