Firefly Lane and Fly Away

This week's review is another double feature. Enjoy! Genre: Fiction

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

This is the story of Tully Hart, the girl every girl wants to be, and Kate Mularkey, the girl every girl really is. Tully is the cool, stylish girl and Kate is oftentimes lonely and insecure. Or are they really? The two meet in middle school and from there forge a life-long friendship. Tully teaches Kate about being cool and how to let loose, and Kate teaches Tully that she is worthy of love and friendship. But, as friendships forged in childhood often do, this one is fraught with change as the girls change over time and they need to get to know each other all over again as adults. This friendship, spanning careers, boyfriends, marriages, children, fights and decades, is the things great stories are made of.

Well, sort of. First, let me say that I read Fly Away, which is the sequel to Firefly Lane, first, and boy am I glad I did. Honestly, had I read Hannah’s Firefly Lane first, I would have never read Flyaway and would have missed out. I didn’t enjoy this first book. Here’s an example of some of the writing. After Tully has a sexual encounter, it says, “She closed her eyes and let him rock her world again”. I actually laughed out loud after I read that line. The language reads like a second-rate romance novel and the story line isn’t much better. This is not up to Hannah’s usual standards. The characters are insipid, uninteresting and unlovable. The good news, is that it gets better in Fly Away.

Fly Away by Kristin Hannah

This is the story of Kate and Tully, best friends since they were kids. Kate marries Johnny and has two children, while Tully, has climbed the career ladder and has come to host her own, very popular TV show. All's well in their lives, until Kate falls ill and dies and Tully is left with a hole in her heart from which she struggles to recover. This is the story of the after. What happens after Kate dies and Tully has to help Kate’s family pick up the pieces? But, picking up other people’s pieces when your own life is in shambles will prove difficult for Tully. This is the story of friendship, loss and learning that recovery isn’t about forgetting, but about making space for those who are gone in our lives today.

This story is heavy. So heavy and deep in loss that it often feels claustrophobic. It is non-stop loss and grief. There was no relief from that intensity. I suppose that's what Hannah set out to do, but in the ebb and flow of storytelling, having a break to digest all that happens would be helpful. However, this was a sweet story about two characters who are fully-formed, their own people and have their own lives. The characters are all appealing and relatable and the story of Tully and Kate’s friendship is lovely. Just be ready with the tissues for this one.

I wrote this review in March when I finished reading this book and have thought long and hard about why I see the characters (the same characters at different stages in their lives) so differently. I think that books meet us where we are. Meaning, the reader brings as much to the table as the author does, and sometimes, our own stories affect the story we read on the pages. I think this is probably the best example of that. I am a woman in my early 40’s and can relate to the characters in Fly Away much more than the girls and young women concerned with falling in love and going to college parties in Firefly Lane. That said, those of you who are lucky enough to still have a best friend from high school and the two of you still remember each other at that age, and want spend time together, these books will make you smile.