Firefly Lane
A Novel
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
From the New York Times bestselling author Kristin Hannah comes a powerful novel of love, loss, and the magic of friendship. . . . now a #1 Netflix series!
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.
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. But in the buttoned-down nineties, it is television news 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 is to fall in love and have children and live an ordinary life. In her own quiet way, Kate is as driven as 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 best friend. . . .
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.
Firefly Lane is for anyone who ever drank Boone's Farm apple wine while listening to Abba or Fleetwood Mac. More than a coming-of-age novel, it's the story of a generation of women who were both blessed and cursed by choices. It's about promises and secrets and betrayals. And ultimately, about the one person who really, truly knows you—and knows what has the power to hurt you . . . and heal you. Firefly Lane is a story you'll never forget . . . one you'll want to pass on to your best friend.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
From laughter to tears—and everything in between—this heartfelt novel delivers the full experience of a truly great friendship. The funky 1970s are in full swing the summer that teenagers Kate and Tully become neighbors and inseparable best friends. Their bond holds strong into adulthood, as Kate settles into domestic life while Tully chases her dream of becoming a TV news star. Both women wrestle with the pressures, choices, and lingering inequities of post-women’s-liberation America. We loved best-selling author Kristin Hannah’s vivid descriptions of the fashion, music, and wild hair of each decade. Firefly Lane is like a Gen X update of Iris Rainer Dart’s classic Beaches, complete with dramatic tests of emotional strength when life throws Hannah’s characters some major curveballs. You might want to keep some tissues close by—or better yet, your phone, so you can reach out to your own Kate or Tully.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hannah (On Mystic Lake) goes a little too far into Lifetime movie territory in her latest, an epic exploration of the complicated terrain between best friends one who chooses marriage and motherhood while the other opts for career and celebrity. The adventures of poor, ambitious Tully Hart and middle-class romantic Kate Mularkey begin in the 1970s, but don't really get moving until about halfway into the book, when Tully, who claws her way to the heights of broadcast journalism, discovers it's lonely at the top, and Katie, a stay-at-home Seattle housewife, forgets what it's like to be a rebellious teen. What holds the overlong narrative together is the appealing nature of Tully and Katie's devotion to one another even as they are repeatedly tested by jealousy and ambition. Katie's husband, Johnny, is smitten with Tully, and Tully, who is abandoned by her own booze-and-drug-addled mother, relishes the adoration from Katie's daughter, Marah. Hannah takes the easy way out with an over-the-top tear-jerker ending, though her upbeat message of the power of friendship and family will, for some readers, trump even the most contrived plot twists.
Customer Reviews
Good book
Loved the book, but don’t bother with the TV series. Jumps all over and truly a disappointment
Slow start
The last 100 pages pushed this to 4 stars for me. The entire first 3/4 of this book was incredibly slow. With that being said, I still think this is a beautiful story of the peaks and valleys of friendship and life’s hardships and beautiful moments. I can see why this story has the following it does. I just wish it was a little bit more intriguing from the beginning. I am looking forward to Fly Away (book 2) in hopes the ending of this will kickstart this need read.
Very relatable
As someone who is currently battling cancer, I learned so much about myself and how to better love and appreciate those around me.