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Reader Comments on Chasing Fireflies
Posted in Reader Comments on Tue, October 16, 2007
If you have read Chasing Fireflies please post your thoughts by adding a comment.
An excellent story, as are all of the previous ones. These stories get into my brain and I hate for the story to end. I do not usually purchase books, just read them from the library. I have all of Charles Martin’s books in my personal library. Just found out today the new novel is coming out next week. I’m so glad, I thought there might not be another.
Chasing Fireflys and When Crickets Cry are two of my favorite books. I somehow felt connected to them and to the story and its location. I can only imagine how interesting it would be to sit and talk
with Mr. Martin. I am looking forward to the new book. Thank you Mr. Martin for helping me
revive old memories.
Love d this book! I could not put it down! Keep up the great work and keep those great stories coming.
I just finished Chasing Fireflies and didn’t know how I was going to make it until the next Charles Martin book came out. Then today I find out I don’t have to wait long! Yeah! I become so attached to the characters in Charles Martins books, and that is attributed to his unbelievable gift of writing. I am a teacher and work with my young students trying to develop their writing so it captures their audience. Mr. Martin, you have captured me with every novel you’ve written. I know your characters, love your characters, rejoice and grieve with your characters. Then I miss them terribly when the last page is done. Thank you for sharing the talent God has given to you with all of us!
This is quite possibly one of the most beautiful and moving stories I have ever read. Touches the heart and reminds you that forgiveness and healing is key to real living. Vivid painting of the area in NE Georgia and I felt so close to the characters.......it was difficult for it to end. Bravo, Charles Martin!
Wow I loved reading this book. I was sick and told my mom I needed something to read and she went out and got me this book. I couldn’t put it down it was absolutely amazing.
This was my first Charles Martin book, and it certainly will not be my last. I am captivated by “Fireflies” timely theme, expressive language, and captivating plot. I can’t wait to get my hands on another Charles Martin book.
Chasing Fireflies was one of the best books I have ever read. I actually bought the CD collection and it was even better listening to the book. I just bought Where the River ends CD and I can’t wait to listen again. Keep on writing!
Our bookclub just met and discussed Chasing Fireflies and we had a great discussion. We especially were intrigued by each character and then we all agreed that we would love to have a sequel to this book. We were all hoping that Chase and Mandy would have evoled into a more serious relationship and wondering what actually happened to Jack --if he actually got his due and how the town reacted to the truth when it finallly came out. Also, what becomes of Sketch as he grows older.
Nothing compares - I just finished Chasing Butterflies at 2:30 am wanting to get to the end but wanting it never to end. As in the other three books I have read, tears are not optional! I read the afterword to my husband at breakfast and he began to cry;(we have two boys) then I had to tell him about the whole book and read him sections of it. Thank you for sharing your inspirational talent with us and including great insight of God throughout. How refreshing to read consistent quality writing. Unfortunately I can’t afford to purchase books and therefore keep our library busy, so I am on the waiting list for The River Ends. Please complete another book soon.
I have read all your books but this is my favorite. Perhaps because I’m a nurse. Perhaps because some of my favorite places are in North Georgia. I do know that while going through a divorce after 30 years of marriage and after 12 years of taking care of cancer patients, I was numb. You helped me put tears to all those pent up feelings and gave me hope for a great future. You are a gifted writer but more importantly you care. Don’t stop writing and don’t stop caring. I am grateful that their are men like you raising boys like yours. I pray you keep your priorities straight as you grow more and more famous.
I have never read a book so touching before in my whole life and I have been reading for a very long time. This book is a book that I will let someone borrow but I will always want it back. It’s a story of unconditional love, forgiveness and perseverance. Never stop writing Mr. Martin. You have a gift from God that through your books touches the very hearts of the people who read them. Thank you for sharing your gift with us.
Denise
I picked this book up and started reading, and couldnt put it down. This is one of the best books i have read. I love the characters in it, I felt so connected to them. My imagination ran wild while reading the discriptions of everything. I want to read more of his novels.
