Reviews with content warning for Rape - Firefly Lane

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Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

123 reviews

bxnnny's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.0

this was a touching story about two very different girls who become best friends and go through the trials of life together into womanhood. at times, the story could get repetitive, particularly during tully's parts, and at other times, i felt like i was getting whiplash by how quickly the story moved forward. i kept anticipating when and what the big betrayal would be and it would never be what i thought it was going to be. issues would be brought up throughout the story but they would each ultimately be resolved by the next chapter and we'd be moving on to the next thing. that being said, i could appreciate the book moving so quickly considering the size of the book.

i really did not like tully. i felt sympathy for her at the beginning because i knew she had a troubled relationship with her mother, but as she grew up and became more and more selfish and ungrateful and emotionally stunted, i couldn't stand her. i feel like she had more potential but ended up just being extremely annoying and unlikeable and her sections of the story because repetitive fast. i was way more invested in kate's story and really just wanted her to be able to have the life she hoped for. but, alas...

i would say i overall enjoyed the book and shed some tears in those final chapters. BUT it could definitely be cliché and cheesy and over-the-top at times, it moved comically fast, and the big betrayal was... underwhelming.

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haileybunde's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Throughout the book, I enjoyed it but felt like the whole plot was centered around such a cliche - that woman have to choose between a family or a career, and that’s all there is to life. It was hard for me to get past sometimes, as well as how genuinely dumb Tully could be. She was such a selfish, bad friend at times it wasn’t even believable

However there are a few redeeming factors for me in this book that ultimately had it good:
I think how she wrote about Kate and Marah’s relationship was beautiful and real and heartbreaking, and I ultimately think this book is about motherhood. And the last 50ish pages of this book really strengthened it for me - how she wrote about grief and cancer and death was so well done and poignant and devastating

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sandysmith's review

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emotional funny 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

4.75

I'm gradually adding books I've read in 2021 to give a true reflection of the books I've read since keeping records. In January 2021, I kick-started my reading journey having put reading on the back burner whilst bringing up the children only reading when on holiday, having previously being an avid reader. About love loss and friendship, between two wonderful women Tully and Kate. I loved this one, and enjoy this authors writing style. I'll certainly consider reading more of her books and I notice there is a sequel.

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brookebatesratesbooks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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alukasavitz's review

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challenging emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
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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randeerebecca's review

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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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isabellamarg's review

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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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