Fly Away
Ratings26
Average rating4.3
This book helped me understand some of the issues my brother had in the past, back when we were both too young to understand or support each-other.
I really enjoyed this book, and I loved the continuation from Firefly Lane. I think this could be read on its own though, as Kristen Hannah spells out the references to Firefly Lane enough that you wouldn't miss anything. That being said, having already read Firefly lane, some of it felt repetitive. Especially given that I listened to them back to back.
The one that kind of irked me (which is why it got a 4 instead of a 4.5 or 5) was all of the back and forth. This story was told from so many perspectives. The jumping forward and back, and from one person's perspective to the other was almost too much. It was manageable, because there weren't too many characters to track, but it was still somewhat daunting.
If you've read Firefly, you really should read this one.
Amazing book, but I think I blew it by reading it out of order. I loved all the characters, but from just reading this book, the main character Tully, and her friend, Kate, actually met in the book FIREFLY LANE by Kristin Hannah. I can't undo what's been done, but I wish I had read FIREFLY LANE first, then FLY AWAY. (Don't make my mistake, friends.)
Still, it was an awesome read. I love the depth of all the characters, not just Tully and Kate. And when Hannah's characters fall on hard times or lose faith, they don't horse around. They go the distance. If they are able to claw their way back to the surface, it takes everything they've got.
I'm wondering if this will actually be the second book of a trilogy because some of the characters have so much chemistry together, I would like to read about them again in different relationships. Particularly Tully, John, and Marah.
Welp! I skimmed a few of the 1- and 2-star reviews, surprised there are so many. Not a lot, but enough to know that I'm something of an odd duck to think that this is perhaps better than Firefly Lane. Fly Away is not a shiny happy story. It's gut-wrenching, but it feels ... real. In the aftermath of a loved one's passing, we feel in excruciating detail and depth just how much the departed soul meant to the people in her life. One by one, we see them fall apart without her and fail each other in the process. The narrative jumps around quite a bit, both in time and perspective, but it works. There is heartbreak after heartbreak, but there is also healing, there is also redemption. And in the end, there is love. Always.
What a great follow up to Firefly Lane. Kristin Hannah deals out the grief, heartache, downward spiral and recovery of the families in a devastatingly beautiful way. Like only she can.
I thought it was a great way to finish of the story of Tully and Kate. It did give you background on Tully's mum which was good. It was hard to read about Marah and the cutting. I am glad she got rid off her loser boyfriend in the end.