JUST FINISHED CHASING FIREFLIES MY THIRD CHARLES MARTIN BOOK. I JUST ORDERED MAGGIE AND CAN’T WAIT TO GET IT....MY FAVORITE SO FAR IS “WHEN CRICKETS CRY” AS AN EMERGENCY ROOM NURSE I COULD NOT BELIEVE THE DEPTH OF MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE THAT CHARLES MARTIN WROTE ABOUT ,HE WAS RIGHT ON ..LOVED LOVED IT AND LOOK FORWARD TO MORE OF THESE BOOKS. THANK YOU CHARLES MARTIN.
i picked this book up in the christian section of our local book store. was having a hard time choosing. i had never read anything by charles martin but when i saw the title “chasing fireflies” i had to get it~ didn’t even look to see what it was about. i write blogs and once wrote one about lightening bugs. in the blog i commented on what amazing little creatures i thought they were and wondered how they lit up like that. a friend of mine who i had been trying to convince that there really is a God, sent me a link to the most wonderful website. it explained that God had created lightening bugs for us. it gave me hope that yes....he was starting to believe. a month later his 35 yr old wife died of a heart attack and i cried. not only for her but because i knew he would be angry at God. it’s been over a year now and he still struggles but this book has renewed my hope....because “if God can make a firefly’s butt light up like a star, then anything is possible. Anything”.
I love the Willee isms!
A GREAT BOOK, I couldn’t put it down. I am currently looking to buy the other 4 books that I do not have. A great author.
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I did not want the book to end, I couldn’t wait to see how Chase’s existence would be explained and how Jack woould eventually meet his consequences. Charles Martin is one of the best fiction authors I have read in a very long time. I am into quotes and have marked some in his books to use sometime in the future. “Chasing fireflies” is a story relaying the intense love of a father for his son. A mirror of Gods love for us. I have ordered every book he has written and fear he cannot write fast enough for this reader.
Just finished Chasing Fireflies. Another excellent story by an excellent author! Got to get my hands on Where the River Ends. Can’t wait! I’ll soon need another so..keep ‘em coming!
Amen to all the comments! Your characters become real. I can’t stop reading but do because I don’t want the book to end. God is using you to touch others. I have all your books. I give them to others so they can experience the incredible voyage of your stories.
Chasing Fireflies...what a great discovery of an author I knew nothing of until I saw your book displayed in our local library along with Where the River Ends. Having been in ministry and working for years with abused, neglected, abandoned and hurting children , I found so much truth between the lines, and so much keen awareness in Chasing Fireflies. Also having lost a very beautiful and vibrant cousin , Mitzi (from Tifton/St. Mary’s) this past year who had lost HER first husband, Kyle, to a very long battle with cancer, Where the River Ends was indeed a profoundly powerful read.
Charles Martin, I am glad to have happened upon your work and your astounding gift and talent. May God continue to richly bless you as you give of yourself through this gift to inspire and educate others in the areas of life that run deep into the innermost creases of the quiltwork of Life. Merry Christmas and may Peace, Joy, and Goodwill abide with you throughout the New Year.
Read it and prepare to be amazed.
Man, I loved the book. It touch my heart and I am a fan!!!!
My mother gave me this book to read having proclaimed it “the best story I ever read”. As she is very well read my interest was piqued; she cautioned me regarding it’s opening as I have a difficult time with anything relating to child abuse. Even so I was hooked from the start..........and I agree with her it is the best story I’ve read. Ever. Storytelling is a calling and few perfect the craft but you did.......
Finished the book within eight hours , I was so mesmerized. Your character development rivaled that of Jan Karon as I felt that I new them as well as all of Mitford. I have since devoured your other works with the exception of Where the River Ends. The anticipation is delicious.........
Thank you and thank you again. Most often there seems to be stories of the exceptional lives of believers ; yet you wrote of a man living his regular life who was a believer that was exceptional. For after all, isn’t that the case for most of us?
