Description: Once, a long time ago, I walked down a night-darkened road called Firefly Lane, all alone, on the worst night of my life, and I found a kindred spirit. That was our beginning. More than thirty years ago. TullyandKate. You and me against the world. Best friends forever. But stories end, don’t they? You lose the people you love and you have to find a way to go on. . . .
Language: Moderate/Heavy
Violence: Moderate
(deaths, drugs, comas, etc.)
Sexual: Moderate (mention
of sex and molesting, but never specifically shown)
We all know those books; the ones
of which you cannot help but fall in love with because of the enchanting, yet
far from complex, writing style and the lovely characters that surround the
pages and twist the story until it is completely its own, and not about the
past story of Firefly Lane. I can tell you, without a doubt, that this is
certainly one of those books.
This isn’t one of those stories
that you can easily place on the shelf or toss aside and just forget with a
shake of your head. It is an emotional roller coaster that you will not want to
escape from. It pulls out your heart straight from your chest and shakes it up
before returning it to its rightful place, with a dull ache and warmth of
memories to flood your soul.
I was reading some reviews
recently, and quite a bit of people stated rather unfairly that the pacing was
slow, the plot was reused so much that it was a tangled and shredded mess, and
there were more than a few still parts of flashbacks. Yes, the pacing was
incredibly slow at some parts, but that brought forth character growth and brought
me up to speed with the previous book, which I have not had the privilege to
read yet. Sure, the plot may have been used before, but I do not believe that
it was written exactly like this—how could something be written with such
emotional triumph to the soul as this one? How could there be such original and
relatable characters, as this one has? And perhaps there were flashbacks; in
fact, it took up the majority of the book. But like I previously stated, it
caught me up to the charming storyline and I did not mind reading about their
past lives at all.
So, is this story for everyone? No.
Why, then, should you bother giving it a try? Because I believe that this is a
beautiful story told through the crumbled lives that is uplifting and overall
satisfying, that you will never know you can enjoy or not unless you pick up
the book and open to the first page.
Cover: The cover appears
to be very nice beside the first novel, simple but captivating.
Setting: The story is set
in several occasions, but I’d prefer to just put the original location: Firefly
Lane.
Characters: All of the
characters in this story are original and have their own personalities and
backgrounds. You may assume dreadful facts about many of these characters, but
as the story progresses you will learn their reasoning and suddenly be unable
to judge them on their pasts. The author purposely does this before telling you
the full story, letting you see the world through their broken gazes.
Storyline: A family and
best friend learn to cope with the death of their precious relative.
Writing: The writing style
of Kristin Hannah is unlike any that I have read before. It is not the most intellectually
stimulating, but it is rather addicting and flowed so nicely and wonderfully
that it in itself was beautiful in its own way. People tell me that her other
books are better, but if it is, then I will be both astonished and pleased with
this new discovery.
Surprises: This story is
not one that will completely shock you, although there are some surprising
moments. I did not find a large quantity of it; however, the surprises could
have been wavered from trying to catch up with the different sides of everyone.
Overall: 4.5 stars. The only
reason I did not give it a full five stars is because of the characters’ unique
stories that seemed to pop back and force sporadically.
Recommended: I would recommend this to all fans of
Firefly Lane (not to mention Kristin Hannah) and anyone who wants a refreshing
and emotional read that will leave you satisfied with the ending and scanning
the shelves for more pieces by this bright author.