Hello everyone! Welcome back to The Reading Corner for All.
Today I'm thrilled to be featuring Lindsey Duga's latest work Glow of the Fireflies. We also had the chance to interview the author! From sharing memorable moments from Glow of the Fireflies to discussing her writing process, Lindsey's interview was truly delightful and you definitely won't want to miss it!
At the beginning of Glow of the Fireflies a reader can find themselves settled in the middle of a forest clearing. The words of the woods creak with well known verses and the scent of adventure lingers in the air.
"From across the meadow I heard a few gleeful shouts of some local kids, calling in delight as they saw the first fireflies of the evening."
As Brye takes you through the motions of her life, a path unfolds between the woods. Step by step, the pages unfurl their words at you like leaves brushing against your face. Firefly Valley's spirits and Smoky Mountains are brought to life through Duga's vivid descriptions. Like Katherine Paterson's Bridge to Terabithia, in Glow of the Fireflies we cross a landscape of magical realism that parallels our own sense of reality.
"This valley was ours, and we cherished it as much as these gods did. If we could give this same connection back to the fire god, then we could always anchor him here."
The references to our contemporary culture were cleverly interwoven within the story in a manner that will certainly appeal to YA readers. To follow up on this point, I see Glow of the Fireflies as a modern fairy tale that interpreted the essence of magic and channeled its transformative abilities to strengthen the ethereal parallel world the characters preside in. By doing so, a timeless tale arises where we cross into an unseen world with Brye and see how magic arrives in so many forms - be it wondrous creatures, forgotten memories, or a first love.
In Glow of the Fireflies, Duga wrote, "There are places in the world that are special." I believe this line aptly encompasses the feeling of finishing this work.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Glow of the Fireflies
by Lindsey Duga Publisher: Entangled: Teen Release Date: October 1st 2019 Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Synopsis:
Briony never planned to go back to the place she lost everything.
Firefly Valley, nestled deep within the Smoky Mountains, is better kept in her past. After an unexplained fire gave Briony amnesia, her mother disappeared and her dad moved them to Knoxville.
But now her grandmother needs a caretaker and Briony's dad volunteers her to help. The moment she returns, her whole world shifts. She feels a magical connection to this valley, as if it's literally part of her somehow.
And when she meets a hot guy who claims he was her childhood friend but now mysteriously keeps his distance, Briony starts piecing together her missing past...and discovers her mother didn't leave to start a new life somewhere. She's trapped in the hidden world within the valley.
Now, Briony will do whatever it takes to rescue her, even if it means standing up against dangerously powerful nature spirits. Even if it means giving up her first love.
BOOK LINKS
Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Bookdepository | iTunes | Kobo | Google Books
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lindsey Duga is a middle grade and young adult writer with a passion for fantasy, science fiction, and basically any genre that takes you away from the real world. She wrote her first novel in college while she was getting her bachelor’s in Mass Communication from Louisiana State University.
Other than writing and cuddling with her morkie puppy, Delphi, Lindsey loves catching up on the latest superhero TV show and practicing yoga.
AUTHOR LINKS
TOUR SCHEDULE
PRIZES:
Gold Prize (Grand Prize- US only) Annotated Book Amazon Gift Card $25 Commissioned Art Print Catching Fireflies Soy Candle Fireflies Key Chain Two Silver Prizes (Runner-Up Prizes-US only) Annotated Book Amazon Gift Card $10
Commissioned Art Print (plus various swag)