Holler of the Fireflies

Thoughtful explorations of issues such as corporate greed, the opioid crisis, water rights, and the little-known history of Affrilachians abound in this outstanding novel.

Told through Javari’s first-person perspective, this gentle and informative story seamlessly weaves together topics of racism, white supremacy, and police brutality, and factors in the opioid crisis and environmental issues. Javari’s voice combines humor, vulnerability, pain, and joy, creating a compelling and timely read.

Moore packs his narrative with themes and carries it all off with well-rounded characters, lively dialogue and action, and often beautiful sensory prose.

Moore (The Stars Beneath Our Feet) covers timely social issues in this richly wrought fish-out-of-water story that takes a 12-year-old Brooklynite gamer to Appalachia. After Javari Harris's family returns from protesting a local event of police brutality, an eviction notice all but seals the family's ejection from their long-term home in rapidly gentrifying Bushwick. The opportunity to attend a STEM camp at a West Virginia Christian college becomes more appealing when Javari sees an opportunity to win the camp competition's cash prize and help with back rent. Upon arrival, quiet Javari--who doesn't like meeting new people and has an unspecified eye condition--meets an assortment of richly limned characters. But it's Cricket, a light-skinned Black 13-year-old local, who impacts his summer most significantly. Between experiencing Affrilachian culture alongside Cricket and navigating racism at the ethnically diverse camp, Javari encounters ways in which the region's history intersects with his own. Relational segments engage with Javari's former Amtrak porter grandfather and the Appalachian town's local residents, interweaving realities around colorism and racism, corporate ethics and pollution, generational trauma, and opioids in a complex novel that effectively highlights how long-standing histories can connect and divide. Ages 8-12. Agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Sept.)

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★ Thoughtful explorations of issues such as corporate greed, the opioid crisis, water rights, and the little-known history of Affrilachians abound in this outstanding novel. An emotionally resonant narrative skillfully connecting the past, present, and future. —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Explores serious and urgent subjects, including gentrification, class, environmental racism, police brutality and sexual identity. Moore's sophisticated story raises as many questions as it answers, making the point that issues around American history, identity and injustice are neither simple nor straightforward.—The New York Times

Outstanding. Moore's thoughtful approach to big ideas is honest and his text attends to the topics in a way that allows middle-grade readers to understand and older readers to relate. Holler of the Fireflies is a feel-good book that still manages to go deep into heavy topics. Profound. —Shelf Awareness