Charles Martin has such a way with words. i love to read his books. the way he puts things is incredible. it’s like he takes a few adjectives and breathes life into them, shaping them into a visual picture.
-Hannah Elizabeth Blair
Age 13
well i have to say im age 27 and have recently really gotten into reading. the last two books i finished were a stephen king “Duma Key” and The Shack. So I had an audible free trial and were looking for books similar to the shack and stumbled upon Charles Martin CHASING FIREFLIES. So I took a chance and got it. i couldn’t quit listening. Fresh out of reading material I bought some other martin books from amazon, but i stumbled upon this site while searching for a sequel to CF. So i couldnt wait for my books to get here I dwnlded Where the River Ends and Wrapped in Rain. Currently Listening to the first…
Im kind of a broad spectrum reader Im also a fan of Nicholas Sparks. I play all kinds of music so I think some find it weird, but I dont care. But please mr. martin if your reading this make a sequel to Chasing Fireflies. I ordered two of the awakneing series and when crickets cry. I will continue to read everything you publish. But if you have written a sequel already or have a rough draft send it to me and Ill proof it. LOL JK no but really I will. Anyways I agree with everyone elses comments here and if anyone want to chat with me email me at or http://www.myspace.com/therambis
uh, i dont really care for this type of novel. Its like junk food for your brain - yea, i feels good while reading it, but i really wish i had bought something that would actually make me think and learn something. Sorry to be the downer…
hey divorce if you wanted to learn and think why not read the dictionary? and why did you read Chasing Fireflies if you did not enjoy it??? that doesnt make sense.
I liked “When Crickets Cry”. I felt that a clear message was in there on how a person could come to know Christ as their Savior. I didn’t get that same message with this book. While I thought that the characters were very believable, I was disappointed that someone died and there was no conversation about where she would be spending eternity. I realize that there is a broad spectrum of people that will be reached with this book, all the more reason why the message of salvation needs to be clear. I jujst think it missed the mark with a water baptism that was made to portray salvation. I was disappointed with that message. I was able to pass “When Crickets Cry” on to some of my unsaved friends. I don’t feel that I can do the same thing with this book. Again, very well written and from a secular point of view a wonderful read. From a Christian perspective...not so.
Sometimes you can read a book from cover to end and be transported from your worries or woes to a world of words written so wonderfully and with such wisdom and intensity that when finished you ask yourself if you will ever read again a story so beautiful. Chasing Fireflies is such a book.
A friend loaned me the book Chasing Fireflies. I just finished it about 15 minutes ago. I have been running on about 6 hours sleep every night since I first opened it. I’m buying one for my sister and one for my niece and mailing it to them. I cried that kind that hurts your throat when Tommey died and I kept waking my husband up at night when I would giggle at Unc’s and Chase’s back and forth banters.
Thank you for writing it and I can’t wait to read everything you’ve written.
I absolutely love the descriptions in this book and how I FEEL like I am in the marsh! I don’t live near the sea, but hope to someday and I could read his descriptions again and again just to feed the need! :) This book gave me an insight into foster kids that I didn’t have before. I teach and this book gives an insight into the relentless feeling of needing to belong. I think it will help me with my students! EXCELLENT BOOK!
I borrowed “Chasing Fireflies” a couple months ago from my mom, who loves Charles Martin, but couldn’t seem to muster the enthusiasim to read it. I don’t often like to try new authors because I have come across to many bad ones. Then my husband, who is generally not a reader, picked it up, and could hardly put it down until he had finished it. Still not convinced, I waited until there was nothing left to read in the house other than my sons board books. I picked it up yesterday, and have had a hard time doing anything but reading it! It has been a long time since a book has moved me. I have 3 sons, so the father/son storyline struck home. It made me realize once again how much a dad means to a boy. Thank you for that reminder, Mr. Martin. It was also a relief to read a book of substance that was clean. They are so hard to find. I am looking forward to starting another one of his books tomarrow!
