A review by but_then_you_read
Firefly Lane, by Kristin Hannah
2.0
2.5/5
I was not a fan of this book. The only reason I'm even giving it 2.5* is because Kristin Hannah is a good writer. Normally I prefer writing over everything, but in this case that wasn't enough. Here were my three main problems:
1. I found every single character (except maybe Johnny) to be unlikeable, and the relationships seemed extremely forced and disingenuous. For a book that's literally about the 30-year friendship of two women, that's a real issue. You need more to develop a lifelong friendship than what Tully and Kate had: the fact that there simply was no one else. Most of the time they don't even seem to like each other very much.
2. This happens right at the beginning of the book, and I also think there needs to be some kind of trigger warning, so I won't tag this review as a spoiler. I apologize if you accidentally read it without wanting to. Here's the issue: the rape. I'm not against using sexual assault as a plot point, as long as it is handled with the care it needs. This did NOT. In any way whatsoever. It only existed as a means of pushing Tully to confide in Kate. As soon as it served this purpose, it was over with, and the only other time it was mentioned was in a very off-handed way, like how someone might mention how they lost their beloved childhood stuffed animal or something. It doesn't sit well with me at all.
3. The ending. Not the conclusion per se, but how long it took to get there, and how much it detracted from the theme. This was supposed to be a book about a friendship, and while it is entirely relevant to see how a health issue can affect a friendship, this took it way beyond. The final quarter of the book was based purely on this. If I wanted to read a book about this topic, I wouldn't have picked this one up. Also, it was a cheap way to resolve Tully and Kate's fight, without actually having to give either of them any kind of character development and actually resolve it properly.
That's the end of my review. Writing it made me realize I was way too generous with the 2.5*. More of a 1.5 really.
I was not a fan of this book. The only reason I'm even giving it 2.5* is because Kristin Hannah is a good writer. Normally I prefer writing over everything, but in this case that wasn't enough. Here were my three main problems:
1. I found every single character (except maybe Johnny) to be unlikeable, and the relationships seemed extremely forced and disingenuous. For a book that's literally about the 30-year friendship of two women, that's a real issue. You need more to develop a lifelong friendship than what Tully and Kate had: the fact that there simply was no one else. Most of the time they don't even seem to like each other very much.
2. This happens right at the beginning of the book, and I also think there needs to be some kind of trigger warning, so I won't tag this review as a spoiler. I apologize if you accidentally read it without wanting to. Here's the issue: the rape. I'm not against using sexual assault as a plot point, as long as it is handled with the care it needs. This did NOT. In any way whatsoever. It only existed as a means of pushing Tully to confide in Kate. As soon as it served this purpose, it was over with, and the only other time it was mentioned was in a very off-handed way, like how someone might mention how they lost their beloved childhood stuffed animal or something. It doesn't sit well with me at all.
3. The ending. Not the conclusion per se, but how long it took to get there, and how much it detracted from the theme. This was supposed to be a book about a friendship, and while it is entirely relevant to see how a health issue can affect a friendship, this took it way beyond. The final quarter of the book was based purely on this. If I wanted to read a book about this topic, I wouldn't have picked this one up. Also, it was a cheap way to resolve Tully and Kate's fight, without actually having to give either of them any kind of character development and actually resolve it properly.
That's the end of my review. Writing it made me realize I was way too generous with the 2.5*. More of a 1.5 really.