The second book by this very good author, and now I've read both of them - not on purpose, necessarily, but I'm glad I did! Holler of the Fireflies is the story of Javari, who lives in Brooklyn, New York but is embarking on a two week summer STEM camp in West Virginia. In these two weeks, he encounters a few different cultures he has never encountered before (Brooklyn and West Virginia aren't too far apart geographically, but culturally there is quite a divide between them...or is there?). He also comes up against racism, but not always from the places you might expect. He also faces questions of sexuality, but all of these big topics are deftly handled in Moore's writing.
In Moore's first book, The Stars Beneath Our Feet, I wrote that his writing was a little jumpy at times as he wrote in the way his characters thought and spoke, which made the book a little bit disjointed feeling (August 2020). Now I see he writes Holler in the same way, and it was still a little hard to follow in a few places. But now I am learning that this may be Moore's style, and that if I read his books in longer chunks, versus a chapter or two at a time (his chapters are short), things flow better and make more sense. I still think he's not quite there with what he's trying to do yet, but I appreciate the issues he brings up in this story, and once again how memorable his characters are, even after I finished the book. To me, that is the sign of a strong writer and a good story!
I rated Stars Beneath Our Feet 4 paws, and I'm on the fence about this one as well. Because I loved the characters and their realness and complexity, and I love that he introduced not just one but a few topics sure to land this book on someone's banned or challenged list, I'll give him all 5 paws (my four and the one I don't have but need for books that are this good)! I recommend either of Moore's books, and know I will read whatever he write next! I hope you do, too!
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