Review: 3.5 Conflicted Stars
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 02 8, 2014
When I first heard about Song of the Fireflies by J.A. Redmerski I was elated to say the least.  After my profound adoration of both The Edge of Never and The Edge of Always I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from two seemingly insignificant characters from Camryn and Andrew’s story, but I was positive that I would rave about this one as well.  Whatever my expectations were, this story was definitely not it.  This isn’t necessarily a good thing or a bad thing, but it did lead me to many conflicted emotions as well as numerous questions about this book.The biggest question I have to ask is: would I feel differently if Song of the Fireflies was a standalone instead of part of the Edge of Never series?  There was a major disconnect between this book and the previous two in the overall feel and tenor of the story, the nature and mentality of the characters, and the overt and in-your-face portrayal of sex and drug use.  Because of these things the only answer I can come up with is: I don’t really know.  The characters, Bray and Elias, and their story was so incredibly different from the rest of the series that no matter what was happening I was always left with nagging questions in the back of my mind.  Where did these characters come from and why are they considered so intimately connected by a chance encounter that they are a bigger part and an important addition to the series? One some accounts I think being a standalone would make this story a lot easier to swallow.  On the other hand, whether part of the series or not, Song of the Fireflies does seem to be missing some of the nuance and vital characteristics that made the first two books so easy to fall in love with.Bray was a huge stumbling block for me.  She was just so hard to love.  She definitely has issues that make her flaws much more palatable but countless bad decisions that she makes one right after another makes it both frustrating and cumbersome to invest in her and her story emotionally and to retain the motivation to continue on.  Elias was really not only Bray’s saving grace but also that of the story’s.  If it had not been for his loyalty, dedication, and unwavering love and devotion, their journey would have been much harder to traverse.  But was he enough? Were Elias’ commendable and endearing qualities enough to make me identify with him and admire him? Yes, I think so.  Were they enough to help me solidly connect with him and maybe overlook some of the concerns I had with Bray and the story? I’m not so sure.There were unquestionably some really beautiful parts of this story reminding me that it was in fact written by J.A. Redmersky and a part of a really wonderful , beautiful, and uplifting series.  The exploration of just how far one would go for someone they love was both fascinating and rousing and the conclusion of the story was fulfilling and comforting.  There were also some really difficult parts making this narrative much darker, arduous, and many times downright depressing.  The constant party atmosphere was somewhat off-putting and tiresome and many times the choices and actions of several characters, not just those of Bray and Elias, were baffling and maddening.Overall Song of the Fireflies was a total rollercoaster of emotions and not always in the really wonderfully angsty, powerfully emotive way.  I, of course, enjoyed J.A. Redmerski’s outstanding writing.  I enjoyed the elaboration on the group that was touched upon in The Edge of Always.  I loved the additional insight into those characters and relationships and actually found myself really liking and empathizing with not only Elias but also Tate.  I was certainly left with more than a few questions, but I encourage The Edge of Never series fans to experience and explore these questions firsthand as well as draw your own conclusions about Bray and Elias and their turbulent journey.