I was walking through our local Wal-Mart and was browsing the inspirational section, when I came across this book. I even passed it by several times but the name kept jumping out at me, until finally I could no longer resist. As a young boy I grew up in the mountains of Tennessee, so fireflies are something that young boys look for as the school year ends and spring turns into summer. I have spent countless evenings giggling with my buddies as we caught these marvelous creatures, and would stare in awe as they crawled across our fingers until they spread their wings to fly. Now as a father of two girls, I still look forward for that warm summer sunset and I see the first sparkle of light flash across the open fields, and I can hear the hole filling giggles of my children as I watch them stare in wonderment as I did at God’s creation. Mr. Martin, thank you for capturing my childhood imagination one more time as I read through the pages of this masterfully written book, and helping me to see simplicity through the eyes of a loving God in a sometimes complicated world. Your description of a father filling the hole of a boy puts words to my thoughts as I read and relived pleasant memories of a father’s calloused hands holding a small hand with a bucket of worms and a fishing pole. I can still hear the frog’s croking and the crickets chirping as I turned each page of this wonderful story of tragedy and triumph as I daily hold the hands of a loving and understanding God.
Jeremy
I read When Crickets Cry and didn’t think I could make it to the end of the book. Once I cleared the tears and made it to the end there was a great moral of the story staring back at me. I told my husband to read the book and now I finished Chasing Fireflies. Another story I didn’t think I could make it through. There are so many good words of wisdom and so many one liners that apply to everyday life. Thank you Mr. Martin for another wonderful book with another wonderful meaning. It warms me from the inside out.
I just read When Crickets Cry. It was my first Charles Martin book and it was wonderful. I can’t wait to read the next one. I recommend his books to anyone that wants to read a clean story that you just can’t put down.
A truly enjoyable book to the last page! It difficult to find a book that is not a murder mystery or an inane romance novel. It was a pleasure to read a beautiful story with moral, interesting characters.
We well remember Peterson’s Five and Dime in San Marco. You could always find something you needed in that store.
Im from Lakeland Florida. a small town much like Mr. Martin describes in his books. i have never been much of a reader. im a typical college student from the south who likes to hunt, fish, play my guitar and doesnt want to pick up a book. one day i came across when crickets cry in my moms library. when i opened it i read the first chapter and couldnt put it down. i am in Alacante Spain studying abroad for a month and today i finished Chasing Fireflies. This book not only was fun to read but it taught me alot about life and brought back childhood memories. this book moved me in an amazing way. ive never felt so conected to a story.
thank you Mr. Martin
I read Chasing Fireflies a few months ago, but have revisited it again since it was a story that really touched me. The characters are so real and so lovable, and the story was so wonderful!! I purchased the hard cover edition and it says that it comes with a reading guide but I don’t see one in my book?
Was just wondering if you have a reader’s guide posted here or some other site as I have used this with my reading group this month and we are getting ready to discuss the book :)
i don’t usually do these kinds of websites..but this is one of the best books i’ve ever read. it’s the first charles martin book of mine, and it won’t be the last. i cried and i laughed, and all the while learned so much more about life than i thought i wouldv’ve. you are an amazing writer, god has given you a gift and i’m sure the world is thankful you are able to share it with us. keep writing, i look forward to reading many more of your books.
I loved this book, it was such a heartfelt story. The genuine honesty was a nice touch. It was nice to read a story about people who did not live a perfect life but made the most of it. I look forward to reading more of your books. Thanks for the reminder that life is worth living.
Oh My Gosh! I could not put this book down. I would have loved to have an Unc in my Son’s lives as they were growing up. Heck, I would have loved to have one in my own life. You have touched my heart with this story. It is the first one I have read but it will not be the last. Thanks for sharing your gift from God.
I just finished 3 of your books this week,I feel like my heart has been ripped out.I’m hungry for more of your writing.
The operating room scenario was so exciting I felt like I was scrubbed in for the sugery.I felt the tension of the circulating nurse.
