I usually begin my reviews with a brief synopsis, but in the case of Firefly Lane, I want to get the important stuff out there first: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED Kristin Hannah is at the top of her game with this emotional three hanky read!Just what is a friend? And what would you do for your best friend? What kind of sacrifices would you make? Many of us will never find this out. But some of us will. Some of us already know. Kristin Hannah shows us with this outstanding novel what friendship really is and how it can endure over the years. She shows us the power of friendship.
Now for the a few details without revealing so much as to rob readers of discoveries they should make themselves. Kate Mularkey and Tully Hart meet when they are in junior high both felt they were outsiders. Tully comes into Kate's life a low point. She is the most beautiful, classiest person she has ever met and she has moved right across the street. But Tully has a secret, one she hides with a lie. Eventually Kate learns to trust Tully and they become best of friends with a friendship that lasts through college and as their lives take very different paths. But this doesn't mean everything is always easy between the two. And it doesn't mean that one isn't jealous of the other, but it does mean that they are there for one another. Which, as the story evolves, reveals itself in a powerful way.
Those who grew up in the 70s will love the references to the songs as the decades go by. Those who grew up in the Pacific Northwest will enjoy all the references to familiar events and locations that make everything come to life and lend an air of authenticity to the novel.
I have followed Kristin Hannah's writing career from the beginning. From its start in historical romance and a hero with the unusual name of Stone Man McKenna to a wonderful time-travel set in the San Juan Islands (Once In Every Life) to the gut-wrenchingly emotional If You Believe to her breakout novel On Mystic Lake and then several bestselling novels that have made her a favorite with readers everywhere. Now with Firefly Lane she has simply reached the summit of the mountain. Make yourself comfortable set yourself by the fireplace, grab a cup (or two or three) of your favorite beverage, a box of tissues, and put your feet up. You'll be there for awhile because you won't want to put this book down once you've started. Oh and you'll probably want to have your best friend's phone number handy for you'll want to phone her as soon as you finish.
Even the best intentioned promises can sometimes go awry as we learn in this 30 year history of friendship between Kate and Tully. It began in 1974 when Kate Mularkey was feeling especially isolated and coming to terms with the fact that she wasn't popular or pretty. In fact, she might best be described as ordinary.
Then, miracle of miracles a new family moved in across the street and in that family was Tully Hart , the coolest, best looking girl Kate had ever seen. Further, Tully wanted to be her friend, not just an acquaintance but best friends. They were opposites in many ways, but that didn't matter they swore their friendship would never end.
Tully had aspirations and in the years to come she would do whatever it took to become successful, to be acknowledged by all as the best. She does reach the top as a broadcast journalist. Kate, on the other hand, has no such dreams. She simply wants to be a wife and mother, which she does with her husband Johnny and daughter Marah.
Years pass, 30 of them, when suddenly a friendship that was to last forever seems irreparably broken.
Stage and television actress Susan Ericksen delivers an estimable reading, tracing this story of two women and their friendship, its ups and downs, its strength and resiliency.
Gail Cooke
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I really wanted to enjoy this book it has all the makings of a fine women's literature novel. But I just couldn't, for several reasons.1. It's a "Beaches" redux.
Two lifelong friends, seperated by a life-changing dispute, reconnected by calamity. Honestly, if you've ever read Beaches, you'll recognize every single plotline. Barely suppressed jealousy over each character's life choices (the SAHM desires the glam lifestyle, the successful journalist yearns for the SAHM's love and security), second-choice love interest, excruciatingly painful reunion... I had the "been there, done that" feeling for much of the second half of the book.
2. Epic length.
Tully's rise to fame in NYC is covered in a few short chapters, followed by several excruciatingly long chapters detailing day-to-day life of a stay-at-home mom. Kate's daughter goes from 0 to 3 in a few chapters, while Tully's escapades with her English lover are related in great detail for several long chapters.
3. Product/era placement.
Several times throughout the novel, the author goes to great lengths to identify with the era, describing clothing, music (lyrics, too!), hairstyles, trends, you name it. One or two mentions would've sufficed, but really, who needs a decade-by-decade synopsis of popularity? Stirrup pants, Madonna songs, velour bathrobes, menthol cigarettes the mood being initially set, the author might've better served just giving us a few fleetin reminders instead of a constant barrage of pop genre.
Again, I really wanted to like this story, but was so bogged down by the details that I found myself bored about halfway through. I thought I knew the "big thing" that separated Tully & Kate, and turned out to be wrong the actual "big thing" that makes them not talk to each other is sad but not really earth-shattering but, to be honest, by then I just didn't care. I wanted more depth of character. I wanted Kate to *want* her life choices, not just have a feeble idea of what she wanted. When Tully's character is told that she just wants too much, I was reminded of Bette Midler's mother's character in Beaches saying, "You just want too much." I never liked Johnny seriously, guy, grow a pair and, having been a volatile teenager myself, found Marah over the top.
