Firefly Lane

In high school (again... could've been middle school), I read On Mystic Lake by Kristin Hannah. Good book, from what I remember.

Grandma purchased another of Hannah's books this summer, and lent it to me. (Of course, it got in my pile of books-to-be-read-soon, so I had it for about a month before I actually read it, but that's not the point.) I had a hard time getting into this one, to be honest. This may have been in part due to the fact that I was annoyed with the beginning--it starts with a bit of a cliffhanger, and the rest of the book is a flashback. I hate flashbacks.

The book focuses on Kate and Tully, friends who grew up on Firefly Lane in a small town in the northwest. It follows them from the tumultuous times in the 70s, throughout their thirty-year friendship. When they meet in middle school, Kate was the undeniable geek, and Tully was the ultimate cool girl. They form an odd but strong friendship, which is what keeps them going at times, and alters their lives beyond recognition. Throughout the book, Tully is the leader and Kate is the follower, but Kate has many strengths of her own. Each girl has a face she shows to the world, and face she only shows to the other--or herself. They each struggle with insecurities throughout life, some of which they never share. In the end, there is a horrible betrayal, and some pretty disturbing news.

Overall, I would rate the book 3/5 stars. The plot was interesting, and characters were well-developed. However... there are aspects that I very much dislike. The cliffhanger-then-flashback is not a feature I appreciate in any book. Especially when the cliffhanger makes you expect one thing.... which * *plot warning* * is not what actually happens. The ending isn't what I expected at all, and I felt that it wasn't appropriate to the rest of the book. In the end, I thought that the book was worth reading and would recommend it, but I can't help but think of this book with annoyance.