Fly Away: A Novel

Excellent book , a must read after you’ve read the first one.
It definitely explains a lot of things that were not learned in the first book how damaged people are as they’re growing up and how they pass it along to their children . Seems so cruel that one must wait that long to find out the truth but it’s a sweet ending , great writing . hope all your other books are just as good Kristen.?❤️

A nice way to pay closierz to a family saga!!.?

From my blogFirefly Lane is one of my favourite's by Kristin Hannah. I thought this one was a let down to the fans and I hope new readers to her do not choose this one first or it may be there last. My main complaint, far to repetitive, I understand memories assist those grieving but this was torture for us who have read Firefly Lane, plus very depressing. Going from present to past was executed perfectly which shows how great an author she is but I don't think fans of Firefly Lane will feel the same as those that read this one first. Many will not enjoy also because it is dark and gloomy right to the end, good comes out of it all but no one wants to read 400 pages of gloom. I also enjoy dark emotional books but this just didn't do it for me.I still enjoy the way Kristin H draws out her characters and I was happy to continue their journey but it did become easy not to pick up, a possible DNF lister. I continued on because I love Kristin Hannah and I will continue with her books but this one, I can't recommend. I am interested in why she even decided to bring these characters back now.Every character grieved differently which is real life and I appreciated this delivery, the children, husband, parents and best friend. The added bonus is that we only know Tully's mom is a dead beat but we get to meet her in Fly Away where she transitions from nickname Cloud to Dorothy. It also told the story of when you can prepare you do your best but it is never good enough because you are not the griever, such a shame really because Kate would not want her loved one's going through what they did.I highly recommend Firefly Lane, a great friendship book. I read it before blogging, I would still give it a 4 1/2.

A continuation of her previous novel, Firefly Lane. This novel focuses more on Tully and her realtionship with her mother. Also Kate's daughter Marah is a main character. I enjoyed the book but found the sequencing a bit hard to follow but that was mainly due to having a toddler and only being able to read for a few minutes at a time.

Fly Away by Kristin Hannah; 2 1/1 starsThis sequel to Firefly Lane is not nearly as good nor as captivating as Firefly Lane. It continues the story of Tully & Kate & of Kate's family after they lose her to cancer. The story is told from the POV of Tully, of Marah, (Kate's daughter), of Cloud/Dorothy, (Tully's mother), & even of the deceased Kate. It's not a bad story but I believe that it would have been much more engaging if told from one character's perspective.It opens with Tully being in a horrendous auto accident & in a coma. The story goes back & forth in time depending on who is telling the story at any given time. There is a lot of guilt & dependencies within the circle of characters. I did find all of the characters interesting & necessary to the book. But I won't read this one again.

I wanted to give this 4 stars, but just couldn't do it this time. Kristin Hannah always captures me with her writing and swirls me up into the story at the beginning. She has a gift of writing down feelings and emotions so that they are truly tangible. With this particular book, the "magic" of it faded for me in the middle. There was a lot of history of other people outside of the main characters and then the timelines and characters would switch without an indication which left me confused for a few paragraphs until I caught on. It still concluded nicely and I'm glad that I pressed on, but just felt like some of the maturity level of these characters was a little unbelievable and unrealistic.

This story was told from various different perspectives about the same event at the first three quarters. It is interesting, but make it a long read. As for Tally's career down fall seems a bit out there, the rest of the storyline is better.

This is about the saddest, sappiest book I've listened to. I had read Firefly Lane and looked forward to this one. It took a while to listen to it because I would give up then come back and listen a little more. 8d put so much time into it, I had to finish it. It was read well - this is no criticism of the reading.

This is one of the most depressing, sappiest books I have ever read. Yes, I did read the first book, which is the only reason I stuck with this one. I did finish it, so I'm giving it 2 stars based on that alone.

Continuation of The Dance of Fireflies. It's everything one would wish for in such a situation, the possibility of having final conversations, saying goodbye, learning to feel the presence of the one who has departed.
While it's true that Tully had to face strong and painful moments to feel Kate again, that friendship proved to be truly eternal... beyond death.
This book shows all the suffering each member of that family experienced from their different perspectives. I believe it doesn't quite reach the same level of greatness as its predecessor, but it provides a good closure to this beautiful story. (Translated from Spanish)

Digital audiobook read by Susan Erickson


This is the sequel to Hannah’s best-selling Firefly Lane, which I had completely forgotten that I read. My rating of this book is the same as for the earlier one. No wonder I steered clear of Hannah for so long.

