Review: Song of the Fireflies Review
Rating: 3 out of 5
Date: 05 11, 2014
I loved Elias' POV, but he didn't have much of a life that didn't revolve around Brayelle. Everything was about her. I just felt like he wasn't his own person. He did everything for her, even ruined his own life just because he loved her too much to let her go. God knows what he sees in that girl. She wasn't exactly the best person, and it was always about what he could do for her. She even left him, stayed in South Carolina for four years, and then breezed back into his life with no warning. And he took her back without a second thought. Elias deserved so much more than Brayelle and her mistake.I hated Brayelle Bates. She was a poisonous human being who had dark, dark issues that made her seem selfish, neurotic, bipolar, and just completely unhinged. I can't believe that she would let the person she loved do what he did without even thinking about how it would affect his life.The plot was all over the place in that it was just filler stories before Bray and Elias finally got caught and they found their way out of the mess that SHE put them in. It was drinking and doing drugs, having sex all the time, and being on the road with complete strangers. But I did like those strangers! Well, Tate, Jen, and even Caleb, the bastard. I tended to enjoy the conversations between all of them. They were a mismatched bunch of characters, but I loved them together.I just have incredibly mixed feelings about this book. The only thing I do know for sure is that I absolutely and undeniably hate Brayelle. I also thought Elias had no backbone when it came to her, and he did everything for her only to have her throw it back in his face by planning on leaving him because he wanted to go back home, and then again when she used the pond, their special freaking childhood place, to end her life. But no matter my hatred of one of the main characters, no matter that I hated her POV, I think I still liked this book. It was a slow, almost painful read sometimes, but the end did make up for it.That ending was amazing! I'm not a huge fan of Elias and Brayelle's relationship, but I absolutely love how the author brought it back full circle, to the innocence of their childhood and the love they found among the fireflies. It was my favorite part of the whole book, I think. :) Song of the Fireflies was a hard book to read, what with the sometimes absurd story-line, disastrous couple who made mistake after mistake, and one of the worst female MCs. Not to mention, the numerous dark issues surrounding Brayelle sometimes seemed too extreme and a little unnecessary. But I did like the general message that love can survive anything, and that love can be the ultimate balm to pain. That strength can be found in unlikely doses and places, and that true friendship can last through the worst storms. It wasn't my favorite J.A. Redmerski book, but I didn't hate it. I don't think it was her best, but that doesn't mean I'm not glad I read it.