Wednesday, April 26, 2017

Review: Chasing Fireflies by Imogen Rose


Genre: Contemporary Fiction/Young Adult/Coming of Age

Description:

“It’s that nothing age—too young to actually do anything but old enough to want to do everything. So, we wait, always chasing tomorrow. But sometimes, there is no tomorrow. That realization hit me hard, a real epiphany. I knew I had to do something to make it all worthwhile, and not just for myself. But also for her.”

Author:

Dr. Imogen Rose is an immunologist turned full-time author. Her two series (Portal Chronicles and Bonfire Chronicles) feature paranormal characters aimed at young adults. Chasing Fireflies is a departure, with nary a demon, troll, or any other creature you won’t find in the real world.

Appraisal:

On the surface this is a fun story about teenage hijinks, but lurking in the background is a consideration of some of life’s big questions. The story focuses on three teens. Atticus who prefers to go by the nickname Fitz is the protagonist, but two girls, Maddie and Tamsin, figure prominently in the story as well. When a schoolmate dies these three decide to honor her in their own unique way. In the planning and execution of this tribute (details would be a bit of a spoiler) Fitz and his sidekicks gain a fuller, more mature perspective on life. Yeah, they grow up just a bit. While an obvious fit for the young adult reader, it's a story that will appeal to an older crowd, too. Even grandfathers like me.

Buy now from:            Amazon US        Amazon UK

Format/Typo Issues:

Review is based on a pre-release copy and I’m unable to judge the final production version in this area.

Rating: ***** Five Stars

Reviewed by: BigAl

Approximate word count: 60-65,000 words

5 comments:

Imogen Rose said...

Thank you so much for taking the time to read and review my new book. It was a little scary sending you one without any demons, vampires, or trolls... :)

BooksAndPals said...

Yeah, but those trolls are a little spooky, so it was less scary for me to read. :)

Unknown said...

Just read this book! As a fan of slice of life/coming-of-age/adventure books (ie. Catcher in the Rye), and movies like Paper Towns, Edge of Seventeen, or any 80s John Cusack/teen flick really, I loved Chasing Fireflies. It's one of those stories that doesn't have much of a plot, which is awesome. It's very realistic and entertaining (I was laughing out loud through most of it). And I could totally relate to the main character, Atticus, his train of thought was like my own and brought me back to my high school days, and reminded me of what it was like to be a teen. My favorite characters were Buckle and Mickey, they were hilarious. Overall, GREAT book!

BooksAndPals said...

I agree, shesaidsaveme. I think anyone would recognize some of their own teen years there. At least I did and I've killed a lot of brain cells in the years since.

liza said...

nice post