What the Fireflies Knew
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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Zenzi Williams
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By:
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Kai Harris
About this listen
An NAACP Image Award Nominee
Longlisted for the Center for Fiction's First Novel Prize
A Marie Claire Book Club pick
Named a Most Anticipated Book of 2022 by *Marie Claire* *Teen Vogue* *Buzzfeed* *Essence* *Ms. Magazine* *NBCNews.com* *Bookriot* *Bookbub* and more!
“Harris rewrites the coming-of-age story with Black girlhood at the center.”
—New York Times Book Review
In the vein of Jesmyn Ward's Salvage the Bones and Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees, a coming-of-age novel told by almost-eleven-year-old Kenyatta Bernice (KB), as she and her sister try to make sense of their new life with their estranged grandfather in the wake of their father's death and their mother's disappearance
An ode to Black girlhood and adolescence as seen through KB's eyes, What the Fireflies Knew follows KB after her father dies of an overdose and the debts incurred from his addiction cause the loss of the family home in Detroit. Soon thereafter, KB and her teenage sister, Nia, are sent by their overwhelmed mother to live with their estranged grandfather in Lansing, Michigan. Over the course of a single sweltering summer, KB attempts to navigate a world that has turned upside down.
Her father has been labeled a fiend. Her mother's smile no longer reaches her eyes. Her sister, once her best friend, now feels like a stranger. Her grandfather is grumpy and silent. The white kids who live across the street are friendly, but only sometimes. And they're all keeping secrets. As KB vacillates between resentment, abandonment, and loneliness, she is forced to carve out a different identity for herself and find her own voice.
A dazzling and moving novel about family, identity, and race, What the Fireflies Knew poignantly reveals that heartbreaking but necessary component of growing up—the realization that loved ones can be flawed and that the perfect family we all dream of looks different up close.
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Critic reviews
“Harris rewrites the coming-of-age story with Black girlhood at the center.”—New York Times Book Review
"[A] sensitive, realistic portrait of a ten-year-old trying to understand her world in the wake of her father’s death. Sent to spend the summer with a grandfather she barely knows, she contends with her losses and fears while learning more about her family, finding her own voice in the process."—Washington Post
"[What the Fireflies Knew] is not an easy read . . . but it feels authentic, and does what good fiction does: takes readers on a journey they otherwise wouldn’t travel."—Associated Press
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My Favorite Book So Far, by Far!
- By Dee on 04-19-09
By: Virginia DeBerry, and others
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Ramona Blue
- By: Julie Murphy
- Narrated by: Therese Plummer
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
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Ramona was only five years old when Hurricane Katrina changed her life forever. Since then it's been Ramona and her family against the world. Standing over six feet tall, with unmistakable blue hair, Ramona is sure of three things: She likes girls, she's fiercely devoted to her family, and she knows she's destined for something bigger than the trailer she calls home in Eulogy, Mississippi. But juggling multiple jobs, her flaky mom, and her well-meaning but ineffectual dad forces her to be the adult of the family.
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Where was this book ten years ago?
- By S. F. Wilson on 05-08-18
By: Julie Murphy
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Whistling in the Dark
- A Novel
- By: Lesley Kagen
- Narrated by: Lesley Kagen
- Length: 8 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
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Sally O'Malley made a promise to her daddy before he died. She swore she'd look after her sister, Troo. Keep her safe. But like her Granny always said, actions speak louder than words. And Sally would have to agree with her.
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One of the worst books I've read in a long time
- By Dianne on 08-13-21
By: Lesley Kagen
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Orange Mint and Honey
- By: Carleen Brice
- Narrated by: Cherise Booth
- Length: 8 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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After grad school, Shay Dixon feels like she's had enough for awhile. Inspired by her spiritual adviser - a soul-soothing blues player named Nina Simon - Shay calls her estranged mother Nona for the first time in years, and shocks herself by asking if it would be okay to come home for a while.
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One For The Money
- By DiaRose on 09-25-17
By: Carleen Brice
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The Red Umbrella
- By: Christina Diaz Gonzalez
- Narrated by: Kyla Garcia
- Length: 7 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1961, two years after the Communist revolution, Lucía Álvarez still leads a carefree life, dreaming of parties and her first crush. But when the soldiers come to her sleepy Cuban town, everything begins to change. Freedoms are stripped away. Neighbors disappear. And soon, Lucía's parents make the heart-wrenching decision to send her and her little brother to the United States - on their own. Suddenly plunked down in Nebraska with well-meaning strangers, Lucía struggles to adapt to a new country, a new language, a new way of life. But what of her old life?
