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I was born on Valentine’s Day a long, long time ago in South Baltimore, Maryland, less
than a mile from Fort McHenry and Federal Hill. I’m the youngest of eleven children. I’m a very simple person. I love my life and am always striving to make it better for myself and my family. I write, I draw and I work full-time. I also paint beautiful watercolors with my three year old granddaughter.
I’ve been married for nearly 19 years and together we have two sons and a daughter. I’d call myself a football fan but I mostly only watch my home team, the World Champion Baltimore Ravens. I love super heroes and Superman has been my favorite since I was a little girl. June 2013 the new Superman movie “Man of Steel” arrives in theaters and it cannot get here soon enough for me. I love cats and I have a Maine Coon named Columbus.
Reviewed by Anne Boling for Readers' Favorite
Fireflies, by P.S. Bartlett, is the story of an Irish doctor Owen Whelan and his wife Sarah. They are Irish immigrants. The Whelans had seven children. As we know all children are special. However, the youngest, Ennis, was unique from the beginning. He was born frail and barely survived his birth. He was six years old when his sister Teagan first suspected he was gifted. A tiny bird lay limp on the ground until Ennis held it in his hands; life sprang back into the tiny creature and it flew away. One day when Teagan was washing dishes, she cut her hand on a knife. The cut was deep and bleeding badly but Ennis’ gentle touch soothed her and she felt a warm sensation. When she looked, her hand was healed. At first she insisted she and Ennis should keep his gift of healing a secret. Eventually, however, she had no choice but to tell the family that Ennis could not only heal with his touch but could sense feelings. When the family discovered Ennis’ gifts, they were frightened for him and tried to protect him but Ennis wanted to help people. He could feel their needs pulling him.
Fireflies is a difficult book to review. I don’t want to give away too much and yet I want to share enough to entice readers. P.S. Bartlett has created a paranormal drama/romance/suspense, with a bit of Christianity thrown in. The plot quickly drew me in. One of the many things I liked about this book was the development of not only the main characters but of the secondary ones as well. While certain characters had smaller parts, I felt as if I knew them. This is not a good versus evil paranormal story; it is a story filled with the goodness of the Whelan family. Fireflies is an excellent read and appropriate for middle school, young adults, and adults.
