Fireworks Every Night

Reviews

“It’s a hopelessly funny, rueful account of C.C.’s hair-raising childhood . . . Surrounded by a family in free fall, C.C. becomes first a teen basketball star and ultimately a true heroine for tough times.”—People

“A riveting coming-of-age story about survival, poverty, and familial love. . . . it captures the vibe of ’90s-era Florida in all its sticky, kitschy glory.”—The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Raymer balances the sadness of her story with terrific humor, deep compassion, and beautiful writing about the natural world—which makes it perfect for cracking open at the end of a long hike.”—Oprah Daily

“Equal parts hilarious and painful.”—Newsday
 
“Fireworks Every Night is sometimes harrowing, sometimes hilarious and always feels incredibly vivid and lived-in.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

“A bittersweet celebration of survival.”—Associated Press

“A deeply Floridian novel . . . a compelling portrait of deep dysfunction, of the slow slide into familial destruction: not the festive lights of a paradise but the fireworks of a family exploding.”—America magazine

“With raw humor and even more raw pain, Beth Raymer’s Fireworks Every Night alchemizes the ubiquitous Florida Man headlines into a powerful, humane family portrait. Every absurdity somehow made me believe in these characters more deeply, and I never wanted their story to end.”—Xhenet Aliu, author of Brass

“Fireworks Every Night is electric . . . Its honest, elegant look at money, identity, and desire in America powers a story that refuses to relent until the very end. Every sentence absolutely glimmers.”—Kayla Rae Whitaker, author of The Animators

“Beth Raymer is the real deal, and her first novel is a knockout. With wisdom, soul, and dry crackling wit, she reports from the swampy, debt-burdened places most Americans live but rarely see portrayed. I’ll be thinking about this gorgeous book for a long time.”—Jim Gavin, creator of Lodge 49 and author of Middle Men

“Raymer’s first novel crackles with life and energy. Each line catapults the story forward—a meteor of hilarity and heartbreak—so much so that I got to page 20 and flipped back to the beginning just for the pleasure of re-reading it.”—Leigh Newman, author of Nobody Gets Out Alive

“I read Raymer’s novel in a state of giddy awe, like watching someone launching bottle rockets in the dark at close range and exploding in laughter, a dangerous shower of sparks illuminating a deeply dysfunctional family cruising toward disaster in a brand-new car.”—Elissa Schappell, author of What We Talk About When We Talk About Birth

“Nineties Florida deserves a neon talent, and that’s what Raymer offers—pyrotechnical brilliance and a book of wit and heat.”—Darin Strauss, author of The Queen of Tuesday

“This unsparing version of the modern American tragedy is more fun to read than can possibly be right.”—Kirkus Reviews, (starred review) Expand reviews