Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

38 reviews

julierambaeck's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book. It is between a 4 and a 4.5. I think this was a wonderful depiction of life, of grief, of love and of family and friends.
The characters were very realistic - meaning quite stupid and annoying from time to time.
It is a book that really makes you think about life, how important relationships are, dreams and wants, and how fragile it all is.
The last 30 pages I was sobbing my eyes out... and I definitely think the last 100 or 150 pages were the strongest in the book.
I will be reading the second book, but I need some time to recover from this first...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Death, Drug use, Terminal illness, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Miscarriage, Rape, and Pregnancy

randeerebecca's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Miscarriage, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

Minor: Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, and War

isabellamarg's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

"They had the music and the memories, and in those, they would always, always be together."

Firefly Lane was a beautiful, relatable, and all too realistic novel about friendship, motherhood, and family. Tully and Kate are two friends who become inseparable in their childhood and the novel follows them through high school, college, jobs, and motherhood.

Seeing female friendship so rawly portrayed was quite lovely. No matter what Kate and Tully stuck it out through their friendship and you knew that they had a deep love for each other (even if they did not say it out loud). 

Kate ends up becoming a stay-at-home mom while Tully solely focuses on her career in news and broadcast journalism. The paths they both take are very different but it is interesting to see how both crave more even with their differences. 

I thought the portrayal of motherhood was gut-wrenching. Kate and her daughter Marah start to have issues once she reaches her teen years, a common issue I would say when your child goes through adolescence. You give everything to your children only for them to disrespect you and not apologize for their actions. Many times though coming out of adolescence and as we grow older we begin to be friends with our parents and the relationship changes. 

"Please God, she prayed, let me get old enough that someday we're friends."

An aspect of the novel that frustrated me was how Tully tried to be a friend to Marah instead of being a friend to Kate. This frustrated me but then again it also made me sad because we know that Tully did not have a good relationship with her mother and so she is seeking from Marah her idolization and respect. Tully as a character, in general, seemed to frustrate me and towards the end of the novel when I had figured out what was going to happen I felt sad for Kate. Luckily though we see Tully finally apologize for her actions (after never actually taking responsibility for her actions or apologizing pretty much her entire life) at the end of the novel which was great character development.

Overall, the last third of this book had me shedding silent tears and thinking deeply about life and how we choose to go about it. Kristin Hannah always seems to tug on my heart strings.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Miscarriage, Rape, Terminal illness, Grief, and War

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

brooke_harrison's review against another edition

emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, and Abandonment

Minor: Addiction, Drug use, and Toxic friendship

sarahfeller's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infertility, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol

sarah_amy's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Loved following the friendship of Kate and Tully over several decades. It was very easy to get attached to them and their lives and to feel like a part of their world. I missed them both when I finished the book and have listened to it a couple of times since. A lot easier to follow than the TV series as events are chronological.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Drug use, Rape, Terminal illness, Grief, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, and Alcohol

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

What a fucking roller coaster ride. I laughed and I wept and did everything in between. Tully & Kate are lovable and detestable at the same time, which is to say they are human. The story arc is so pleasant. The subtle nods to different music was a nice bonus for me as a music lover. The end is devastating, though, so prepare with loads of tissues. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

maiahhtratchh's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

I was quite disappointed after watching the tv show. Their friendship is not near as nice and I don’t even truly understand how they are friends in the book. They don’t communicate and hold resentment over each other constantly. I liked the ending though, the last 50 pages truly showed the best in their relationship and if the whole book were like that I would be OBSESSED with this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Miscarriage and Grief

Minor: Toxic friendship

cocheesereads's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Cancer, Rape, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

bee_isreading's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction and Drug abuse

Moderate: Cancer, Death, Drug use, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Minor: Abortion