This is a debut novel from Harris, who is an assistant professor in California. It is a 'coming of age' story narrated beautifully by ten-year-old KB (short for Kenyatta Bernice). She and her teenage sister Nia, together with their mom, lose their house after their dad dies from a drug overdose. The mom is struggling and decides to leave the girls with her estranged father out of the city. In a new environment, with a sister who no longer seems to want to play with her, KB tries to adapt to her new circumstances. The novel deals with racism, assault, forgiveness, sisters and family secrets. It is a good recommendation for customers (both adults and teens) looking for an entertaining read to honor black history month

kai harris says in the acknowledgments: “this book was born from a desire to show Black girlhood at its best, at its worst, at its most dull and most exciting.” i think she did just that. beautiful and heartbreaking and so well done.

although it’s categorized as middle grade or young adult - i think this story told from the perspective of a 10 year old Black girl, KB, is not one you can be too old for. she has a voice and perspective that more of us need to hear and listen to.

A sweet story- I loved KB! I wanted a little more from this one, but overall I liked the story. Very, very character driven. I'm not sure this is one I'd say you MUST read.

This book was interesting and poignant, but in the first half, I had difficulty with it not holding my attention very well. Once I was farther into it, I was more interested and cared more about the characters. I began to root for things to work out between the girls, their mom, and their grandfather.

This is a beautifully written story of family drama, coming of age and trauma as seen through the eyes of 10 year old KB. Family secrets uncovered, forgiveness and love.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A coming of age novel dealing with family trauma and finding healing.

This is such a tenderly told story, reminiscent of Ward’s Salvage the Bones in the tone and observant nature of the narrator. But Harris sets herself apart in the directness of her emotion, something I appreciated. KB is honest and unafraid to ask difficult questions—about her father’s drug addiction and passing, about her mother leaving her and her sister with their grandfather, about the tensions in her family that preceded her but define her relationships. Over the summer with her grandfather, KB comes into her identity (and into her adolescence) with new understandings about the entanglement of love and pain. With this, she gains a strength of self that is not tied to or seeking validation from anyone in her family, but leans into the strength of her curiosity and will. This is definitely a character driven novel, and because of that, there are movements in the middle that feel slower paced. Harris gives KB (and everyone) the room to breathe and grow, and I needed to be a patient reader to wait for the reward.

In her Acknowledgements, Kai Harris writes that What The Fireflies Knew emanated from a desire to show Black girlhood at its best, its worst, its dullest, and its most exciting. Harris has succeeded and then some. This beautiful coming-of-age novel opens the readers heart and mind to the traumas and good times of a 10-turned-11 year old Black girl and her relationships in and out of her family.. During a summer spent with her older sister at their Grandfather's home in Lansing, MI, separated from her newly widowed mother who has sought help for her depression, Kenyatta (KB) learns both the hard lessons of life, complete with loss, racism, and family secrets, as well as the sweet ones. Before reading the book I knew that it had been highly anticipated. That anticipation was appropriately so my expectations were high. They were exceeded. What the Fireflies Knew is a book to read and read again. Highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tiny Reparations Books for providing an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

What the Fireflies Knew was an absolutely beautiful Black coming-of-age story that was at times heartbreaking and at others so joyful. KB's voice was absolutely spot-on; a really excellent mix of mostly childlike (as suited her age) with the occasional thought that was way more mature than you'd expect for her age. The book deals with a lot of heavy topics like drug use, racism, sex and sexual assault, and depression, among others, but they were very well-handled in a way that worked with KB's age (10 going on 11). KB is at the perfect age for this book; she's young enough to still be quite innocent and have a sense of childlike wonder, but she's also verging on the point of understanding that there's more that she doesn't know, and that the adults around her aren't necessarily going to explain.

The relationships in this book added a really poignant extra facet to KB's story. Her older sister Nia has reached the age where she's no longer interested in playing with her younger sister, and KB's confusion about this and her desire to get back what they had is incredibly relatable. The way their grandfather gradually opened up more and more to KB as the book progressed was absolutely perfect, and I loved that they found common ground despite the age difference.

