"An emotionally wrenching and touching story."

Teacher Rachel Thompson is going to Camp Firefly Wishes this summer, where children with transplants come with their parents. Rachel's dead son was an organ donor, and she's been told by her friend and boss to go to the camp and try to work through her grief over losing her son.

Rachel meets James McClain and his daughter, Molly, a heart transplant recipient. James is protective of Molly and grateful she was able to receive a heart. But he never considered the grief of the parent whose child died so that his could live.

This story is quite good, but have tissues ready. I started reaching for them by chapter five. Even with Rachel being overwhelmed with grief, James being protective of Molly, and Molly just wanting to be an ordinary kid with a mother, it does have some lighter moments, too.

Reviewed by Delia Larkins
Courtesy Old Book Barn Gazette
Posted July 14, 2003

At Camp Firefly Wishes, a summer camp for transplant kids and their families, reluctant-volunteer Rachel Thompson faces her fear of loving and losing again when she falls for sexy, compassionate single-dad James McClain and his match-making, heart-transplant-recipient daughter, Molly.

Summary

Modern medicine can replace worn, defective hearts, but only love can heal a broken one.

Molly McClain has a new heart and an overprotective father. What she needs is something—someone—to distract him while they're at summer camp, so she can have some fun. A woman might be just the thing. But when she really gets to know the lady she picks out for her dad, a summer isn't enough. Molly needs a new full-time mom. So, she sets out to get her dad and Miss Rachel together.

Rachel Thompson has a broken heart. The divorced teacher lost her only child, but donated his organs. Now she's volunteering at Camp Firefly Wishes, a special summer camp for transplant kids and their families, in a last-ditch effort to make some sense out of her loss, to see the kinds of miracles that happened when she donated her little boy's organs. The last thing on her mind is romance or loving anyone—especially not a medically-fragile child. Or her father. But in James's arms, Rachel finds comfort, a safe place to mourn at last, and a reminder that life is for living.

Psychologist James McClain always puts his daughter's needs first. But Rachel reminds him that he's not just a dad, he's also a man. A lonely man. Rachel's bravery in the face of his worst nightmare touches something deep inside, reawakening his need to love.

But can Rachel conquer her fear of loving and losing again? Or will Molly's " Mommy Plan" only cause them all more pain?