Saturday, November 28, 2009

Firefly Lane...by Kristin Hannah (book review)


I just finish an excellent book by Kristin Hannah called Firefly Lane.

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, and have a family. Through careers and life changes, the two women stayed friends. Best Friends Forever.... "No Matter what". Or one could hope.

Years pass, 30 of them, when suddenly a friendship that was to last forever seems irreparably broken.
This is were the book started getting really good for me, I wont give away the ending, but I will say I laughed and cried for the two hours it took me to finish the book.

There were several parts of the story line in  the book that made em think...Hmm I have heard this before. For instance when Katies husband was injured reporting in a foriegn country in war time, I t made me think of Bob Woodruff, the television anchor who had been seriously injured in Iraq, and there were several of these instances, where I could remember hearing similar things in the news that seemed to be mirrored in this book....That aside it was still a wonderfully written book filled with nostalgia, true to the times. I like the way this book was written and the dialogue between the friends. This was the 1st book I had read by Kristin Hannah, and I would read more of her books!

This story also was kind of personal to Kristin, and if you decide to read her book you will see why, she actually offers a post story letter to her readers in her book, as well as some additional "letters" that her characters wrote back and forth to each other in the book.
When I started this book I thought ok what is so special about this? When I was done I thought WOW that was so good! I have a copy if anyone wants to borrow it!! You can check out more at Kristin Hannah's website.
Firefly Lane Playlist - A bunch of great songs that help you really get more into the book, and take you back!
http://www.kristinhannah.com/content/about_kristin.php?id=My%20Playlisthttp://www.kristinhannah.com/content/index.php

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