Review (PDF)

The Light Of The Fireflies

A haunting and hopeful tale of discovering light in even the darkest of places.For his whole life, the boy has lived underground, in a basement with his parents, grandmother, sister, and brother. Before he was born, his family was disfigured by a fire. His sister wears a white mask to cover her burns.He spends his hours with his cactus, reading his book on insects, or touching the one ray of sunlight that filters in through a crack in the ceiling. Ever since his sister had a baby, everyone’s been acting very strangely. The boy begins to wonder why they never say who the father is, about what happened before his own birth, about why they’re shut away.A few days ago, some fireflies arrived in the basement. His grandma said, There’s no creature more amazing than one that can make its own light. That light makes the boy want to escape, to know the outside world. Problem is, all the doors are locked. And he doesn’t know how to get out…

File Size: 4683 KB

Print Length: 338 pages

Publisher: Crossing (April 1, 2016)

Publication Date: April 1, 2016

Sold by:  Digital Services LLC

Language: English

ASIN: B016A31ZWC

Text-to-Speech: Enabled

X-Ray: Enabled

Word Wise: Enabled

Lending: Not Enabled

Enhanced Typesetting: Enabled

Best Sellers Rank: #1,733 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store) #29 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Literary Fiction > Psychological #46 in Kindle Store > Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Literary Fiction > Mystery, Thriller & Suspense #47 in Books > Literature & Fiction > Contemporary

I chose this book as my March Kindle first selection and finished it in just two sittings. The first 165 pages or so of The Light of the Fireflies are told from the point-of-view of an unnamed 10 year old boy who lives in a basement with his nameless Mom, Dad, Grandmother, older sister, and mentally disabled older brother. All the family members except the boy have been badly injured in a fire before the boy was born. His sister is so grotesque that the family forces her to wear a mask in front of the boy at all times.The boy was born in the basement and has never left its confines; believing the stories his family tells him about the world beyond being a dangerous place that will cause him immense pain as though covered in thousands of blisters, he is happy to stay in his basement home. He learns of the world from books and television and is content with his life until things intensify within his family -- his sister gives birth to a baby that can only be the product of incest, and the boy begins to question everything about his world. He comes to be suspect of everything his parents tell him and fixated on noises he sometimes hears from above and believes them to emanate from a bogeyman he calls "The Cricket Man." (The boy fails to make the connection between the noises and the sudden appearance of supplies: food, vitamins, and other goods.) After some time, his sister begins to speak secretly with the boy, revealing many dark and disturbing secrets about the family, and together, they formulate a plan.The first half of this book is a riveting read and reminded me a bit of Room by Emma Donoughe, only this family willingly lives in the basement of their own accord with the exception of the boy's older sister, who is treated as the family pariah.

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