Courtesy of CK2S Kwips and Kritiques

Ms. Gable has written another story bound to tug at the heartstrings.

Rachel Thompson has a broken heart. Her young son had died in an accident, but she had donated his organs so other children could live. Unfortunately, the agony of her loss tears at her, interfering with her career as a schoolteacher, and her ability to continue to live on with the memory of her son. In a last ditch effort to deal with her pain, and save her job, she volunteers for the summer at Camp Firefly Wishes, a special camp for transplant children and their families. She has no desire to be there, all of those children being memories of her little boy.

James McClain is a single father first, a psychologist second, with an eight-year-old daughter, Molly, who is the recipient of a new heart. His wife left him when she could not handle the pressures of raising a daughter with a severe, life-endangering heart defect. He is terrified of anything happening to Molly, going to the extremes to protect her, to the point of excess. Molly only wants to have a normal summer with other children her age.

When James and Rachel meet, they are both attracted to each other, though they are both in denial. Rachel has so much pain, she has no desire to take interest in anyone, especially a man who with his daughter, embodies Rachel's worst nightmare, that of losing a child. James cares only about keeping Molly healthy and safe and has no interest in a woman who seems cold in her inability to accept the children at this camp for what they are, little miracles of life running around. In fact, in spite of his attraction, he wants to hate her for her attitude. Molly likes Rachel, in spite of the sadness in her eyes and heart, and decides she is the perfect woman to get her Dad to loosen up and let her have some fun.

So Molly schemes with her best friend, to throw her dad and Miss Rachel together as often as possible, hoping that would be enough of a distraction to give her some time for fun. But the more she gets to know Miss Rachel, the more Molly decided she is the perfect candidate to be her new Mommy. It works too, for a while, her Dad and Miss Rachel seem to get along so well. But after James discovers Rachel's real reason for being at Camp Firefly Wishes, he begins to doubt even more whether she could handle the pressures of being a parent to a child with a severe illness.

Can Rachel get past her fear of loving and losing another child dear to her? Will James accept her, faults and all, to be a part of his family? Will Molly's own private firefly wishes be enough to bridge the gap?

This is one phenomenal story so full of emotion that one is captured in its pages. Ms. Gable has a talent for weaving so much feeling in to her books, the reader is bound to be moved. When Rachel finally lets go of all her anger and pain, her agony is so real, this reviewer was brought to tears. That, in this reviewer's opinion, is the mark of a truly incredible story - one that the reader is so drawn into, the emotions of the characters become the reader's own. And that is just one example of the emotion throughout the story.

Rachel and James need each other, and everyone can see that but the two of them. For only they together can heal the emotional scars they each wear. The chemistry between them is tangible and one knows they are bound to be together. The supporting cast complements them, from the indomitable and "unsinkable" Molly, to Rachel's family, to Molly and James' best friends, and the camp owners. Every one of them adds a different element to the story, making it complete. Go out and pick up this book today, it is well worth it, and guaranteed not to disappoint.

© Kelley A. Hartsell, June 2003. All rights reserved.

Rachel Thompson has suffered a loss that she's not sure she'll ever recover from. She's sent to Camp Firefly Wishes, a place of second-chances...a place where wishes come true. There she meets Molly McClain, and Molly's father James. It would be so easy to lose her heart to them both, but she's not sure if she's strong enough...if she can let go of the past and take a chance on a future filled with love.

Susan Gable writes a story of loss and rediscovery that will stay with the reader for a long, long time.

In Pennsylvania, "Unsinkable" Molly McClain believes that her dad psychiatrist Dr. James McClain excessively worries about her to the detriment of his own health. The eight-year-old realizes she has problems having a transplant inside her, but she also needs to do children things without a daddy hen looking over her every action. At Camp Firefly, a special place for children with organ transplants and their parents, she decides that her father needs a wife who would also mommy her, but not like the one who deserted the two of them years ago.

Divorced schoolteacher Rachel Thompson has been on a leave of absence since her four-year-old died. She wants to return to the classroom, but her dad and her boss agree she needs to do something else first to insure her grieving has hit a stage where she can work with children. They insist she first test herself at Camp Firefly. Molly chooses Rachel as the star of THE MOMMY PLAN.

Don't let the inane title fool readers into thinking this is some sort of comic relief. Instead THE MOMMY PLAN is a powerful tale focusing on relationships in which the health of a child supersedes everything else. In this case there are two children involved, obviously Molly, but also Rachel's deceased little Daniel. This novel is for readers who appreciate a poignant well written emotional powerhouse and yes there is a romance subplot that fits inside the theme of the story too.

Harriet Klausner