“THE FIREFLY CODE,” by Megan Frazer Blakemore, Bloomsbury USA Childrens, May 3, 2016, Hardcover, $16.99 (ages 8 and up)
Megan Frazer Blakemore has a talent for capturing key moments in young people’s lives with sophistication and clarity. She’s done it before in “The Water Castle” and “The Friendship Riddle.” And she does it again in “The Firefly Code,” which spirits readers into the future.
Mori and her friends live in the utopian community of Old Harmonie where physical enhancements and dampening of characteristics are the norm. The children believe in the ideals on which the community was founded and are looking forward to becoming contributing members as they grow older.
There’s never been a reason to question the status quo — at least, not until Ilana moves into the empty home in their cul-de-sac. Ilana is almost too perfect, and she doesn’t seem to always understand the social norms. When Mori and her friends learn the truth about Ilana, it turns their world upside down. Now the kids of Firefly Lane can’t help but question everything.
“The Firefly Code” is dystopian writing at its best — the futuristic elements feel organic within the scope of Blakemore’s story. But it’s the relationships she cultivates that really make this story shine — her exploration of friendship is both heartbreaking and heartwarming. I recommend “Firefly Code” along with any other books by Blakemore who clearly understands her audience well beyond many of her contemporaries.
