Laura Reed, Serenity High School English teacher in S. Carolina, is seeing small signs of possible bullying when one of her smartest students begins missing her class on a daily basis. The effort to talk with Misty and uncover the problems is unsuccessful. Misty Dawson's predicament becomes a huge thing as not only horrible and ugly things are printed about her on the internet for all to see, but now nearly nude pictures appear on the internet superimposed with her own face. Misty has also pleaded with Dr. C.J. Fullerton, the town's fairly new pediatrician, to write her excuses from classes.

Approaching C.J. as information alights, Laura and the doctor work together to get to the bottom of the hassling and bullying of this student. Other residents of the town are eventually brought into the battle in revealing Annabelle Litchfield as the culprit, all because of her jealousy over a boyfriend. The Sweet Magnolias, a cluster of energetic and upstanding women of the town, become embroiled in the situation and lend backing to Laura in her endeavor to end it all. Laura and C.J. both have a history of being bullied as well, so for them this becomes a personal vendetta to free the school of suffering for other children.

Soon the entire town is involved which results in open meetings, more slander by other students and a very distraught mother who is fighting tooth and nail to prove her very talented daughter is innocent. The unexpected feelings between Laura and C.J. are not without notice by the town residents as the gossip mill records every move they make.

Another installment of the Sweet Magnolias of Serenity, North Carolina, centers around the vast problem of school bullying, which even begins as early as pre-school. CATCHING FIREFLIES is an excellent story which showcases the small events that take shape and become uncontrollable situations for our children to deal with. Sherryl Woods has written an exceptional eye opener that clearly shows how easily this could happen in any community. As usual, CATCHING FIREFLIES is an extremely difficult book to put down until the last page is turned. I couldn't wait to see how this problem would be resolved. I look forward to her next book in this series.

Book Summary

When bullying threatens to destroy a teen’s 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 student’s future isn’t ruined. And to establish once and for all that bullying has no place in Serenity, South Carolina. Both J.C.’s and Laura’s 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?