Review: Firefly Lane

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

Pages: 528
Published: 2009
Genre: Fiction

My Rating: 4/5

Summary (from chapters.ca):

In the turbulent summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the eighth-grade social food chain. Then, to her amazement, the "coolest girl in the world" moves in across the street and wants to be her friend. Tully Hart seemed to have it all - beauty, brains, ambition. On the surface, they are as opposite as two people can be: Kate, doomed to be forever uncool, with a loving family that mortifies her at every turn. Tully, steeped in glamor and mystery, but with a secret that is destroying her. They make a pact to be best friends forever; by summer's end they've become tullyandkate. Inseperable...

From the beginning, Tully is desperate to prove her worth to the world. Abandoned by her mother at an early age, she longs to be loved unconditionally. In the glittering, big-hair era of the eighties, she looks to men to fill the void in her soul. In the buttoned-down nineties, it is television that captivates her. She will follow her own blind ambition to New York and around the globe, finding fame and success... and loneliness.

Kate knows early on that her life will be nothing special. Throughout college, she pretends to be driven by a need for success, but all she really wants in to fall in love and have children and live and ordinary life. In her own quiet way, Kate is driven by Tully. What she doesn't know is how being a wife and mother will change her... how she'll lose sight of who she once was, and what she once wanted. And how much she'll envy her famous friend...

For thirty years, Tully and Kate buoy eachother through life, weathering the storms of friendship - jealousy, anger, hurt, resentment. They think they've survived it all until a single act of betrayal tears them apart... and puts their courage and friendshop to the ultimate test.

Review:

SOB... (full out ugly cry sobs)

I can honestly say that I have not cried as much, while reading a book, as I did with Firefly Lane. The story of friendship that lasts through thick and thin is so endearing that I could actually imagine both Tully and Kate and the feelings that they had towards one another.

The imagry in the novel was wonderful... I loved that it went from the seventies all the way to present (2006) and reading about each of the decades nuances (fashion, music, hair, make-up) was really cool. Tully, being a cool chick, went through each transition easily while Kate seemed to have a harder time... which I can totally relate to as I am much more a 'Kate' than a 'Tully' in my life.

Reading this book evoked a lot of memories and feelings that I had growing up... relationships that I had with friends that came and went and then those few special ones that seemed to last through it all. Memories that last a lifetime...

Overall, this is a must-read for anyone who is looking for a book about true friendship... one that will stick with you and make you truly cherish those friends that have made a significant difference in your life.