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Honestly, I could not stop comparing this book to Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird." It really can't be helped — a book about race issues in the 1930s-era South? How can anyone not compare the two books, right? That's not necessarily a good thing for this book, though, because "Mockingbird" is probably the most perfect book in existence, and this one just pales in comparison. Probably most any book in this genre would. Harper Lee hit it out of the ballpark with her book, so this genre is done, really. Any other book after it could only be seen as an imitation.

Anyway, I first made comparisons when the main character Jessie, a 13-year-old girl, and her Dad have a conversation on the porch about fireflies. It brought me instantly to mind about what Scout and her father talked about mockingbirds in Harper Lee's novel. From then on, all I could think was, "This book is trying desperately to be 'To Kill a Mockingbird'." And I mean desperately.

The biggest differences, of course, is that the girl in this book is much older, and the man on trial is a white man instead of black. In Lee's novel, the black man is innocent but assumed guilty, yet his defense prevails. In this book, the white man is guilty and gets away with it; that is, he doesn't get convicted. Also, the two kids in this book encounter so much more violence, aimed directly at them, and there's also the threat of a sexual attack and at least two deaths. Lee's novel is so much more innocent and is written with so much more subtlety and craft and a lighter hand.

"Fireflies" — on the other hand — is a bit heavy handed, especially in the end where it moralizes a little too much in the name of Jesus. It's predictable in some ways, too, illogically contrived in others. For instance, the way Jeb was introduced to the story, I knew he had to be one of two things, and from the way Jessie didn't communicate her suspicions right away, delaying her parents' eventual explanation of the truth, it was a dead giveaway. And that's part of why it was so illogical at times — it didn't make sense that Jessie would keep her suspicions to herself when she was so truthful and forthright nearly every other time. It just wasn't consistent what she would share and what she would keep to herself. It also wasn't consistent how she would be paralyzed with fear and then later do something stupidly "brave."

But except for the inconsistencies, it really wasn't bad. I think if I hadn't already read Harper Lee, I really would have loved this.

Downloaded November 2, 2009. Finished August 24, 2010.