Thursday, August 1, 2013

Book Review: Fly Away by Kristin Hannah (Firefly Lane #2) (no spoilers)

Book: Fly Away
Author: Kristin Hannah
Publication: April 23rd, 2013
Series: Firefly Lane Book 2
Source: Local Library
Rating: 5/5 Stars
Summary (from Goodreads):

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. . . .

 Tully Hart has always been larger than life, a woman fueled by big dreams and driven by memories of a painful past. She thinks she can overcome anything until her best friend, Kate Ryan, dies. Tully tries to fulfill her deathbed promise to Kate--to be there for Kate’s children--but Tully knows nothing about family or motherhood or taking care of people.

 Sixteen-year-old Marah Ryan is devastated by her mother’s death. Her father, Johnny, strives to hold the family together, but even with his best efforts, Marah becomes unreachable in her grief. Nothing and no one seems to matter to her . . . until she falls in love with a young man who makes her smile again and leads her into his dangerous, shadowy world.

 Dorothy Hart--the woman who once called herself Cloud--is at the center of Tully’s tragic past. She repeatedly abandoned her daughter, Tully, as a child, but now she comes back, drawn to her daughter’s side at a time when Tully is most alone. At long last, Dorothy must face her darkest fear: Only by revealing the ugly secrets of her past can she hope to become the mother her daughter needs. 

A single, tragic choice and a middle-of-the-night phone call will bring these women together and set them on a poignant, powerful journey of redemption. Each has lost her way, and they will need each one another--and maybe a miracle--to transform their lives.

 An emotionally complex, heart-wrenching novel about love, motherhood, loss, and new beginnings, Fly Away reminds us that where there is life, there is hope, and where there is love, there is forgiveness.


My Thoughts:
Words can't describe the love I feel for Kristin Hannah as an author. Every book I have read by her so far has been amazing and Fly Away was no exception. Firefly Lane was an emotional novel with an amazing ending so I wasn't sure how Kristin Hannah would be able to create a sequel that captured everything that was amazing about Firefly Lane.

Firefly Lane was about Kate while Fly Away was about Tully, Marah, Dorothy, and Johnny. Kristin Hannah captures grieve in the best way I have ever seen an author capture grieve. It is a very difficult subject to write about and go through. Kristin Hannah captured the good, the bad, and the ugly of grieve after the loss of Kate. She captured how grieve can tear people apart.

Kristin Hannah created a unique situation where Kate could still be a huge part of the novel. Everybody's whole world changed after Kate died and Fly Away is about how they handled their grieve.

We saw how much Johnny, Marah, and Tully's life changed after Kate's death in Fly Away. Grieve is what made this book so powerful. Everybody has lost somebody so it was an easy book to relate to.

I loved how Hannah was able to incorporate Tully and Kate's friendship and the memories of Firefly Lane into the novel without overdoing it.

Fly Away was a book that was easy to get lost in. I fell in love with Tully all over again and missed Kate even more in Fly Away. I really enjoyed seeing Marah's life in this novel although her choices weren't the best. The part I found really interesting was learning about Dorothy, Tully's mother and her past.

Fly Away got me through a really hard time during my first month of college. When I needed a break from homework I would go dive into this book. Like I said earlier Fly Away is an easy book to get lost in and at times it is the only thing I wanted to be doing even when I had other stuff I needed to do. Tully and Kate feel like friends to me and have a special place in my heart. I don't think I have ever loved 2 characters more than I love Tully and Kate. It takes deep, emotional, writing to really make a person fall so in love with characters. Down the road I want to reread Firefly Lane and Fly Away. I really wanted to reread Fly Away all over again right after I finished it. They were both amazing novels and I can't wait to read more of Kristin Hannah's work.


Thanks


Rachael

4 comments:

  1. I got a review copy of this book, but hadn't realized there is another book that comes before it I haven't read yet. Kristin Hannah is definitely an author I've been meaning to try though - glad you liked this one!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You will not understand what is happening without reading Firefly Lane. They are both such amazing books. I can't wait to hear your thoughts.

      Delete
  2. My 12 year old daughter came across the book fly away. I have not read the book yet, just want to know if this book is appropriate for her age.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I sent you a message on Google+, but I believe this book is appropriate for your daughter, but she might want to read the first book Firefly Lane before she reads Fly Away.

      Delete

Hi my name is Rachael and I want to thank you for commenting on my blog. I appreciate every single comment I receive and I reply back to all comments.