Overall this was an incredible book that I would recommend to anyone of any age because I think we could all learn from it.

"But the truth bout the little orange caterpillar crawling around the bottom of my jar is that he will have to give himself up completely before he can become something new." - What the Fireflies Knew

I finished this book last night, and I cannot. shake. the emotional tide it left on my heart. (Nor do I want it to.) This book is beautiful, and heartbreaking, and insightful, and will remind readers that real life is complex, but we persevere.

This is a stunning debut, and I can’t wait for it to hit shelves.

This was such a lovely coming of age story.

It follows KB as she and her sister go live with their grandfather following the death of their father. KB tries to learn more about her family and find a way to bring everyone back together.

KB struggles with making friends and staying connected with her sister. Throughout the summer she learns some tough lessons and processes them with such a unique perspective.

There were some absolutely beautiful sentences and I was captivated by KB’s voice. I would definitely recommend this one.

What the Fireflies Knew is a wonderfully written story about 10 year old Kenyatta (KB) and the summer she and her sister Nia lives with their grandfather. KB's life hasn't been great recently. Her father died several months ago of a drug overdose. Their mother is struggling to get their lives together again. KB's older sister Nia used to play with her all of the time, but now all she wants to do is hang out with her friends. KB wants to talk about her dad, but no one else wants to talk about all of their good memories. She knows he did something bad, and his addiction hurt everyone, but there were good times, too, and she can't help still loving him.

KB and Nia's mom leave them with her father in Lansing, a place where she has never visited before. It is a very different world from Detroit, where they were living. There is a big yard to play in, with a field of flowers, a pond and a perfect tree to climb. KB loves exploring, but really wants someone to play with. The kids who live across the street are willing, but their mother objects to her children playing with someone like her, so they have to do it in secret.

As the summer stretches on, KB becomes close with her grandfather, survives a traumatic experience, and learns more about her mother and why she hadn't visited her father very often. This book deals with some pretty heavy subjects - drug use, sex, depression - but does so through the eyes of a child on the cusp of young adulthood. The choice of this viewpoint is an astute one, as we all remember being that age and trying to figure out the adult world while the adults try to keep that information from you. KB tries to heal her family, so they can all be together again before school starts again.

This is a wonderful coming of age story that will warm your heart. Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy!

The ten-year-old narrator of this book, Kenyatta (or KB as most call her), moves into her grandfather’s house in Lansing, Michigan with her sister after her father dies of an overdose. Her mother, overwhelmed by the death of her husband and the loss of their house, seeks in-patient treatment for depression while KB is left to navigate her new living situation with her grandfather. KB’s sister is distant as she deals with her own anger and grief over their father’s death. KB reads books and attempts to make friends in the neighborhood while also trying to make sense of their situation.

Harris perfectly captures the mind of a 10-year-old girl and the unique time between childhood and becoming a teen. KB is still full of curiosity and childlike wonder at many things, like the fireflies in her grandfather’s backyard. But she’s also starting to realize adults don’t give her the full story. You really feel the same confusion and loneliness she does as she’s trying to figure it all out. KB’s relationship with her sister is so real, fraught with conflict but also fundamentally loving. While KB grows, so does every other character in this book, and you end up empathizing if not loving every one of them.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a lovely coming of age novel about KB, who, along with her sister, Nia, is forced to spend the summer of 1995 living with her grandfather in Lansing, Michigan, after her mother must deal with the aftermath of the death of her husband and KB's father. The descriptive sentences in this book are extremely vivid, right from the start, and I felt pulled into KB's world. My one quibble with the book is that the ending seemed a little rushed, but it's minor in the larger scope of the book.

