Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah (2009)

I did not realize this was another Kristin Hannah book, since I just read Home Front. I might have waited a bit longer before reading another one of these modern day sagas that I think realistically depicts relationships and situations, but gets pretty heavy.

Two very different girls briefly live across the street from each other on Firefly Lane. (Strangely it gets mentioned a few times that there are no fireflies in the Puget Sound area around Seattle, WA,which is a shame, as they are really neat creatures.) Kate comes from a loving family, but isn't very popular in school. Tully has a strung-out mom that leaves her to be raised by her grandmother, but knows how to be the center of attraction. They bond and become best friends for life. Here again I feel the need to add an aside. In one sense I envy those that have life-long best friends. I seem to have had a series of best friends throughout life - throughout childhood - high school - college - Ohio - Latvian Studies Center - and post LSC. I am still in contact with all of them, except from early childhood, and the ones that are no longer with us. But I can't say I have a best friend at the moment, and that elicits a certain sadness in me when reading about other best friends.

So... Kate and Tully dream of being news anchors together, go to U-Dub (University of Washington) together - a school I admire and enjoyed mentions of Suzzallo lLbrary. They get their first job together, but then Kate goes on to be a stay-at-home mom, while Tully becomes famous. I always enjoy learning about the way certain professions work, and since I have some interest in journalism, it was a nice look into that field. The book did seem to plod at times, as the author took us through the decades with these two women. But what I really enjoyed were the details from each time period. Since the women depicted are only about five years younger than me, I remember all the times they lived through. The music and songs of the times are always mentioned, but then there are toys (trolls), drinks (Tab), movies, books and numerous other cultural references that just bring a period back to me.

I don't know if it is a pattern for Hannah, but since Home Front addressed amputation and PTSD, this book too addressed a medical condition - breast cancer. Definitely a better way of learning about it than from a dry brochure, and it adds extra gravitas to the book, which I didn't really need at this busy time of the year. Worthwhile, but I think I will stay away from Kristin Hannah for a while.