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A review by isabellamarg
Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Miscarriage, Rape, Terminal illness, Grief, and War
Minor: Suicidal thoughts