Deals with some heavy topics in a manageable way. I have some patrons in mind who will really like this novel, so we are definitely purchasing it!

I loved this story! It does deal with heavy topics but topics that can be handled and talked about.

Javari is from Brooklyn and goes to a STEM camp. There he learns so much more than expected. I loved that it talked about the things that are going on in this world. He learned about the world of White America.

I recommend this book!!!

Holler of the Fireflies is an appropriate middle grade read touching on social justice topics of our times such as Black Live Matter, environmental impact, police brutality, and budding sexuality of preteens. Some may say this age group is too young, but they are not. They are already well aware so they need books like this to touch on these subjects with relatable characters in a digestibly relevant manner.

Javari, Black, poor, and living in Brooklyn travels to rural Appalachia to spend the summer at a STEM camp. While STEM is his forte, Javari doesn’t make friends easily and being plopped down in the middle of rural White America takes him way outside his comfort zone. On one of his first nights at the camp, Javari meets a local boy, Cricket, who shows him life outside the camp – the darker side of the region the camp hopes to keep secret.
The characterizations and voices of the book are spot on and I was totally engrossed in the story. It handled some tough subjects but did so with tact and humor. At first I couldn’t figure out the title of the book as the fireflies played such a small part, but then I got it. Like the fireflies who provided pinpricks of light in an otherwise dim world, Javari grows, becomes more comfortable with himself, and learns to let his own light shine through in spite of the odds stacked against him. Recommended read. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

2.5 stars Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This book was ok. I just felt like it was ok because at one point I thought to myself-what else could this author possibly try to fit in here? Race, sexuality, a serious illness, bullying, environmental concerns, big business…it was starting to get a little overloaded. The story itself was fine, although I felt like there were some loose ends (again, back to it being packed with A LOT). The main characters were decent and fairly likable, but I just couldn’t get into it. I couldn’t figure out what I was really supposed to care and focus on the most. I was talking about the book to my students one day and couldn’t really muster any enthusiasm about it, and that made me realize this one wasn’t for me and wasn’t really one I felt was for them.

This book is a beautiful book about a boy who goes out in the world knowing that there are tough things, but doesn't really know about tough things outside of a city.
I liked that the wants to help the town as he learns more about what is going on.
I was drawn in from the cover. And Jabari does do stuff out in nature, but not as much as I guess I thought he would.
I liked Cricket and how his relationship with Jabari grows. I like the STEM in here, but I also liked that there was a lot more to the story than just the camp that Jabari goes to.
A good middle grade book, lots to discuss.

Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

A short heads up - there is a brief dealing with homosexuality, nothing graphic, but if parents are concerned about that, they should read the book before giving it to their children. Actually, parents should read the book because it is a well-written book that has plenty of fun while addressing many serious issues that could be discussed with their children. In Holler of the Fireflies, shy 12-year-old Javari, a Black boy from Brooklyn, attends a STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) camp in rural West Virginian Appalachia. Although the subject matter is what he loves most, the thought of meeting new people is nearly enough to make him stay safely at home. The book is peopled with a huge number of characters, all of which are fleshed out whether they are main characters or one met just in passing. David Barclay Moore’s superb characterization is one of my favorite things about the novel. It is amazing how he can give us a full, interesting character in just a page or two of interaction with Javari. Javari, as a narrator, is funny, vulnerable, intelligent, and generally quite kind even to kids with racist ideas. He befriends a local boy, Cricket, who is not at the camp but who causes plenty of mischief for the camp authorities. Javari sneaks out of camp at night with Cricket, who shows him many eye-opening things in what he calls “Affrilachia”.
Moore brings up many ills of our present-day world (racism, poverty, pollution, environmental destruction) but does so in a very subtle way, making these things just part of the story. A very good book to make middle school readers think about some of these things. It would be a wonderful book to read and discuss in school.
A big thank you to NetGalley, David Barclay Moore and Knopf Books for Young Readers for this ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

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The cover is amazing, but this is not what the story is about, and yet it is. The story is about Javari, who comes from New York City to a town in the Appalachians that has had its hills strip mined, and its water ruined, but he doesn’t know that. He just knows it is a STEM camp, and he wants to learn about that.