It’s a beach read with characters straight out of central casting: a drug-addicted TV star with abandonment issues, a “hippie” mother estranged from her daughter, a teenager acting out her grief, a widower overwhelmed by the responsibility of caring for his kids without his deceased wife. The plot is formulaic, with lots of melodrama and a manipulative ending.

Her later books are better, so she’s learned something about writing over the years.

Susan Erickson does a good job of voicing the audio, but she has poor material to work with.

Wonderful book about losing people important to you, relationships and healing.

Susan Ericksen (narrator) added a lot to this book. A touching story - I enjoyed listening, but I would say I was never hooked and I wanted to be - didn't connect to the characters. Haven't read Firefly Lane so may have missed something.

Not as good as Firefly Lane but tugs at your heart and helps you to remember what is really important in life...love and family.

The sequel to Firefly Lane was a walk down memory lane. Tully Hart is not able to get over her grief after losing her best friend of over 30 years, Kate Ryan. Her life spins out of control. The rest of the Ryan family is not doing much better dealing with their grief. This story is sad, revealing how much one person influences the lives of others. It was not as wonderful as Firefly Lane, but a rewarding follow up to those who wanted to relive the lives of TullyandKate.

This book is heart breaking and underneath it all full of hope.

Even though this book is the sequel to Firefly Lane, I think it stands on its own. There are enough flashbacks that explain why everyone is the way they are and explains TullyandKate's relationship that you really don't need to read the first book. This book is about heartache. It's about how a family goes on when the cement of their foundation dies. It's about how a family doesn't know how to go on, how to help each other and how they fall apart. I'm sure it's a daily occurrence how a family falls apart when a Mom, Dad, sister or brother dies. How do you pick up the pieces and live without them. This book was timely for me as my best friend who is like a sister to me, my soul sister is sitting in the hospital waiting to find out what stage her cancer is. It reminds me of when I went through cancer treatment. How will I go on without her if it is incurable. How would my family go on if I had died. You think about this a lot when someone dies. This book is worth the read and any Kristin Hannah book is worth the read. That is why she is a top author for me if not my favorite.

Didn't finish, found it too depressing.

This book is the sequel to Hour of Need, and I liked it better than the first book. In the early book, it is about the unlikely strong friendship between two women. Kate is a woman who gave up any career plans to raise a family, and Tully is all about fame and glory while really being damaged on the inside.

This book picks up after Kate has died of cancer, and Tully and Kate's family try to move forward. The turmoil that ensues seemed real to me, as each tries to cope in their own way with the death of a friend, a wife, and a mother. They are quite messed up, and I completely could see how that situation would play out as it did. Teenagers make bad choices, adults push their emotions down and move on without dealing with their own pain.

I felt the two books together made a great story, while the first book by itself did not feel that way to me. It was some good escapism, and I'll read more of her work.

loved it! worth the wait!

So, I have waited 24 hours to write this review. I did this because I was so overly emotional after I finished reading that I didn’t think I could write appropriately and objectively. But then I thought about it. It is impossible to be completely objective about a book, because our emotions will dictate how we respond, right? So here goes.

Fly Away is the Sequel to Firefly Lane. When I received Fly Away from St. Martin’s Press, I did not realize it was a sequel and so had to get the first one and read that first. You all know how I feel about reading books out of order. Right? Doesn’t work for me. So, if you didn’t see it, here’s my review of Firefly Lane. Go ahead, and see what I thought. I have time, I can wait a few mins.

So, if I thought Firefly Lane was an emotional roller coaster, Fly Away was like one of those rides that shoots you up into the air and drops you, over and over again.

This book is very emotionally driven. You get to see how many different reactions there are to the loss of a loved one. Every single character handles it differently and the emotional range is..incredible.

The plot twists and turns and takes you on a ride that you will never forget. This is the kind of book that can totally change lives.

I did give this book only a 4-1/2 star rating. Yep, I know. I gave the first one a 5. I should explain why I dropped the half. There are a few reasons, and to most people, they probably will not matter.

