Firefly Lane: A Novel
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars | 49,712 ratings
Price: 21.88
Last update: 07-08-2024
Top reviews from the United States
Tambarino665.0 out of 5 stars
I’m not crying, you’re crying
Reviewed in the United States on June 15, 2024
I can’t even begin to describe how wonderful, poignant, and powerful this book is. Katie and Tully are such relatable characters and both will make you love/hate/respect them. It’s written from both perspectives and executed perfectly. I guess I’ll have to watch the Netflix Series.
KymmLisa5.0 out of 5 stars
The Memories Came Rushing Back!
Reviewed in the United States on March 18, 2021
Leave it to Kristin Hannah to leave me laughing then crying all within the pages of one book, again! Firefly Lane was a trip down memory lane for me. I grew up and was the exact age Kate and Tully were in 1974, so the songs, the lingo, the clothes and the times were all my memories brought back to life. My thoughts and feelings were all over the place while I read this wonderful book. The seventies were a crazy, mixed up time to be a teen and Hannah brought it to life again brilliantly. I could almost feel the angst of my teen years all over again and the despair of not being old enough, but thinking I was so grown up!
Tully and Kate couldn't be more different, but when Tully moves in across the street from Kate in 1974 Kate's world will never be the same. Kate is not in the popular group, which as you know is a death sentence in middle school. Tully is new to town and she's different, which makes her a novelty and an instant popular girl. Kate is curious and watches her house with wonder. One night purely by accident after a tragic event Tully runs into Kate and they strike up a conversation. Tully shares her traumatic incident with Kate and the bond of friendship is formed with the secret. They are now and forever best friends and become known as TullyandKate.
Kate's mom is a typical stay at home mom who works hard to keep her children on the right path. She's always doing what's best for her children and worries Tully may be a bad influence on her daughter. Tully's mom is an alcoholic and drug addict who barely knows her daughter exists. Tully has no relationship with her and is shuffled back and forth to her grandmother's house whenever her mom decides to just leave, with no explanation. Tully is always hoping for more from her mom, but her mom doesn't have the capacity to care. Kate's family eventually rushes in to help Tully and opens up her world to what family really means.
The two girls, now women go their separate ways after college. Tully is all about her career in journalism and gaining fame and wealth, Kate on the other hand enjoys writing, but quietly wants love, marriage and children, not the most popular choice for women in the 80's, but it is what it is. She begins working with Tully in the journalism field, but her heart is not in it. Tully goes on to become a national star in the news world and Kate settle down to become a wonderful wife and mother, with all the challenges and joys that brings.
This book really got to me. I don't cry over books, until now. I saw myself so much in this book it was scary. I was a fourteen year old, as Tully and Kate were in 1974 when the world seemed so hard for a teen, when every decision seemed to be so big and came with such consequences that you second guessed every one. The songs Hannah mentioned, the foods she brought up and even the language the girls spoke were the ones I knew and spoke myself. I had a best friend that I got into "trouble" with, I drove my mother to distraction, I pushed every limit and I survived. I'm sorry to say I lost contact with my best friend after college, but this was part of the reason for my tears. I missed out on the rest of what could have been a lifetime of memories with her. I did reach out to her on FB after I read the book, still waiting to hear back. Another amazing part of the book, for me anyway is the unsung heroes, stay at home moms! If you've raised a teen daughter or are in the process of doing so, CONGRATULATIONS! When my daughter was a teen I was sure she was abducted by aliens and replaced with a being I did not know! It was the most challenging time of motherhood for me. I worked full time while raising children, but I admire women who choose to be full time moms, I couldn't do it. It's ten times harder than going to work everyday! They all deserve medals and hazard pay!
If you've ever had a best friend who has been there through thick and thin, has been your secret keeper, your dance partner, or even your therapist this one is for you. If you've raised a teen girl and think it's just you or your daughter, this one's for you. And if you want a book that will take you on a journey through every emotion you can feel, this one's for you. It's a masterpiece of love, friendship, family, hardship, redemption and hope and I loved every single word. I've loved Kristin Hannah for years and always find her books to be moving, with each one better than the last. This one really got to me and I can't wait to read the sequel! It was so fitting that I finished it on the first day of the new year, it just seemed like the perfect look back on my memories to get a better understanding of why I am who I am in this time and I am reminded that I too was once a teenage girl who drove her mother nuts! Happy Reading!
Tully and Kate couldn't be more different, but when Tully moves in across the street from Kate in 1974 Kate's world will never be the same. Kate is not in the popular group, which as you know is a death sentence in middle school. Tully is new to town and she's different, which makes her a novelty and an instant popular girl. Kate is curious and watches her house with wonder. One night purely by accident after a tragic event Tully runs into Kate and they strike up a conversation. Tully shares her traumatic incident with Kate and the bond of friendship is formed with the secret. They are now and forever best friends and become known as TullyandKate.
Kate's mom is a typical stay at home mom who works hard to keep her children on the right path. She's always doing what's best for her children and worries Tully may be a bad influence on her daughter. Tully's mom is an alcoholic and drug addict who barely knows her daughter exists. Tully has no relationship with her and is shuffled back and forth to her grandmother's house whenever her mom decides to just leave, with no explanation. Tully is always hoping for more from her mom, but her mom doesn't have the capacity to care. Kate's family eventually rushes in to help Tully and opens up her world to what family really means.
The two girls, now women go their separate ways after college. Tully is all about her career in journalism and gaining fame and wealth, Kate on the other hand enjoys writing, but quietly wants love, marriage and children, not the most popular choice for women in the 80's, but it is what it is. She begins working with Tully in the journalism field, but her heart is not in it. Tully goes on to become a national star in the news world and Kate settle down to become a wonderful wife and mother, with all the challenges and joys that brings.
