What the Fireflies Knew

KB is just 10 when the novel opens, but she has had experiences that tax her comprehension and resilience. Discuss the role of flashbacks in the temporal structure of the novel.

Many of the important people in KB’s life keep secrets from her and lie to her. Discuss the theme of Secrets and Lies in relation to one character.

KB experiences inequality as a result of her race, gender, class, and family composition. How does Harris present the relationship between oppression and identity?

KB’s understanding of her parents evolves over the course of the novel. How does Harris construct the character of KB’s father through KB’s perspective and that of other characters?

KB is a reader and lover of words. Choose one text that she reads and discuss its significance in What the Fireflies Knew.

Discuss Harris’s approach to representing abuse is the novel and the impact that these experiences have on the characters, especially KB and Nia.

Harris chooses to place the death of KB’s father in a prologue and KB’s departure for home in a separate section (Part 3). Discuss the impact of these choices. Why does Harris organize her narrative in this way?

Discuss how KB’s understanding of love, sex, and sexuality evolve over the novel.