Fly Away
A Novel
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4.2 • 149 Ratings
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
Return to the world of FIREFLY LANE—now a Netflix series—from #1 New York Times bestselling author Kristin Hannah.
Once, a long time ago, I walked down a night-darkened road called Firefly Lane, all alone, on the worst night of my life, and I found a kindred spirit. That was our beginning. More than thirty years ago. TullyandKate. You and me against the world. Best friends forever. But stories end, don't they? You lose the people you love and you have to find a way to go on. . . .
Tully Hart has always been larger than life, a woman fueled by big dreams and driven by memories of a painful past. She thinks she can overcome anything until her best friend, Kate Ryan, dies. Tully tries to fulfill her deathbed promise to Kate--to be there for Kate's children--but Tully knows nothing about family or motherhood or taking care of people.
Sixteen-year-old Marah Ryan is devastated by her mother's death. Her father, Johnny, strives to hold the family together, but even with his best efforts, Marah becomes unreachable in her grief. Nothing and no one seems to matter to her . . . until she falls in love with a young man who makes her smile again and leads her into his dangerous, shadowy world.
Dorothy Hart--the woman who once called herself Cloud--is at the center of Tully's tragic past. She repeatedly abandoned her daughter, Tully, as a child, but now she comes back, drawn to her daughter's side at a time when Tully is most alone. At long last, Dorothy must face her darkest fear: Only by revealing the ugly secrets of her past can she hope to become the mother her daughter needs.
A single, tragic choice and a middle-of-the-night phone call will bring these women together and set them on a poignant, powerful journey of redemption. Each has lost her way, and they will need each one another--and maybe a miracle--to transform their lives.
An emotionally complex, heart-wrenching novel about love, motherhood, loss, and new beginnings, Fly Away reminds us that where there is life, there is hope, and where there is love, there is forgiveness. Told with her trademark powerful storytelling and illuminating prose, Kristin Hannah reveals why she is one of the most beloved writers of our day.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
Kristin Hannah dives into the deep end of grief in this incredibly moving novel, the sequel to Firefly Lane. After losing her best friend, Kate, to cancer, former TV star Tully Hart is spiraling, and Kate’s husband and daughter aren’t doing much better. But a traumatic event alters Tully’s perspective, especially when her estranged mother suddenly shows up. Hannah is a master of putting her characters through the emotional wringer—we love how she manages to give Kate an active role in the story, and we were really drawn to Tully’s mother, a longtime addict whose commitment to righting her past wrongs represents the power of hope. Whether or not you’ve read the previous book, you’ll want to keep some tissues handy for this cathartic read.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Prolific novelist Hannah revisits the characters, known to fans as "KateandTully," of her bestselling Firefly Lane in this slow-paced but largely well-executed sequel. Tully Hart, the famous 50-year-old former host of the talk show The Girlfriend, isn't dealing well with the recent death of her best friend Kate, whose daughter, Marah, has run away. Tully is Marah's godmother, and Kate's husband Johnny blames her for his daughter's flight. With no one left to turn to, Tully runs her car into a cement block in a haze of booze and prescription drugs. In the hospital clinging to life, Tully faces her past and her pain, visits her dead friend, and decides whether or not life is worth living. Told in a shopworn form turns and flashbacks from the perspectives of Marah, Johnny, and Tully the plot is unnecessarily repetitive, at times bringing forward motion to a standstill, but fans will appreciate the depth of character as they wade toward a neatly tied-up and heart-warming denouement.
Customer Reviews
Fly Away
This book was very moving. A great story of friendship, family and love.
Amazing story
Kristin Hannah is a wonderful writer. I enjoyed this book so much. It’s a sad story, and also a story of hope, forgiveness and love. The characters are sometimes broken, but this pushes them on.
Disappointed
Although I enjoyed the story, it seemed too repetitive not only in terms of big word choices and phrasing, but also more generally in in themes. I have enjoyed her other novels all more than “Fly Away”.