New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author Sherryl Woods captures a communityâs heartfelt fight to preserve the innocence of childhood
When bullying threatens to destroy a teenâs life, painful memories resurface for dedicated high school teacher Laura Reed and pediatrician J. C. Fullerton. With the support of the Sweet Magnolias, they bring the town together to ensure that a promising studentâs future isnât ruined. And to establish once and for all that bullying has no place in Serenity, South Carolina.
Both J.C.âs and Lauraâs passion for the cause is deeply personal, and their growing feelings for each other are just as strong. But with so many secret hurts to overcome, can these two vulnerable lovers find the strength to believe in happily ever after?
Praise for the novels of Sherryl Woods
âSherryl Woods always delights her readersâincluding me!â
â#1 New York Times bestselling author Debbie Macomber
âSherryl Woods gives her characters depth, intensity and the right amount of humor.â
âRT Book Reviews
âCharming characters combine to create the interfering, yet lovable OâBrien familyâ¦a satisfying, heartwarming conclusion to the Chesapeake Shores series.â
âRT Book Reviews on The Summer Garden
âThe story is engaging and deftly accentuated by a sweet secondary romance.⦠If you have time to join the OâBriens in Dublin, I recommend that you do.â
âUSA TODAY Happy Ever After blog on An OâBrien Family Christmas
âOnce again, Woods proves her expertise in matters of the heart as she gives us characters that we genuinely relate to and care about. A truly delightful read!â
âRT Book Reviews on Moonlight Cove
âLove, marriage, family and forgiveness all play an important part in Woodsâ latest richly nourishing, holiday-spiced novel.â
âChicago Tribune on A Chesapeake Shores Christmas
âA whimsical, sweet scenarioâ¦the digressions have their own charm, and Woods never fails to come back to the romantic point.â
âPublishers Weekly on Sweet Tea at Sunrise
âRedolent with Southern small-town atmosphere, this emotionally rich story deals with some serious issues and delivers on a number of levels.â
âLibrary Journal on A Slice of Heaven
Dear Friends,
Unfortunately these days, hardly a day goes by without news of an incident of childhood bullying. Some of these are so horrific or tragic that they defy understanding. Those really grab our attention. Others are all too easily dismissed as some sort of rite of passage, an acceptable part of growing up.
The truth, though, is that bullying of any kind has the power to change who a child is, the kind of person he or she grows up to be. When ignored, the victim can be scarred for life, emotionally, if not physically. The perpetrator grows up with a skewed value system that suggests itâs perfectly okay to make another personâs life miserable, to feel powerful, even for a moment, at the expense of someone weaker.
Itâs up to adultsâparents, teachers, entire communitiesâto take a stand, to say bullying is not okay, not ever, not by anyone! And thatâs exactly what happens in Serenity when schoolteacher Laura Reed and pediatrician J. C. Fullerton realize a student is being bullied. Both Laura and J.C. have experienced the damaging effects of bullying, so whatâs happening to Misty Dawson is personal and unacceptable.
While there are often subtle messages tucked away in my stories, I hope the message in Catching Fireflies is loud and clear. There is nothing cute or normal or acceptable about bullying, whether itâs a toddler on the playground or a teenager using the internet to torment a classmate. Pay attention to what may be happening to your children, no matter how young or how old. Pay even closer attention to how theyâre treating others. Bullying is wrong. It needs to stop. And alert parents and teachers and a united community can make that happen.
I hope youâll enjoy spending time with all the Sweet Magnolias once more, and that youâll take their messageâand mineâto heart.
All best,
Sherryl
For all the young people who feel as if no oneâs paying attention, I wish you at least one person who will listen and make your life better.
1
It was little more than six weeks into the new school year, and already Serenity High School English teacher Laura Reed was seeing signs of a potential problem with one of her juniors. Misty Dawson had been skipping class for the past week. Attendance records showed she was in school, but when it came time for English, she disappeared off the radar.
âWas Misty in your class today?â she asked Nancy Logan, who taught history and current affairs.
âFront and center,â Nancy confirmed. âI wish I had a dozen students like her. Sheâs smart and sheâs always prepared. Why? Donât tell me she skipped English again?â