Customer Reviews

Molly's Fire

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Have you ever dreamed of living in a small town on the coast of Maine? I have. This book takes me there, to the World War II era when fathers flew off on gallant missions, perhaps never to return. Each family member who was left behind had to work out private griefs in individual ways. Molly is a teenager who was left behind. She is one of the strongest young female characters you're likely to meet in a young adult novel. Her strength and "fire" make me wish I were one of Molly's friends. She reminds me of Scout in "To Kill a Mockingbird." If I were Molly's friend, then I could be there with her, walking along the cliff edge overlooking the Atlantic, exploring ruins of an old church, and getting into tense and desperate adventures. Molly's strong fire, her passion, is that she must prove her father is still alive and is coming back home.

As a teacher and avid reader, I enthusiastically recommend Molly's Fire, by Janet Lee Carey. I grew emotionally attached to the main character, Molly, and held her hope as my own as I read her struggles to keep that hope alive. Many can identify with Molly, who is going through common issues for her age, such as first love, voicing her opinion, the (apparent) loss of a parent, and a prospective new parent. The details surrounding this historical fiction book add to the depth, especially the quote from one of FDR's fireside chats and the rationing of goods. Many scenes in the book spoke powerfully to me through the poetic description that was used, especially the scene on VE-day. Finally, the children in this book were protrayed authentically. They were not little adults, but reacted to situations as children do.

As a homeschooling mom of a sixth grader, I really look forward to sharing this book with my daughter (I just couldn't wait to read it first!). I loved Molly, the strong protagonist, who hangs on to her hope and I liked her angry friend, Peter, waiting for his dad to take notice of him. As a published writer, I appreciate Ms Carey's deft use of language. I found the ending quite moving. I hope this author will have more books for us soon.

I read Janet Lee Carey's novel in one sitting--that's how hooked I was from the first chapter. I truly felt I was IN Maine, walking along the beach, the cliffs, and through Molly's house, school, and life right along with her. Unusual and memorable images are used throughout the book, my favorites being the use of the reconstructed stained glass window and the references to fires, ghosts, sea, and sky--all of which are handled with sensitivity and originality by Ms. Carey. The pace is fast, the characters believable and multi-dimensional, and historical facts are woven in seamlessly throughout the storyline. I highly recommend this book to anyone who like vibrant writing, a slice of history, and a few surprises.

I want to take exception to the so-called critical or editorial review that characters in this book are "straight out of central casting." Believable characters are drawn not only from our own experience but what the reader will also identify. Writing a book about an actual time requires actual persons to inhabit the story. I encourage readers to read this book for themselves and by-pass the critics.

Story of a girl who "keeps the faith" when her father is MIA during WW II. Brings out some little-known details of World War II history, including the use of German POWs in logging camps in New England. Starts a little slow, but by the end I was completely engrossed. Although the protaganist is a girl, both girls and boys (men and women?) will enjoy this book.

Any reader who loves stories of the World War II era will appreciate this finely crafted novel. The author has done an excellent job of researching the attitudes of those who were left behind when family members had to off to fight the war. George Fowler, Molly's father is a pilot in Europe, and is declared "missing and presumed dead", an idea that Molly cannot accept.Her deep love for her father won't let her believe that she'll never see him again. This belief and how Molly interacts with her mother, grandmother, brother, and classmates is the main plot of the novel. The descriptions of the town in Maine, the seashore and surrouding woods, are vividly portrayed. One can almost smell the salt air and the aroma of freshly cut fir trees. The characters are well-fleshed out and believable. The reader is caught up in Molly's strong desire to have her father somehow return home. Will he or won't he and how will Molly survive? That question is what keeps the pages turning through the plot twists to the last chapter.

Molly's Fire by Janet Lee Carey is a story of the American home front during World War II. Molly's father has gone to England where he is a pilot, flying missions over Europe in the early days of the war. His plane is shot down, and Molly's family is told that there were no survivors. She refuses to believe this, clinging to the hope that her father will return and that he will send her a sign that he is alive and all right.

There is plenty of drama on the home front, even in Keenan Maine where Molly's family lives. Her friend Jane, falls under suspicion as do most all Japanese Americans, and Molly's own interest in the German prisoners of war who have been sent to a nearby work camp soon cast suspicions on Molly as well. Molly has seen one particular prisoner who has a pocket watch just like the one her father had. The fact that her father gave her the gold watch chain for safe keeping and that the German soldier's watch is attached to a string convince Molly that the watch is her father's and that he is still alive. She and her friend Peter try to get close enough to the German prisoner to buy the watch from him which, of course, gets the two into serious trouble.

The events do play out in a way that nicely serves up a happy ending for the reader, but they never become predictable in an unsatisfying way, nor do they become unbelievable and they easily could have. Ms. Lee draws her characters with depth and feeling, even the "bad guys" in the story are given enough heart to give them all depth. The reader does not take their side, but does come to understand their position. Molly's Fire is the kind of book that often sits on the library shelf a long time between readers and this is too bad. There's nothing flashy or eye-catching about it, but there is a compelling story about one girl's faith against all odds that is well worth reading.

When I went into my classroom one day, we were reading this book. I became blown away by the fantasticly mysterious storyline and characters that are in it.It is a WONDERFUL book, and I think that every kid from 8-16 should read it. You'd be surprised how nice it is.

The freindships that exist between the main characters are of a depth rarely given. I felt a kindredship with Molly and the others too; so much so that I was disappointed to have the book come to an end. Hopefully, the author will write a sequel and let us know what becomes of them from then.