Hey girls! My friend Tarole is having an awesome giveaway over at Island Livin’ with One Haole Girl! Go check out her blog and enter to win a ton of free ad space!
Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
St. Martin’s Griffin
2008
Format: Paperback, 479 pages
First Line: They used to be called the Firefly Lane girls.
From the back cover: In the turbulent summer of 1974, Kate Mularkey has accepted her place at the bottom of the eighth-place social food chain. Then, to her amazement, the “coolest girl in the world” moves in across the street and wants to be her friend. Tully Hart seems to have it all- beauty, brains, ambition. On the surface they are as opposite as two people can be: Kate, doomed to be forever uncool, with a loving family who mortifies her at every turn. Tully, steeped in glamour and mystery, but with a secret that is destroying her. They make a pact to be best friends forever; by summer’s end they’ve become TullyandKate. Inseparable.
So begins Kristin Hannah’s magnificent new novel. Spanning more than three decades and playing out across the ever-changing face of the Pacific Northwest, Firefly Lane is the poignant, powerful story of two women and the friendship that becomes the bulkhead of their lives.
For thirty years, Tully and Kate buoy each other through life, weathering the storms of friendship – jealousy, anger, hurt, resentment. They think they’ve survived it all until a single act of betrayal tears them apart…and puts their courage and friendship to the ultimate test.
My Thoughts: This is a novel about a beautiful friendship. It follows Kate Mularkey, a somewhat shy girl who’s dream is to simply be a stay-at-home mom, and Tully Hart, an ambitious, spitfire who wants nothing short of fame and wealth. Their friendship starts at age 14. Kate has been raised in a Catholic family who has loved her unconditionally while Tully was raised by her Grandmother after being abandoned (several times) by her hippie, drug-addicted mother. They grow into beautiful, smart and ambitious women but take separate paths when Kate decides to quite her job and make a family. They’re secretly jealous of each others lives and separate a few times, but their friendship always outweighs their differences. Through their ups and downs their friendship never fails.
If you’ve ever had a best friend, you will be able to relate to this story. Sometimes friends go their separate ways, but in the end, they are always a phone call away. The message I took from this book is that true friendship never fades. This book made me laugh and made me cry. Overall it was a good read. I give it 4 1/2 stars.
(I purchased this book)
Happy Reading!
It’s time to link up again for “Oh, How Pinteresting” hosted by Michelle over at The Vintage Apple!
Thanks for stopping by. I hope you have a lovely Wednesday!
“It’s Monday! What are you reading?” is a weekly meme hosted by book journey. Post the books you finished reading last week, the books you are currently reading, and the books you plan to read this week.
Book(s) Read: The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
Currently Reading: Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
What I plan to read next: Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier
What are you reading this week?
-LC
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton
Washington Square Press
February, 2010
Format: Paperback, 549 pages
First Line: It was dark where she was crouched but the little girl did as she’d been told.
From the back cover: A tiny girl is abandoned on a ship headed for Australia in 1913. She arrives completely alone with nothing but a small suitcase containing a few clothes and a single book- a beautiful volume of fairy tales. She is taken in by the dockmaster and his wife and raised as their own. One her twenty-first birthday, they tell her the truth, and with her sense of self shattered and very little to go on, “Nell” sets out to trace her real identity. Her quest leads her to Blackhurst Manor on the Cornish coast and the secrets of the doomed Mountrachet family. But it is not until her granddaughter, Cassandra, takes up the search after Nell’s death that all the pieces of the puzzle are assembled. A spellbinding tale of mystery and self-discovery, The Forgotten Garden will take hold of your imagination and never let go.
My thoughts: This was my first time reading Kate Morton and she did not disappoint. As soon as I read “fairy tales” on the back cover while standing in the book store, I knew I had to read this novel. When I was a child, my grandmother always read fairy tales to me. Because of this, I have always loved them and the memories they created. This was a book that I had a hard time putting down, so I recommend that you only start it when you have time to read for a while.
Nell takes us on her journey to England where she learns of her ancestors but, sadly, does not complete the mystery. It is not until her death that the secrets of Blackhurst Manor and the Mountrachet family are uncovered by her granddaughter, Cassandra. Cassandra has been through a lot in her life – being abandoned by her mother and the loss of her husband and son. Will she find peace and maybe even happiness while searching for the answers she seeks?
If you like mystery novels or fairy tales, this book is definitely for you. It took be back to my childhood (not that this book is in any way meant for a child) but it reminded me of why I fell in love with fairy tales and why ancestry is so important. I give this book 5 stars.
(I purchased this book)
Happy reading!
-LC
“Stacking the Shelves” is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga’s Reviews to spotlight the books you have added to your shelf.
Purchased:
Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah
-This will be my second book to read by Hannah. If you have never read Winter Garden by her, I highly recommend it.
Big Stone Gap by Adriana Trigiani
-This is book #1 in the Big Stone Gap series.
Burning Bright by Tracy Chevalier
-I’ve never heard of this book, but saw it on clearance at Books-A-Million and couldn’t pass it up.
I hope you all have a lovely reading week.
-LC
100 followers? Are you serious? You guys are so awesome! I haven’t even finished my 50 follower giveaway and I’m already at 100. Thank you so much for reading my random thoughts. Don’t forget that there are still a few days left to enter my giveaway, so go do it! Shout out to my 100th follower Erica @ Erica Start Walking!
I’m very excited to participate in the new link-up “THAT Just Happened” because I am always saying I am a brunette with a lot of blonde moments. Here goes…
Last Saturday my husband and I decided to get a little creative with our breakfast. We had a genius idea- to put our cinnamon rolls in our waffle iron and make mini cinnamon waffles! I took a lot of pictures and was so excited to put it on the blog to share with you all! Later that afternoon I was playing around on Pinterest and saw this:
I was so disappointed. It turns out we aren’t so clever after all. Oh well. They were delish!
-LC
