| | |  | Amazon Kindle | Home » » » Firefly Lane | | | | | | | Description: | | 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. 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.
| | | Product Details: | | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 350 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 350 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
93 of 99 found the following review helpful:
 Highly Recommended & Perfect !! Keep the Hankies HandyFeb 06, 2008
By Maudeen Wachsmith
"BeachReader"
I usually begin my reviews with a brief synopsis, but in the case of Firefly Lane, I want to get the important stuff out there first: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED - Kristin Hannah is at the top of her game with this emotional three hanky read!
Just what is a friend? And what would you do for your best friend? What kind of sacrifices would you make? Many of us will never find this out. But some of us will. Some of us already know. Kristin Hannah shows us with this outstanding novel what friendship really is and how it can endure over the years. She shows us the power of friendship.
Now for the a few details - without revealing so much as to rob readers of discoveries they should make themselves. Kate Mularkey and Tully Hart meet when they are in junior high - both felt they were outsiders. Tully comes into Kate's life a low point. She is the most beautiful, classiest person she has ever met - and she has moved right across the street. But Tully has a secret, one she hides with a lie. Eventually Kate learns to trust Tully and they become best of friends with a friendship that lasts through college and as their lives take very different paths. But this doesn't mean everything is always easy between the two. And it doesn't mean that one isn't jealous of the other, but it does mean that they are there for one another. Which, as the story evolves, reveals itself in a powerful way.
Those who grew up in the 70s will love the references to the songs as the decades go by. Those who grew up in the Pacific Northwest will enjoy all the references to familiar events and locations that make everything come to life and lend an air of authenticity to the novel.
I have followed Kristin Hannah's writing career from the beginning. From its start in historical romance and a hero with the unusual name of Stone Man McKenna to a wonderful time-travel set in the San Juan Islands (Once In Every Life) to the gut-wrenchingly emotional If You Believe to her breakout novel On Mystic Lake and then several bestselling novels that have made her a favorite with readers everywhere. Now with Firefly Lane she has simply reached the summit of the mountain. Make yourself comfortable - set yourself by the fireplace, grab a cup (or two or three) of your favorite beverage, a box of tissues, and put your feet up. You'll be there for awhile because you won't want to put this book down once you've started. Oh - and you'll probably want to have your best friend's phone number handy for you'll want to phone her as soon as you finish.
48 of 58 found the following review helpful:
 A Tale of Life-long FriendshipApr 16, 2008
By Stephanie Toland
"stephlee77"
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. Through careers and life changes, the two women stayed friends. Best Friends Forever. Or one could hope.
I wanted to like this book. I really did. But when I was reading this book, I couldn't help but think I had read it before. Then it hit me. I saw the movie: Beaches. Ok....so it wasn't exactly the same, but the theme was there. Although the writing was pleasant, the storyline is a tired one. One that has been done MANY times before.
And the characters of Kate and Tully. Very black and white...in a world that is many shades of gray. Tully was selfish and self-centered. Thinking of her career and her career only. Even when she knew she was in love, she didn't think twice about throwing it away for her job. It didn't even make her think twice about stabbing her best friend in the back for ratings (good intentions aside, she had to know she was wrong). And Kate was just the opposite. She had a very good job, but didn't think twice about giving it up when she found a man to complete her. In today's world, women really can have both, and it kind of frustrates me when I read books like this.
For all of this, I didn't hate this book. I've just read it all before. It didn't stop me from reading it, and even being sad at the end (if you've seen Beaches, I'm sure you see where this is going). But in the words of Randy Jackson from American Idol, "Dude. It just didn't do it for me".
8 of 8 found the following review helpful:
FairMay 17, 2009
By Fuzzy Lizard
"Firefly Lane" started off pretty good, but just never seemed to go anywhere. The characters of Tully and Kate started to annoy me soon after they became friends.
This book had just enough to keep me wanting to keep reading and find out what would happen next, but overall I would not recommend this book.
11 of 12 found the following review helpful:
 One of the worst I've readMar 22, 2010
By F. Maloney
Flat, linear, predictable, simplistic, superficial, chock-a-block full of cliche... I think this is one of the worst books I have ever read. The characters are teetering on completely unrealistic. The decisions they make are unbelievable. This saga reminds me of Facebook... telling even the most mundane details of each of their lives. I think the author wrote the story and, basically, chose between the two most predictable endings possible. Then, I think she went back and sprinkled ridiculously obvious references to the various decades of their lives. I didn't glean any new ideas, wisdom or understanding. I guess the author didn't have any to offer.
14 of 16 found the following review helpful:
A STORY OF FRIENDSHIP BEAUTIFULLY READMar 06, 2008
By Gail Cooke
Remember what childhood friendships can be like? Quite often, we become best friends with someone and probably swear to each other that this friendship will last forever. Such is the case in Kristin Hannah's touching story Firefly Lane. We hear, "Best friends forever. They'd believed it would last, that vow, that someday they'd be old women, sitting in their rocking chairs on a creaking deck, talking about the times of their lives, and laughing. "
Even the best intentioned promises can sometimes go awry as we learn in this 30 year history of friendship between Kate and Tully. It began in 1974 when Kate Mularkey was feeling especially isolated and coming to terms with the fact that she wasn't popular or pretty. In fact, she might best be described as ordinary.
Then, miracle of miracles a new family moved in across the street and in that family was Tully Hart , the coolest, best looking girl Kate had ever seen. Further, Tully wanted to be her friend, not just an acquaintance but best friends. They were opposites in many ways, but that didn't matter they swore their friendship would never end.
Tully had aspirations and in the years to come she would do whatever it took to become successful, to be acknowledged by all as the best. She does reach the top as a broadcast journalist. Kate, on the other hand, has no such dreams. She simply wants to be a wife and mother, which she does with her husband Johnny and daughter Marah.
Years pass, 30 of them, when suddenly a friendship that was to last forever seems irreparably broken.
Stage and television actress Susan Ericksen delivers an estimable reading, tracing this story of two women and their friendship, its ups and downs, its strength and resiliency.
- Gail Cooke
See all 350 customer reviews on Amazon.com
| | |
|
