The Kari AnnAlysis

Posts Tagged ‘friendship’

Tully and Kate are the epitome of a BFF. The girls meet when they are in their early teens. Tully has major family problems. She doesn’t know her dad, her mom, Cloud, is a typical 70′s woman, addicted to drugs and freedom. All Tully wants is someone to love her, other than her grandmother. She may be in luck when she meets her new neighbor, golden girl, Kate.

Kate is a straight A student, never breaks the rules and just wants to be popular. So she also has something to gain from a relationship with a beautiful, new girl at school.

Firefly Lane takes us from the 70s when the girls meet at the bus stop, through their lives and the turn of the century. As friends, Tully and Kate go through many ups and downs. Tully has the passion to be a network while Kate just wants to raise a family.

I have read a lot of great books lately, but this one is definitely going into my Top 5 of all time. There are so many things that I loved about this, I don’t even know where to start.

One thing I love about this book is following what happened in real life during these times. Being a news girl, big stories always stay with you, along with big people. There were mentions of the 70s stereotypes, Kenny G, Bill Gates, JZ Knight, Virgin Records, Jane Pauley… do you get my drift? While this book is entirely fiction, you remember these stories. Well, I don’t really remember them because I wasn’t born, but I remember hearing about them They helped keep it real for me.

That’s another thing I loved about this book. It was very real. I am a huge fan of fiction that pushes reality, but this book was so real, I felt like I really knew these people. When you meet someone in a book that is a teenager, and stay with them through their 40′s, that’s longer than I have known my friends. You know their secrets, you know everything that is happening in their lives and you feel for them. And they deal with real issues from popularity in school to getting your dream job to raising a family, all things you can relate to .

I felt like I could relate to Kate and Tully on many levels. Of course, I felt an attachment for Tully through her love of journalism. However, she has a little more perseverance than I do in my little pinkie. When I want something, I try my best to get it, but she is hardcore to getting what she wants. Maybe it’s just that our passions lie in different parts of the business. She wanted to be a network anchor, I want to have nothing to do with being on camera. I also see how her job makes it hard for her to be in a relationship. It is very easy to get caught up in a job like this. And the more you are available, the further you will go. If you can up and go at any time, and you are good at your job, you are golden. But as Tully finds out, what is it worth giving up?

Pg49: “Of course I need you. Is Tennessee a top 49 market?”

Ahhh the life of a journalist, putting the job before love, which Tully did a number of times.

As much as Tully pushed to further her career, Katie worked hard for a family. I am not at that point in my life yet, still waiting a couple years before kids, but I still feel like I can relate to Katie’s wanting a family and wanting to stay home with them. Everyone wants to be the best mom they can be, but I’m not sure if I could stay home and not have a side career. That’s where writing comes in. Tully covered my journalism passion and Katie covered my writing passion. Katie tried writing a time or two and never got anywhere with it. One thing I got from this book is to write while I can.

One of my favorite quotes from the books is this:

Pg 183: “Of course you can fall in love. You just have to let yourself. They don’t call it falling for nothing.”

I had mixed feelings for both women. Things that I wished they both would’ve done and said, and not done and not said. I felt bad at them for different times throughout their lives, normally more for Katie than Tully. I can’t believe I had so many feelings for just one book, that wasn’t even a series. 

This book reminded me of one of my favorite movies of all time, Beaches. There was the good girl and the wild child. They come together and are split apart, but their friendship lasts through everything. I should watch that movie soon, once I get my tears back.

I want to warn readers who plan on reading this book to carry some tissues around with you. I wasn’t warned and when it came to the last night I was reading it, I was a hot mess. There were a couple of times throughout the story, where I shed a tear or two, but let me tell you, it got so bad that Michael told me to quit reading it because a book shouldn’t make me that sad!

There honestly wasn’t anything in this book that I didn’t love. I hope that one day, I can write an amazing story like this. I give Firefly Lane 5 bookmarks.

ISBN: 9780312537074
Published: February 5, 2008
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Kari borrowed this book from a family member