Kristin Hannah has written over 10 novels. She didn’t become a novelist until spending years in advertising and law. When she married and spent months on bed rest her husband gave her the nudge and the rest is history. From her website, she notes that “The rejections came, of course, and they stung for a while, but each one really just spurred me to try harder, work more. In 1990, I got "the call," and in that moment, I went from a young mother with a cooler-than-average hobby to a professional writer, and I've never looked back. In all the years between then and now, I have never lost my love of, or my enthusiasm for, telling stories. I am truly blessed to be a wife, a mother, and a writer.”
This is the story of long term friendship, the kind that weathers one storm after another over thirty years. I’m sure some of the novels success is due to the bond between Kate and Tully – if you do not have a friendship like this, you might be envious!
There is a moment in the story when they can't get past an obstacle, tragedy brings them back together and keeps you enthralled and in tears for the duration of the book. How they deal with the situation, and how it affects everyone around them is inspiring and let’s you believe that the best of friends are those who can set aside both small and large hurts to forgive those they love.
If I struggled with any specific part of the story, there is an illness in the book that didn’t read true to me. I have a friend struggling with this rare disease and I had to remind myself that each case is unique, do not get caught up in the details (it is a book, not life). That said, the book is well referenced, I enjoyed the songs and current events mentioned throughout the story. I did enjoy the messy relationships in the book and Johnny's character.
This is the story of long term friendship, the kind that weathers one storm after another over thirty years. I’m sure some of the novels success is due to the bond between Kate and Tully – if you do not have a friendship like this, you might be envious!
There is a moment in the story when they can't get past an obstacle, tragedy brings them back together and keeps you enthralled and in tears for the duration of the book. How they deal with the situation, and how it affects everyone around them is inspiring and let’s you believe that the best of friends are those who can set aside both small and large hurts to forgive those they love.
If I struggled with any specific part of the story, there is an illness in the book that didn’t read true to me. I have a friend struggling with this rare disease and I had to remind myself that each case is unique, do not get caught up in the details (it is a book, not life). That said, the book is well referenced, I enjoyed the songs and current events mentioned throughout the story. I did enjoy the messy relationships in the book and Johnny's character.
Author Q&A
How long have you been writing? It feels as if I just got started on this career. I'm always a little bit surprised by my answer to this question: it's 21 years. Honestly, I don't know how that's possible being as young as I am! That's certainly the upside of a career you love. Time flies.
How did you get started? Unlike many of my peers, I was not one of those people who always wanted to be a writer. In all my college years, I only signed up for a creative writing class once, and I dropped it almost immediately. As soon as the professor mentioned "reading work aloud," I bolted. Little did I know that readings would be part of my job description years later…. Click here to read the complete interview
Type: Fiction, 479 pages, Trade paperback
Synopsis:From the New York Times bestselling author of On Mystic Lake comes a powerful novel of love, loss, and the magic of friendship. . . .
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 seems 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 who mortifies her at every turn. Tully, steeped in glamour 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. Inseparable.
So begins Kristin Hannah’s magnificent new novel. Spanning more than three decades and playing out across the ever-changing face of the Pacific Northwest, Firefly Lane is the poignant, powerful story of two women and the friendship that becomes the bulkhead of their lives.
For thirty years, Tully and Kate buoy each other 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 friendship to the ultimate test.
Reviews:
With perfect pitch, Kristin Hannah describes the tumult and energy of the seventies and eighties, and on a deeper level takes readers into the heart of a friendship between two women. Firefly Lane is masterful at the grand sweep and the fine detail. – Elin Hilderbrand, author of Barefoot
BN.COM review: Even though I cried through most of this book, it was far and away one of the best I've read. A great friendship story. I don't re-read books ... this one I will.
BN.COM review: Well written, rather quick read, for a rainy day ... or a day at the beach. Definitely a "chick pick"
Type: Fiction, 479 pages, Trade paperback
Synopsis:From the New York Times bestselling author of On Mystic Lake comes a powerful novel of love, loss, and the magic of friendship. . . .
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 seems 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 who mortifies her at every turn. Tully, steeped in glamour 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. Inseparable.
So begins Kristin Hannah’s magnificent new novel. Spanning more than three decades and playing out across the ever-changing face of the Pacific Northwest, Firefly Lane is the poignant, powerful story of two women and the friendship that becomes the bulkhead of their lives.
For thirty years, Tully and Kate buoy each other 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 friendship to the ultimate test.
Reviews:
With perfect pitch, Kristin Hannah describes the tumult and energy of the seventies and eighties, and on a deeper level takes readers into the heart of a friendship between two women. Firefly Lane is masterful at the grand sweep and the fine detail. – Elin Hilderbrand, author of Barefoot
BN.COM review: Even though I cried through most of this book, it was far and away one of the best I've read. A great friendship story. I don't re-read books ... this one I will.
BN.COM review: Well written, rather quick read, for a rainy day ... or a day at the beach. Definitely a "chick pick"