If you've seen or read "Beaches," you already know what happens in this one. If Hannah's version of "Beaches" had much to offer or an interesting twist, it wouldn't be so bad. However, such is not the case. She did her research for this book and mentions every brand name, song, item of clothing and TV show that she possibly can. It turns into one big advertisement for each decade. Unfortunately, research is not writing. The effort should have gone into making me care about the characters or the story. Actually, the effort should have gone into NOT making an exact copy of "Beaches." You get distracted with all the mention of the brand names; there are wasted opportunities and some things just don't add up. An overall poor effort from someone you'd think would have this down by now.

Though I'm not at all familiar with the works of Kristin Hannah, the book sounded interesting because I grew up in the same time period in which the story takes place. As it turned out, there were several parallels in the story and my own life (though I'm male) that caused me to pour out my emotions as I read the novel.

Tully and Katie come from two completely different walks of life, but circumstances bring them together into a friendship of need. Need for Katie to experience the popular side of life, and need for Tully to be with a family that loves one another. At a suggestion from Katie's mother, Tully becomes totally focused on the direction of her life and sets goals, allowing nothing to get in the way of them. Meanwhile, Kate, whom Tully thinks has the same ambitions, wants love and a family, much like her own parents.

Through good and bad, no matter what seems to happen in their lives, Kate and Tully always solve their differences, though Kate always has to be the one to concede if a rift occurs. As they get older, they have fun thinking about their magical first few summers together on Firefly Lane. Then tragedy strikes during a time of argument, with each waiting for the other to apologize.

This book moved me in ways I never dreamed it would, and now I'm interested in reading more of Hannah's works.

I really wanted to like this book. It has the makings of a good chick-lit novel: two junior-high girls meet in the 1970s; one popular, one invisible. They become fast friends after a confession. The girls grow up, one becoming famous, one choosing the mommy track. There is a tear-jerker ending.

The cliches go on and on. It's like the author made a list of tried-and-true plot lines and used them all. As I was reading I kept thinking "Been there, done that."

This wouldn't have been so deadly if the characters had ever come to life. But unfortunately, I never really cared about Tully and Kate. They remained flat. I never believed in them as real people. I was always aware that I was reading a novel, as opposed to losing myself in reading like I do with the best writers.

A better choice on the same topic is Summer Sisters by the wonderful Judy Blume. Or you could always watch Beaches again.

Firefly Lane is the story of a friendship. Tallulah "Tully" Hart and Kate Mularkey meet when Tully's mom moves them into a house across the road from the Mularkey's farm. Tully has already been through a traumatic series of events in her relatively young life, events that Kate could not even imagine, so they are truly an unlikely pairing. It is yet another traumatic event that really seals the beginnings of their friendship, a friendship that lasts through all the decades that serve as the timeline of this touching story.

I began this book having read two other books by Kristin Hannah and still not sure that Firefly Lane would be "my kind of book". I had this idea that Hannah's writing tended to be more of the romance type and even though some of that comes through at times, I really liked this book. One reason is that I related to the decades in which Kate and Tully grew and matured. I also went to high school in the 70's, college in the 80's, etc. So the cultural and pop references reverberated well for me. Another reason, and perhaps the more important one, is that the story of these two girls becoming women really caught and kept my attention and my heart. I really began to care about what happened to them. A good story does that to you. As I neared the 3/4 mark I was pretty sure of what was going to happen but I still wanted to continue reading. I do wish that there had been a little less of that formulaity in the book, but we all need a good cry every once in a while. Be sure to have some Kleenex on hand for the ending. It's a good cleansing cry, though.

Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah is the story of TullyandKate. Tully Hart and Kate Mularkey become friends in 1974 when they are both 14-year-old girls in Washington State. Their friendship weathers the changes of fashions, careers, children, and miles as they grow up, apart and together. Tully is the daughter of a drug addicted hippie who wanders in and out of her life. Kate is grounded by her strong Irish Catholic family, and each envies the others' lifestyle. Tully provides Kate with a much needed makeover, and Kate gives Tully a family and direction in her life. Tully quickly grabs hold of the dream of being an anchorwoman and depends on it to take her from foster care into a world where everyone loves her. Kate follows along on Tully's coattails for awhile until she falls in love with John, a TV news producer who at first only has eyes for Tully, but soon falls for Kate's sweetness and stability. Tully's career takes off like a rocket while Kate makes time as a stay at home mom, but both have regrets and questions about their chosen careers. Their friendship waxes and wanes through the years, but it's an amazing journey. Hannah has a way of writing that makes it difficult to put the book down. Her writing is both lyrical and earthy, capturing moments with almost painful poignancy: But no matter how hard they all tried to be normal, their life was a dirty window that couldn't be wiped clean. Everything, every moment was coated by illness. The story of TullyandKate is one of love and forgiveness and kept me up until 1:30 in the morning until I finished it in tears.