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The performance
- By Luca on 04-05-24
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How to Steal a Dog
- By: Barbara O’Connor
- Narrated by: Suzy Jackson
- Length: 4 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Barbara O’Connor’s How to Steal a Dog blew critics away and quickly became a fan-favorite. After being abandoned by her father, Georgina Hayes is forced to spend much of her time watching her younger brother, while their mother works two jobs to make ends meet. When she sees a missing-dog poster offering a $500 reward, Georgina cooks up a scheme to steal a look-a-like dog and claim the reward. But things don’t quite go as planned.
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very good
- By Tashara Robinson on 03-09-16
By: Barbara O’Connor
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Feathers
- By: Jacqueline Woodson
- Narrated by: Sisi Aisha Johnson
- Length: 2 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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Frannie doesn't know what to make of the poem she's reading in school. She hasn't thought much about hope. There are so many other things to think about. Each day, her friend Samantha seems a bit more "holy". And there is a new boy in class everyone is calling the Jesus Boy.
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National Treasure
- By Austin Jayhawk on 03-19-17
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A Summer of Sundays
- By: Lindsay Eland
- Narrated by: Kathleen McInerney
- Length: 7 hrs and 34 mins
- Unabridged
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When you're the third of six kids, it's easy to get lost in the shuffle, but Sunday Fowler is determined that this summer she'll find the one thing that makes her stand out from her siblings. And when she discovers a silver box in the basement of the library her parents are renovating, she might just have found something to gain her the attention she so craves. Inside is a series of letters addressed to "The Librarian" and a manuscript. But who wrote them?
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What I think about the book a summer of Sundays.
- By hawa on 08-07-17
By: Lindsay Eland
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American Street
- By: Ibi Zoboi
- Narrated by: Robin Miles
- Length: 8 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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On the corner of American Street and Joy Road, Fabiola Toussaint thought she would finally find une belle vie - a good life. But after they leave Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Fabiola's mother is detained by US immigration, leaving Fabiola to navigate her loud American cousins - Chantal, Donna, and Princess - the grittiness of Detroit's West Side, a new school, and a surprising romance all on her own.
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A lot to unpack
- By AudioBookHoe on 07-18-17
By: Ibi Zoboi
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The Hollow
- The Hollow Trilogy, Book 1
- By: Jessica Verday
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 11 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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When Abbey’s best friend, Kristen, vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, everyone else is all too quick to accept that Kristen is dead, and rumors fly that her death was no accident. Abbey goes through the motions of mourning her best friend, but privately, she refuses to believe that Kristen is really gone. Then she meets Caspian, the gorgeous and mysterious boy who shows up out of nowhere at Kristen’s funeral, and who keeps reappearing in Abbey’s life. Caspian clearly has secrets of his own, but he’s the only person who makes Abbey feel normal again.
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Slow
- By Messerschmidt on 09-08-11
By: Jessica Verday
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The Sweet By and By
- A Novel
- By: Todd Johnson
- Narrated by: Becky Ann Baker, Adriane Lenox, Robin Miles, and others
- Length: 10 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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Among the longleaf pines and family farms of eastern North Carolina, days seem to pass without incident for Margaret Clayton and Bernice Stokes until they discover each other in a friendship that will take them on the most important journey of their lives. Margaret, droll and whip smart, has a will of iron that never fails her even when her body does, while Bernice, an avid country-music fan, is rarely lucid.
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Great 2/3 of a book.
- By Tracy on 07-09-12
By: Todd Johnson
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Wonderland
- By: Barbara O'Connor
- Narrated by: Nina Alvamar
- Length: 4 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Mavis Jeeter has never lived in one place long enough to have a real best friend. Mavis wants this home to be permanent - which means finding herself a best friend. Rose Tully doesn't quite fit in, and her closest friend is Mr. Duffy, but he hasn't been himself since his dog died. Henry has run away from home, but he craves kindness and comfort - and doesn't know where to look for them. When Mavis and Rose hatch a scheme to find Mr. Duffy a new dog, their lives and Henry's intersect - and they all come to find friendship in places they never expected.
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Rose and Mavis never gave up trying to cheer up Mr. Duffy.
