Title: Chasing Fireflies
Author: Charles Martin
Publication Information: Thomas Nelson (February 12, 2008), 352 pgs.
Genre: Fiction – General/Fiction – Christian
Explanation/Summary:
From the back cover ~ They have one summer to find what was lost long ago.
“Never settle for less than the truth,” she told him. But when you don’t even know your real name, the truth gets a little complicated. It can nestle so close to home it’s hard to see. It can even flourish inside a lie. And as Chase Walker discovered, learning the truth about who you are can be as elusive – and as magical – as chasing fireflies on a summer night. A haunting story about fishing, baseball, home cooking, and other matters of life and death.
Analysis and Evaluation:
Wow. Yes, Charles Martin is an amazingly talented writer. His writing draws you in so that you are present in witnessing the events that happen in the character’s lives. He masterfully weaves past, present and future into a beautiful, emotional story.
Martin’s writing is beautiful and powerful. He is a master storyteller.
Like the other Martin book I read, the strength is that it is a well written story with a bit of everything: drama, mystery, friendship, and a love story.
Again, like the other Martin book I read, the weakness, has to do with my preference – I don’t care for flashbacks. I caught on much quicker this time, but it did take me a couple of chapters to figure out who was who and what was going on in each time period.
Oh, this was a good and fast book. I realized when I was halfway through that I wasn’t ready to let go of these characters. I didn’t want the story to end – so I sat on the book for a week. Because, I enjoyed the characters so much I tried to slow myself down so that it would take longer to read… It was a truly moving book that I greatly enjoyed.
Yes, yes, yes! Good story, good message, easy to read, easy to fall in love with characters. Charles Martin is an author I’ll be consistently adding to my “want-to-read” list.
Other notes:
I felt I could relate to many aspects of this book, as it dealt with Foster Care and the adoption of boys.
First, as it deals with Foster Care, since my children were adopted from Foster Care, I took great interest in that part of the story line. I found that the author was very realistic when it came to his description of many aspects of Foster Care. There are thousands of children every night who are in Foster Care. Many of them are in great foster homes, many of them are not. Sadly, there are plenty of homes that house children just so they can “get a check” to pay their own bills with, and the children are just as neglected and sometimes abused as they were in their family of origin.
Secondly, as I sit and reflect on the story. I realize that I know too much about child abuse. There were some scenes in the book where abuse was described, and while I winced at the imagined pain, I did not weep. I guess when you hear about the neglectful, brutal, and sometimes torture-some events that happened in the lives of some children who have lived with you, it some how feels “normal” to hear about such events.
Lastly, the author states in his post script that he believes all boys come with a daddy-shaped hole in the center of their chest. He states that as boys grow, dad’s fill it with themselves; or as the boy grows and finds it empty, he fills it with “stuff. Usually addictions.” I can see this daddy-shaped hole in my children. I hope and pray that their Earthly father, and their Heavenly Father will fill this hole in their hearts so they can be whole and complete men. 
Sounds wonderful. I’ll have to find that at the library. I love what he wrote about the Daddy shaped hole. I watch my husband filling that with our own boys daily. How important it is for a boy to have his Dad!
I’m going to the library this afternoon/evening and I’m going to see if they have this one there. If not then I’m putting a hold on it.
Like I need another one on my pile. I’m almost done with Eragon (704 pages) and I’m ready for a shorter read.
How do you find the time to read so many books?
Thanks for the review. I had heard of this title, but didn’t know much about it. I’m going to reserve it at the library right now. Thanks…and love the sentiments you wrote about in the last few paragraphs.