A beautiful and tender coming-of-age novel, narrated by KB, an eleven-year-old who recently lost her father and is sent with her older sister to live with their grandfather for the summer. I found this to be a really lovely reading experience, layered with deeper themes--trauma, racism, family bounds, forgiveness--all while staying true to the voice of the young narrator. I would recommend this book to people of all ages, and can see it doing particularly well in high school or college English literature classes.

Thank you Net Galley and Tiny Reparations Books for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

“This book was born from a desire to show Black girlhood at its best, at its worst, at its most dull and most exciting.” - Kai Harris

It pains my heart that so many stories of Black girlhood and womanhood is often filled with trauma- whether it be physical or emotional, both are violent and take pieces of our innocence. Being a young Black girl in America sometimes means being subjected to grown up situations well before you are mentally and emotionally ready to deal with or comprehend them. It’s ugly and it’s heartbreaking, but unfortunately it is the reality that has birthed so many of us.
From the beginning of this book, I already knew that neither Kenyatta aka KB nor Nia would never know what just being a kid is like. They experienced tragedy very early after living through some very rough times. Their father dies of an overdose and their mother can’t quite be who they need her to be right now, and these things knock the girls further off balance. Already used to living on the edge of uncertainty with having one of their parents addicted to drugs, the need for stability and a normal childhood is urgent.
KB at only 11 years old is the narrator of this story. As I was reading I kept thinking that some of the things she would say were very insightful for such a young child, but then I had to remember her situation. But even with her wisdom, she still was just a child who needed the adults in her life to get their sh-t together and be what she needed.
There is a lot both said and unsaid in this novel. I really enjoyed it for the most part. There were a couple times toward the end where I thought there was some inconsistencies with a character, because throughout most of the book, Nia, the older sister seems to be one way and then toward the end suddenly becomes an entirely different person. I thought the transition was a bit too soon and rushed, but it did not take away from the story at all.
I wish we could have gotten more interaction or insight into the family dynamics from other characters that were introduced, but maybe Harris is leaving the door open for another book?
This book made me laugh and also cry, but mostly it made me think about real life KBs Nias that have stories just like this and no one cares. I’m happy that these characters had people in their lives that love and care for them because stories like this are important because they give us hope.

This was a beautiful, poetic book that captures the harsh realities of growing up Black while dealing with poverty, a parent's death, and family secrets and hurt that result in fragile family relationships. KB is a bright, curious ten year old who seeks to understand her family's problems. Less than a year after her father's death, she and her older sister, Nia, are dropped off to live with a grandfather they don't know and don't really want to know. The grandfather is silent and seems mean. How is she going to get through this summer in Lansing, Michigan without her mother? And her sister, Nia, seems so unhappy and far away - will they ever be friends again? This is a moving book that portrays KB's interior life with depth and feeling. I had to trade in my kleenex for paper towels because the book moved me so much, I also like that the ending was realistic rather than all tied together in bows. I highly recommend this excellent read.

After the death of their father, KB and her sister are sent to spend the summer with their grandfather who they barely know. They spend the summer nursing their grief and discovering family secrets.

After the death of her father and the abandonment of her mother, a young girl has to spend the summer with a grandfather she’s never met. The sister she has always relied on being friends with suddenly wants nothing to do with her. Learning how to deal with all of this teaches her a lot about growing up. It was a good story.

As much as I liked this book, I feel like there will be people who will fall head over heels in love, and this book deserves all of the praise.

Many adult things affect KB's life, but no one wants to tell her about it. She finds her father died from an overdose. After his death, their family loses their house and KB's mother takes KB and her sister to stay with their grandfather they never met before for the summer. Their mother leaves to take some time to heal mentally. During the summer, KB tries to figure out family secrets and how to get her family back together.

This book can feel slow and lazy in the way hot summers feel. KB is an interesting character. Sometimes, she does stupid things, but as she's an eleven-year-old child who lost her mother and father and no one will tell her straight answers, you can't hate her. You can only feel for her and hope that everything will get better. This is a beautiful book.

Review based on an advanced reader copy provided through Netgalley for an honest review.