- By Elizabeth on 10-03-24
By: Barbara O'Connor
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The Center of Everything
- By: Laura Moriarty
- Narrated by: Julie Dretzin
- Length: 13 hrs and 7 mins
- Unabridged
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The Center of Everything is the fictional story of 10-year-old math prodigy Evelyn Bucknow. Living in Kansas with her single mother and deeply religious grandmother, Evelyn believes she is destined to marry Travis, the boy next door. But as she grows up, she experiences the heartbreak of a love not meant to be. Author Laura Moriarty was a recipient of the George Bennet Fellowship for Creative Writing at Phillips Exeter Academy.
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not religious fiction
- By Theresa Jameson on 04-28-14
By: Laura Moriarty
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When Mockingbirds Sing
- By: Billy Coffey
- Narrated by: Gabe Wicks
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
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Leah is a child from Away, isolated from her peers because of her stutter. After her family moves to Mattingly, she begins painting scenes that are epic in scope, brilliant in detail, and suffused with rich, prophetic imagery. When the event foreshadowed in the first painting dramatically comes true, the town takes notice. Leah attributes her ability to foretell the future to an invisible friend she calls the Rainbow Man. Some of the townsfolk are enchanted with her. Others fear her. But there is one thing they all agree on—there is no such thing as the Rainbow Man.
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Kill a mocking bird meets Stephen King
- By John S on 11-13-14
By: Billy Coffey
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Not my favorite....
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In present-day California, Eleanor Bennett’s death leaves behind a puzzling inheritance for her two children, Byron and Benny: a black cake, made from a family recipe with a long history, and a voice recording. In her message, Eleanor shares a tumultuous story about a headstrong young swimmer who escapes her island home under suspicion of murder. The heartbreaking tale Eleanor unfolds, the secrets she still holds back, and the mystery of a long-lost child challenge everything the siblings thought they knew about their lineage and themselves.
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Weird
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By: Daniel Black
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When the seventh child of the Peace family, named Perfect, turns eight, her mother, Emma Jean, tells her bewildered daughter, "You was born a boy. I made you a girl. But that ain't what you was supposed to be. So from now on, you gon' be a boy. It'll be a little strange at first, but you'll get used to it, and this'll be over after while." From this point forward, his life becomes a bizarre kaleidoscope of events. Meanwhile, the Peace family is forced to question everything they thought they knew about gender, sexuality, unconditional love, and fulfillment.
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What listeners say about What the Fireflies Knew
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Dança
- 06-02-22
Wow!
Her first novel?! Unbelievable! This is such a beautiful story and the narrator does a phenomenal job.
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- Rufus
- 03-07-23
Excellent!!
Great messages put In stories relevant to many age groups. The cross generational perspectives weaves together very nicely.
Thank You🙏🏾
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- KactusKelley
- 05-13-22
Delightful
This is a delightful coming of age story that touches topics including race, gender, overcoming adversity, and more. The character development is good and I really felt like I was in the mind of the main character, KB. Grand daddy was alittle confusing at first. The ending was gold as the main lesson was that there is no perfect family, but we can indifference. forgive each other and be a family despite indifferences.
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- cahelia
- 04-24-22
Heartfelt
This book spoke so much to pain and healing of black girls and women, mothers and daughters, sisters. There is something in this book for every black girl and woman. Beautifully written from the eyes of a child.
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- Barbara deRamona
- 02-13-23
Great story of maturation
This was a great read. Two young girls dealing with loss and growing up. I liked the relationship between the sisters and with their grandfather. Also think the issue of drugs was dealt with well in terms of the devastation and loss drug use/addiction leaves in its wake.
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- Sheryl krase
- 04-28-22
question everything
I loved and hated this book. Loved it for the writing and truth it told in KBs perspective hated it for the way the world is and how that so much is still true today for so many. Kai Harris did a wonderful job of telling the good and the bad of it all.
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- Charvelia
- 04-04-22
Great Book
This book was outstanding.
It brought tears to my eyes to read about the lives of this family.
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- Kathleen
- 01-19-23
Touches The Heart
A story that reaches deep in to your heart, and teaches you that even bad memories can subside to just a memory.
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- DestinyN09
- 03-08-22
To see the world through innocent eyes.
Very moving. So glad I stumbled upon this gem. Will make you remember not just the bad times but the good times too.
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- Hawaiian 54
- 04-25-22
Preteen coming of age story, KB of thé not so green gables
Beautifully conceived plot involving depression, drug abuse, death, parental secrets and sexual initiation and how a 10 year old is so different ( and the same) as her 24 year old sister.
The constant reframing of difficulties as opportunities for learning was well done.
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