This book really got to me. I don't cry over books, until now. I saw myself so much in this book it was scary. I was a fourteen year old, as Tully and Kate were in 1974 when the world seemed so hard for a teen, when every decision seemed to be so big and came with such consequences that you second guessed every one. The songs Hannah mentioned, the foods she brought up and even the language the girls spoke were the ones I knew and spoke myself. I had a best friend that I got into "trouble" with, I drove my mother to distraction, I pushed every limit and I survived. I'm sorry to say I lost contact with my best friend after college, but this was part of the reason for my tears. I missed out on the rest of what could have been a lifetime of memories with her. I did reach out to her on FB after I read the book, still waiting to hear back. Another amazing part of the book, for me anyway is the unsung heroes, stay at home moms! If you've raised a teen daughter or are in the process of doing so, CONGRATULATIONS! When my daughter was a teen I was sure she was abducted by aliens and replaced with a being I did not know! It was the most challenging time of motherhood for me. I worked full time while raising children, but I admire women who choose to be full time moms, I couldn't do it. It's ten times harder than going to work everyday! They all deserve medals and hazard pay!
If you've ever had a best friend who has been there through thick and thin, has been your secret keeper, your dance partner, or even your therapist this one is for you. If you've raised a teen girl and think it's just you or your daughter, this one's for you. And if you want a book that will take you on a journey through every emotion you can feel, this one's for you. It's a masterpiece of love, friendship, family, hardship, redemption and hope and I loved every single word. I've loved Kristin Hannah for years and always find her books to be moving, with each one better than the last. This one really got to me and I can't wait to read the sequel! It was so fitting that I finished it on the first day of the new year, it just seemed like the perfect look back on my memories to get a better understanding of why I am who I am in this time and I am reminded that I too was once a teenage girl who drove her mother nuts! Happy Reading!
Baltic Mermaid4.0 out of 5 stars
A dynamic story with some heartfelt moments and a bright Hollywood movie feel
Reviewed in the United States on March 27, 2023
The book was interesting to read, with all kinds of twists and turns a story about everyday life should have. To some, such stories about mundane things seem boring, but to me, people’s lives are the most exciting thing to explore through books. Still, the characters’ actions and choices, the direction the plot takes after two main characters enter adulthood, kept causing frustration in me that I couldn’t suppress.
It isn’t that I couldn’t connect with the characters. I usually don’t need to like them to enjoy reading about them. The main issue for me was that they didn’t get any kind of closure. The author has hinted in a way that both main characters were happy with the choices they made in their lives. Alas, I didn’t feel it. Maybe – probably – it’s the problem of my personal perception.
In the centre of the plot, there are two women, Kate and Tully. They meet at the most vulnerable age of fourteen, absolutely different in everything, from their background to their level of popularity at school. And they become friends for life. I liked the portrait of their controversial friendship spanning over three decades. That’s how it often is in real life. Two gentle rosebuds of women rarely can stay interested in each other to stay friends for so long. Almost always, one is the leader, while the other one follows them, making certain sacrifices along the way.
The love triangle and how it played out at the end, is what hasn’t worked for me. Kate’s insecurities about her husband kept frustrating me rather than caused sympathy. And because this plot line dragged through the big part of the book, when it came to a heart-wrenching finale, I simply couldn’t automatically switch to the “and still, you’ve always been the only one whom I truly loved” idea. As I said, other readers might feel differently. But for me, it was like that.
I’m grateful to the author for showing how beautiful saying goodbye to your close one can be. The death of someone you love will always be the most painful experience in any person’s life. There will never be anything positive about it. But Kristin Hannah has drawn a picture of a perfect parting, the way it should be in modern society. We proclaim that human life is the most precious thing, the highest value. While in reality, death is treated with embarrassment, with most people averting their eyes and pretending that it’s nothing special, which makes the experience even more painful.
To sum up, the story of Tully and Kate, two women who chose different paths in their lives, is dynamic, with some heartfelt moments and a bright Hollywood movie feel.
It isn’t that I couldn’t connect with the characters. I usually don’t need to like them to enjoy reading about them. The main issue for me was that they didn’t get any kind of closure. The author has hinted in a way that both main characters were happy with the choices they made in their lives. Alas, I didn’t feel it. Maybe – probably – it’s the problem of my personal perception.
In the centre of the plot, there are two women, Kate and Tully. They meet at the most vulnerable age of fourteen, absolutely different in everything, from their background to their level of popularity at school. And they become friends for life. I liked the portrait of their controversial friendship spanning over three decades. That’s how it often is in real life. Two gentle rosebuds of women rarely can stay interested in each other to stay friends for so long. Almost always, one is the leader, while the other one follows them, making certain sacrifices along the way.
The love triangle and how it played out at the end, is what hasn’t worked for me. Kate’s insecurities about her husband kept frustrating me rather than caused sympathy. And because this plot line dragged through the big part of the book, when it came to a heart-wrenching finale, I simply couldn’t automatically switch to the “and still, you’ve always been the only one whom I truly loved” idea. As I said, other readers might feel differently. But for me, it was like that.
I’m grateful to the author for showing how beautiful saying goodbye to your close one can be. The death of someone you love will always be the most painful experience in any person’s life. There will never be anything positive about it. But Kristin Hannah has drawn a picture of a perfect parting, the way it should be in modern society. We proclaim that human life is the most precious thing, the highest value. While in reality, death is treated with embarrassment, with most people averting their eyes and pretending that it’s nothing special, which makes the experience even more painful.
To sum up, the story of Tully and Kate, two women who chose different paths in their lives, is dynamic, with some heartfelt moments and a bright Hollywood movie feel.