Hannah (On Mystic Lake) goes a little too far into Lifetime movie territory in her latest, an epic exploration of the complicated terrain between best friends-one who chooses marriage and motherhood while the other opts for career and celebrity. The adventures of poor, ambitious Tully Hart and middle-class romantic Kate Mularkey begin in the 1970s, but don't really get moving until about halfway into the book, when Tully, who claws her way to the heights of broadcast journalism, discovers it's lonely at the top, and Katie, a stay-at-home Seattle housewife, forgets what it's like to be a rebellious teen. What holds the overlong narrative together is the appealing nature of Tully and Katie's devotion to one another even as they are repeatedly tested by jealousy and ambition. Katie's husband, Johnny, is smitten with Tully, and Tully, who is abandoned by her own booze-and-drug-addled mother, relishes the adoration from Katie's daughter, Marah. Hannah takes the easy way out with an over-the-top tear-jerker ending, though her upbeat message of the power of friendship and family will, for some readers, trump even the most contrived plot twists. (Feb.)

Tully Hart is one of the most popular girls in school, though her mother abandons her frequently to her grandmother's care. Kate Mularkey has a stable family life but feels she is an outcast with no friends. Though they couldn't be more different, Kate and Tully become best friends for life in 1974, when they are both in eighth grade and living on Firefly Lane. At the beginning of their 30-year friendship, they set out for careers in journalism, but ultimately their lives take different paths. Kate becomes a stay-at-home mom, while Tully has a glamorous life, first as a television reporter and then as a talk-show host. Both have regrets, but Tully has more and is not beyond appropriating Kate's family, especially her daughter, Marah, when she feels the need. Plot threads include mother-daughter relationships, jealousy, friendship, family, and cultural and social references of the times (clothing brands, rock songs, hairstyles, movies, etc.). The story is overlong and formulaic in places, but Hannah's many fans will not be deterred; they will enjoy the book, with its tearjerker ending. Read competently and unobtrusively by Susan Ericksen, this is recommended for all popular fiction collections.
—Mary Knapp

Adult/High School -Tully Hart, vulnerable and abandoned by her mother, meets Katie Mularkey in 1974, when they are both in eighth grade. Katie, feeling unpopular and underappreciated, is drawn to dramatic, bold, and beautiful Tully, while Tully is attracted to the loving and stable Mularkey family. After spending many wild and fun times together and sharing their deepest thoughts with one another, they pledge "best friends forever." Readers will follow the friendship for 30 years and will identify with the intense loyalty and unconditional love that Tully, a successful television personality, and Katie, a stay-at-home mom, have for one another. This changes when Tully betrays and humiliates Katie in a way she cannot forgive. Until their reconciliation, they are both bereft and feel the loss of their friendship sorely. Though Tully's character is somewhat shallow and stereotypical, her larger-than-life personality is compelling, and the story flows well. At times melodramatic, this novel about the friendship of the two very different women and its themes of betrayal and reconciliation will keep readers turning the pages. You might want to recommend a box of tissues to go along with this tear-jerking, yet hopeful book.-Jane Ritter, Mill Valley School District, CA

Lifelong, conflicted friendship of two women is the premise of Hannah's maudlin latest (Magic Hour, 2006, etc.), again set in Washington State. Tallulah "Tully" Hart, father unknown, is the daughter of a hippie, Cloud, who makes only intermittent appearances in her life. Tully takes refuge with the family of her "best friend forever," Kate Mularkey, who compares herself unfavorably with Tully, in regards to looks and charisma. In college, "TullyandKate" pledge the same sorority and major in communications. Tully has a life goal for them both: They will become network TV anchorwomen. Tully lands an internship at KCPO-TV in Seattle and finagles a producing job for Kate. Kate no longer wishes to follow Tully into broadcasting and is more drawn to fiction writing, but she hesitates to tell her overbearing friend. Meanwhile a love triangle blooms at KCPO: Hard-bitten, irresistibly handsome, former war correspondent Johnny is clearly smitten with Tully. Expecting rejection, Kate keeps her infatuation with Johnny secret. When Tully lands a reporting job with a Today-like show, her career shifts into hyperdrive. Johnny and Kate had started an affair once Tully moved to Manhattan, and when Kate gets pregnant with daughter Marah, they marry. Kate is content as a stay-at-home mom, but frets about being Johnny's second choice and about her unrealized writing ambitions. Tully becomes Seattle's answer to Oprah. She hires Johnny, which spells riches for him and Kate. But Kate's buttons are fully depressed by pitched battles over slutwear and curfews with teenaged Marah, who idolizes her godmother Tully. In an improbable twist, Tully invites Kate and Marah to resolve their differences on her show, onlyto blindside Kate by accusing her, on live TV, of overprotecting Marah. The BFFs are sundered. Tully's latest attempt to salvage Cloud fails: The incorrigible, now geriatric hippie absconds once more. Just as Kate develops a spine, she's given some devastating news. Will the friends reconcile before it's too late?Dated sermonizing on career versus motherhood, and conflict driven by characters' willed helplessness, sap this tale of poignancy. First printing of 200,000

Hannah's latest is a moving and realistic portrait of a complex and enduring friendship.” —Booklist

“Not since Iris Dart's Beaches, twenty years ago, has there been a story of friendship that endures everything, from girlhood dramas to bitter betrayal, to be the touchstone in two women's lives. In Firefly Lane, Kristin Hannah creates the most poignant of reunions and an unforgettable story of loyalty and love” —Jacquelyn Mitchard, author of The Deep End of the Ocean

“A tearjerker that is sure to please the author's many fans.” —Library Journal

“With perfect pitch, Kristin Hannah describes the tumult and energy of the 70s and 80s, and on a deeper level takes readers into the heart of a friendship between two women. Firefly Lane is masterful at the grand sweep and the fine detail.” —Elin Hilderbrand, author of Barefoot

“This terrific buddy saga about two best girlfriends who survive all sorts of escapades and catastrophes will inevitably provoke comparisons with Iris Dart's 'Beaches,' but the story is all Hannah's own.” —The Seattle Times

“No one writes more insightfully about women's friendships with all of their messy wonder, humor, pain and complexity like Kristin Hannah. She's a marvel.” —Susan Elizabeth Phillips, author of Natural Born Charmer