Who was the research assistant on those medical facts?
I ve been an R.N SINE 1973.Thanks again for the exciting ride.Barri Berzak R.N
I had never heard of Charles Martin...SORRY! Was at my local library and “Chasing Fireflies” was on the “recommended” shelf, so I picked it up, along with 7 other books. Almost due date, nothing left to read, I opened it. And am forever grateful. I am so stunned speechless over the beautiful prose and the story line that I find myself reading a few paragraphs and the only line running through my head is..Who IS this guy? You are an incredible talent and I thank you for sharing it with us.
P.S. I went out and bought all of your novels, they are undoubtably collection pieces.
HELLO, I KEEP FORGETTING THAT THESE WERE NOT REAL PEOPLE. THIS IS THE THIRD BOOD OF YOUR’S I’VE READ, DO ENJOY YOUR WORK. JUST PUT UNCLE JACK IN JAIL NEXTTIME!
This is a wonderful story. I read this book in one day. I found it to be one of those novels I didn’t want to stop reading; I didn’t want the story interrupted at all. The character of Unc is someone I dearly loved. I disagree with some of the authors other readers are comparing Charles Martin to. He is MUCH more gifted than any of those.
This was my first CM novel, the one that kicked off my addiction. I have passed my copy around enough times to take credit for creating a half dozen new CM fans. The story was so heart-wrenching..... impossible to forget. I’m a fulltime caregiver for an aging parent now, and I often use his phrase: “Love does that.” Great stuff!
Just completed Chasing Fireflies; WOW! What a powerful story. It had everything, but most of all, “soul.” You captured all of the important “life lessons” of Fatherhood and Sonship. I think your “nothing compares” phrase goes both ways, like God’s love.
Chasing Fireflies is one of my favorite Charles Martin books. His characters are realistic. It seems I have know them for years.
Edit previous post: It seems I have KNOWN them for years. ( I am an English teacher, couldn’t just let it go...)
One of the best books I have read in a long time. I can’t believe Mr. Martin’s insight into human nature. Thanks for a great read. Nancy
Thank you for making me cry. It felt good to release all the emotions that built slowly while reading each page of Chasing Fireflies. It is the first novel I have read of yours and I look forward to reading many more.
I have purchased 30 copies of Chasing Fireflies and am teaching it in my 8th grade reading class. The kids love it! Please write more great books...the world needs them.
Our book clus is looking for discussion questions for Chasing Fireflies. Can anyone tell us where to get some questions?
I picked up this book to read while on vacation. It is a gripping read. Some times the pain of the characters is too much to bear and at other times the joy they feel is overwhelming. I found this book as a roller coaster of emotions but one that I could not put down. Interesting and poignant, Martin’s books are now on my must read list.
Very few books have caught my attention in a way that I truly resented having a life that kept me from reading from start to finish. Most fiction doesn’t surprise me, this one did. I felt the characters deeply, and was sorry when the book ended. Exellent writing, thanks Charles Martin for the painful research to tell such a story
Just read Chasing Fireflies and it was wonderful. It was powerful story about all the lost children. Sad and uplifting to think some can find agood life somewhere. Can’t wait to read more of your books. I have them all now.
I have read 4 of Charles Martin’s books in the last 2 months and can not put them down. This book “Chasing Fireflies” has been my favorite so far. I have really gotten wrapped up in his characters and this book really goes into detail about them. I am amazed at the depth that Charles brings out in each one. He is a remarkable story teller and I can not wait for his next book to come out!!!
Checked this out at the library and will be buying it to add to my library. Told my husband after every couple of pages that he HAD to read this book. Just loved it. Cried and laughed and cried some more. Thanks for a wonderful book.
I liked the story but bits of it made me feel so angry. I guess that is the power of great writing. Hey - take a look at my latest blog post and tell me what you think about mine!
Such an amazingly warm and hopeful, though hard and tragic story! Keep hope alive!