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A review by skylarkblue1
The Last Firefox by Laura Catalan, Lee Newbery
5.0
I didn’t expect a children's book to impact me in the same way an adult book does, but here we are. The Last Firefox is a heartwarming tale about finding your spark, growing up and friendship alongside the chaotic antics of a little fluff-ball of fire.
I went into this book largely blind, wasn’t too sure what to expect but the general description and the cover (especially that absolutely adorable cover!) highly intrigued me. I wasn’t disappointed at all, this book gripped me from start to finish. Often I ended up reading for a lot longer than I meant to, it was hard for me to put it down! The writing was very fluid, scenes easily moved into the next one, I didn’t get lost at all and the pacing stayed largely consistent throughout.
Reading a book that incorporated Welsh into it was exciting! First book I’ve read (so far!) to do so, and seeing Welsh being used, even as small as it is in this, made me happy. Same with having casual queer representation, especially in a childrens book. As much as books where the protag is exploring their identity is important, and “coming out” books, I feel like there also needs to be books where it’s the stages after those first steps. Being in a happy healthy relationship, in a happy family, showing it’s not all confusion and turmoil but you can be happy being who you are, you can have a family. Having that representation feels very important, and the writing around this was super cute I felt!
In general the writing was very good, I loved reading the descriptions of the action, the scenery, the imaginative plots. It really felt like I was a kid again, off on a vibrant adventure, running alongside the characters.
This book is going to be one I’ll pick up once it releases, not only because I’m a massive sucker for adorable animals on covers, but also so I can easy share it and lend it out. I highly recommend reading this. Even if you’re an adult, give it a go!
(Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review!)
I went into this book largely blind, wasn’t too sure what to expect but the general description and the cover (especially that absolutely adorable cover!) highly intrigued me. I wasn’t disappointed at all, this book gripped me from start to finish. Often I ended up reading for a lot longer than I meant to, it was hard for me to put it down! The writing was very fluid, scenes easily moved into the next one, I didn’t get lost at all and the pacing stayed largely consistent throughout.
Reading a book that incorporated Welsh into it was exciting! First book I’ve read (so far!) to do so, and seeing Welsh being used, even as small as it is in this, made me happy. Same with having casual queer representation, especially in a childrens book. As much as books where the protag is exploring their identity is important, and “coming out” books, I feel like there also needs to be books where it’s the stages after those first steps. Being in a happy healthy relationship, in a happy family, showing it’s not all confusion and turmoil but you can be happy being who you are, you can have a family. Having that representation feels very important, and the writing around this was super cute I felt!
In general the writing was very good, I loved reading the descriptions of the action, the scenery, the imaginative plots. It really felt like I was a kid again, off on a vibrant adventure, running alongside the characters.
This book is going to be one I’ll pick up once it releases, not only because I’m a massive sucker for adorable animals on covers, but also so I can easy share it and lend it out. I highly recommend reading this. Even if you’re an adult, give it a go!
(Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review!)