But, as a boy, Cricket, befriends him, and shows him the true town , and its troubles, he realizes that he has to do something about it.

Realistic. Good story. But the cover fools you, so don’t go in thinking he is going to learn about nature, even though he sort of does. He also learns about bureaucracy, and wealth, and how things aren’t quite what they seem.

<em>Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.</em>

Holler of the Fireflies by David Barclay Moore

From the very first chapter of this book, Moore hooks his reader! Javari Harris, a Brooklyn native, is intriguing from the start. Faced with a myriad of issues in an uncomfortable environment (camp in West Virginia), Javari needs to step away from his own comfort zone and make a few friends while growing and learning with STEM.

Many social and environmental issues are highlighted in this book, which can be overwhelming. However, Moore presents them in a realistic way, the way our students, like Javari, are bombarded with these issues every day of their lives.

Javari has to wade his way through all of these issues to find his passion. One of the most timely issues emphasized is that of potable water, an issue that affects Javari deeply. Providing safe water is a meaningful subject for a STEM project, though it may defy the big business that controls the town of Horsewhip Hollow. Javari and his group members have to work together and work through their own issues to get their project done on time.

Racism is also an issue that Javari faces at home in Brooklyn and has to face throughout his camp experience. Protests in response to racial violence open and close this book. Javari finds himself in the middle of both, having to come to grips with racism and stereotyping, along with the strong opinions of his mother and grandfather.

Holler of the Fireflies is well-written with authentic dialogue. It presents real-life issues troubling our students every day. The combination of events and experiences presents a novel well worth reading.

The book description is intriguing, and I had hoped this would be a good selection for my tween book club. As I began reading this with my own kids, they just did not care for it. The characters weren't likeable. The main character seems clueless about many things and doesn't exhibit the growth I would like to see in a middle grade novel. Eventually my kids asked me to stop reading it to them.

In Barclay Moore's second middle grade novel about a young Black teenager with interest in STEM, Javari Harris is headed way out of his comfort zone of Bushwick, Brooklyn, down to rural West Virginia for a science and technology summer camp, and he's going on his own. While Javari is well aware of the racism that surrounds him in daily life, he finds that experiencing it firsthand in this new very white community to be more than a little bit scary and extremely frustrating. From the bald guy on the bus to his fellow campers, Javari can't seem to escape it. Except when he meets Cricket, a Black kid from the mountain community, who sneaks him out at nights to show him a whole new world.

If his first two books are any indication, Barclay Moore excels at giving us stories about Black boys in non-stereotypical circumstances, and I love that these books can serve as mirrors to many kids of color and windows to those of us who so often see only one picture of that population. I loved Javari's narrative voice, thought he was funny while also showing his vulnerable side, and confident when he needed to be. I loved seeing him work through the challenges he encountered as he grew during this special summer. Barclay Moore brings up a lot of critical issues in this novel, including environmental concerns in addition to racism, white supremacy, and police brutality, and I think the approach was handled just right. I'm not sure why publication isn't scheduled until the fall, because I think this is an excellent summer read for lots of kids.

Thanks to Netgalley and Knopf Books for Young Readers for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I will be publishing this review on my blog and instagram closer to the publication date and will return to share those links once posted.

Holy.... Wow!

This is such a powerfully moving work that really highlights the prevailing issues of race relations in the US, particularly the Appalachian area. When writers tackle a huge issue, such as this, they run the risk of coming off as moralizing and preachy. But Moore has so seamlessly integrated the topic of race into the plot of his story that it simply serves as an informative and educational backdrop to a superbly compelling story.

This is a book that I'd recommend to readers of all ages. Anyone reading this is bound to walk away more enlightened for having read it. It would also be a great required reading book for middle grade students.