The novel plays out like an overly-long Lifetime movie of the week, with a predictable ending and far too much exposition. By the time we see Kate's mom indulging in marijuana and claiming that's how she got through the turbulent teen years of her own daughter, I found myself wishing for the end. And, even though I've sobbed through my 5+ showings of Beaches over the years, there were no hankies on this one. You see the emotional blackmail coming, and that just takes something away from the entire story.
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Tully and Katie. Katie and Tully. The two girls met in the summer of 1974, when they were both in 8th grade. Katie was from a normal, middle-class family. She wore glasses and braces and was basically a nobody at school. Her mom was constantly trying to get in her business and help her to make friends...to no avail. That is, until Tallulah Rose Hart, better known as Tully, moved into the house across the street. Tully was beautiful, destined to be the most popular girl in school....so cool and confident. But looks can be deceiving because Tully was as insecure as they come. She was living with Cloud, the mother who had abandoned her twice before. The mother that was more interested in demonstrations and drugs than her own daughter. Tully was always on edge, just waiting for the other shoe to drop.But one night, Katie and Tully started talking. From that moment, they were inseparable. That is, until Cloud once again took off, and Tully had to go back and live with her grandmother. But a best friend is a best friend, and even distance couldn't keep them apart.
As the years went by, the girls went to college and studied journalism. Tully wanted to be a star. The next national anchorwoman. And Katie. She really just wanted to find love. Through careers and life changes, the two women stayed friends. Best Friends Forever. Or one could hope.
I wanted to like this book. I really did. But when I was reading this book, I couldn't help but think I had read it before. Then it hit me. I saw the movie: Beaches. Ok....so it wasn't exactly the same, but the theme was there. Although the writing was pleasant, the storyline is a tired one. One that has been done MANY times before.
And the characters of Kate and Tully. Very black and white...in a world that is many shades of gray. Tully was selfish and self-centered. Thinking of her career and her career only. Even when she knew she was in love, she didn't think twice about throwing it away for her job. It didn't even make her think twice about stabbing her best friend in the back for ratings (good intentions aside, she had to know she was wrong). And Kate was just the opposite. She had a very good job, but didn't think twice about giving it up when she found a man to complete her. In today's world, women really can have both, and it kind of frustrates me when I read books like this.
For all of this, I didn't hate this book. I've just read it all before. It didn't stop me from reading it, and even being sad at the end (if you've seen Beaches, I'm sure you see where this is going). But in the words of Randy Jackson from American Idol, "Dude. It just didn't do it for me".
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This book was NOT poorly written. I did finish the book with no problem. I actually got to a place in the book where I couldn't put it down. You would think that not wanting to put this book down would be a good thing. It wasn't. This book had me so angry that I had to keep reading. The more I read, the more angry I got. The ending made me so monumentally furious that I had to write my first bad review on Amazon. The book is full of so many gratuitous female stereotypical situations that I wanted to scream.Whew! Ok, here's the review and you judge for yourself. Tully and Kate grew up in the seventies. Tully is cool. Kate is not. (stereotype #1) Tully's lives with her Grandmom because her mom is a hippie druggie/alcoholic (stereotype #2) who comes in and out of her life. Sometimes Tully's mom, when she shows up, takes Tully with her. One time when Tully's mom takes Tully with her, they end up across the street from Kate's family. Tully suffers a tragedy because she is so desperate for love and acceptance that she makes some bad decisions. (stereotype #3) Kate provides Tully with the affection that she needs and they become lifelong friends. (stereotype #4)
Here's the part where I couldn't put the book down. A guy enters the picture who adores Tully and who Tully doesn't have the time of day for. Meanwhile, Kate is crazy for the guy. You would think that Kristen Hannah would write smartly and sensitively about Kate, a character who has been established as the product of a strong mother and happy family, a character who is bright, intelligent and attractive. Thus, however, is not the case. Instead Hannah takes the reader down an unbelievable road. A road where Kate makes ridiculous, insecure, stereotypical decisions that the reader has to swallow, dare I say, choke through. (all Kate had to do is ask for help. Really. Who is kidding who here?) In the interest of not spoiling the whole story, let me just say that the reader is expected to believe that Kate stays in her marriage, her friendship, and her miserable out of control and depressing life and that in the end her self-absorbed, selfish, shallow-as-a-puddle friend, Tully ends up with everything. Spare me.
For the record, Tully's character was the most interesting while she was living with her grandmother and her character completely changes to a gal who has absolutely no redeeming qualities. Also, let me say that pandering to an audience for the sake of an ending is down-right criminal.
On the other hand, writing a book that evinces so much emotion is an accomplishment all by itself, it's true. I have been thinking about this book since I finished it. My advice to the author use that emotion to write something a bit deeper and more realistic next time, Kate deserves so much better.
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