Lots of great themes: Affrilachian, STEM, Black Lives Matter, race relations, summer camp, multi-generational family, LGBTQ+, ownvoices.

Middle School review!
Javari is a young boy from Brooklyn that is getting to attend a STEM camp in West Virginia, a world away from his home environment. The Appalachian town is completely opposite than the city that he lives in. Javari does not make friends quickly in the STEM group, but he does meet Cricket, a local kid, that is sneaking around the camp and causing mischief and trouble at the camp. What Javari gets from his friendship with Cricket is learning about the culture of Appalachia and what is meaningful to Cricket: His friends, local life in a small hollow and fighting for what is right in his community. Javari has “the” summer of his life!!
Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to preview and give you my honest review.
I just reviewed Holler of the Fireflies by David Barclay Moore. #HolleroftheFireflies #NetGalley Pub Date: 27 Sep 2022

Holler of the Fireflies is a middle-grade, contemporary novel set in a STEM camp
In rural Appalachia. While it has an engaging premise and an interesting setting, the story is complicated by multiple social
issues that make it feel fractured and unfocused, and the author’s treatment of dialect may feel offensive to many.

In the story, Javari is a middle-school boy from Bushwick, Brooklyn. He leaves his parents, sister, and grandpa to attend a STEM camp in the mountains of Appalachia. He also leaves behind the racial frenzy that erupted when a black man was shot by police in his neighborhood. When he arrives at camp, he meets kids from all over the country, and he feels different, both due to his brown skin and because of his eye which he cannot control, so it stares off in a different direction. While he loves STEM, he is burdened by the pressure to belong and the fears that his family is about to be evicted from their apartment. When he learns that the grand prize of the camp is a chest filled with gifts and cash, he determines to win it, but his group will make it difficult, especially Becca, a girl who thinks less of people of color.

As the camp progresses, he makes a new friend, Cricket, a boy from the region who steals from the camp and peppers the camp employees with his paintball gun. Javari sneaks out of his dorm every night and explores the real Appalachia with Cricket in his motorbike. He learns about mountain-too removal mining, mining pollution, and racism. He also learns that Cricket wants a different kind of relationship with him when Cricket kisses him.

In the final days of the camp, Javari has to face an array of obstacles that threaten to derail his hopes of winning the prize, but the biggest obstacle is whether he has the courage to follow his heart, stand up for what he values, and take the risks he believes are worth it.

Javari is a likable character with a good backstory, but he seems confused about who he is, what his values are, and what he truly wants. His family seems militantly against the police, but he claims he would obey the police if he were stopped. Yet when he arrives at camp, he disrespects the guards and the resident leaders and breaks camp rules for his own purposes. He seems to want to make friends, but he uses the N-word and offends another black camper, and he treats other campers rudely, silently naming them names that emphasize their flaws. In addition, the writing is much more focused on telling than showing. It seems like an early draft of an amateur author’s first work rather than the work of an accomplish author.

Most importantly, the author shows disrespect for Appalachia in a story that supposedly champions the equality of ALL people, but the respect is only for people of color. David Barclay Moore portrays the white people of Appalachia as ignorant, violent, uneducated, and coarse, while the black people of Appalachia are celebrated as intellectual, cultured, and resilient. As someone whose family has deep roots in Appalachia, I was troubled by this portrayal of Appalachia. The author seems to think that subject-verb disagreement is a shortcut to characterizing people of the region, and the “hick,” lawless, and lazy personas he creates are offensive. I would hope readers would look further for books that celebrate the true culture and language of Appalachia.

Javari, from the hood in Brooklyn, goes to STEM camp in Appalachia and has quite the adventure. Javari gets to experience coding, VR games, building his own automata and more. He also ends up meeting Cricket who lives in the holler and shows him a new side of life Javari has never seen: undrinkable water, coal mining, a mudslide and the fireflies. When Javari finds out a secret about Ball Creek Energy, it gives him an idea to use for his group’s presentation and contest because someone told him “it’s crucial to come together, relationships in the real world are the only ones that truly feed us.” Does his idea work?