Having read this immediately following reading the first book, I noticed a tiny character inconsistency, or at least what felt like an inconsistency to me. In the first book, the character is William, and in the second book, he is Wills. I wish maybe they would have explained why the character changed how he was referred to, that is all. And it bugged me a little. The other issue I had was the shifting POV. Different sections of the book are from a different character’s perspective, and sometimes that can get confusing to me.

Overall, it didn’t interrupt the flow too much for me, though, and I still managed to devour this book in a day and a half. I loved the words on the page and now I am going to have to go back and read more books by this wonderful author.

You see, what I liked so much about this book is that it was very, very real. You can imagine the scenes as they are happening. you feel as though you are in each of the situations with the characters, feeling what they are feeling and going through what they are going through. Since I try to be spoiler free, there is not much else I can say without giving too much away, so you are going to have to read it yourself to see what I mean.

I love all of Kristin Hannah's books. The prequel to this one was much better I feel, but it was still VERY good!

This was a very sad story and I was totally absorbed in all the tragedy, crying at times. However I was disappointed in the lack of romance. Tully's best friend dies and asked Tully to take care of her family.

Amazing! I have read all Kristin Hannah’s books; however this novel was her most brilliant work thus far! I would encourage you to read Firefly, if you haven’t; however, this could be a standalone. It is a “realistic” and compelling story of live, love, loss and forgiveness. Kate and Tully had a special friendship and it was very difficult for many of those near to Kate to move on after her death with cancer. Tully (her best friend) has so many issues from her childhood combined with a loss of her major TV career from having left to take care of her friend in her time of need; (Marah – Kate’s teenage daughter who is dealing with her grief by rebellion; and Dorothy (Cloud) – Tully’s mom who deserted her years ago with a haunting past she has never shared. (It was great finally learning about Dorothy’s past).

This complex and inspiring story covers so many issues from molestation, death, career ruin, drugs, teenage rebellion, and abandonment to friendship, motherhood, and finding your way back from the lowest point. Three generations of women who find redemption the hard way. A 5 stars plus!

Well first of all, if you have already read Firefly Lane you must read this book to follow up and let the characters live on with you. If you haven't read Firefly Lane, please go get it, read it, fall in love with it, and then read this (Fly Away). Kristin Hannah knows how to grasp the reader and not let go. You are guaranteed to fall in love with her complex characters and have strong emotions as they grow and change. Fly Away literally took me away and it doesn't just fee like another book I read, but rather like I was friends with these people, really knew them, and would love to see them again. Happy reading!

I did read the first book long ago. This was good but it did seem to go on and on and on and ON in slow motion. Fortunately, I was listening to the audio and that works beautifully when you're doing something that doesn't require anything but your hands so the length in this case was fine.

I won a copy of Fly Away in the Goodreads Giveaway and I knew before I started it that it would be the highlight of my reads for the year and I was correct. Thanks Kristin you never disappoint.

It was great to visit the lives of the characters that we fell in love with in Firefly Lane and to find out what happened to them "After Kate". In this book we get the back story of Tully and Cloud prior to their lives on Firefly Lane. There is so much that I want to say about this book but don't want to spoil it for those who haven't had the opportunity to read it yet. What I will say is on April 23 don't walk but run to your favorite book store and get your copy!

I am such a fan of Kristin Hannah. She writes stories that resonate for months after you close the book. I fell in love with the book Firefly Lane and was so excited when I heard a sequel was being written. There are so many times when you finish reading a book and you constantly wonder what happened to the characters...were they OK, were they coping, were they really trying to find a way in their new set of circumstances.

"Grief is a sneaky thing, always coming and going like some guest you didn't invite and can't turn away. She wants this grief, although she'd never admit it. Lately, it's the only thing that feels real." (Fly Away, Prologue)

Like I said, I was wondering about Tully, Marah, the twins and Johnny. How was the lost of Kate affecting each and every one of them? I was so glad to be back with them in Fly Away. I was glad to be with them, even in their grief. To see what happened to them... to see where their paths lead them. It was frustrating, difficult to read and heartbreaking to see how the void of Kate broke each person in their own way. But to be on the journey and to see where they finally ended up brought many tears, relief and closure!

I recommend that you read Firefly Lane first as it will add so much depth to this lifelong story about friendship, family and the unconditional power of love over loss. 4 stars

This was the follow up to Firefly Lane.

It was ok.....

First off, let me just say Thank You to Goodreads and Kristin Hannah for the giveaway and this amazing, advance reader’s edition! This book is the second book of the series, but I was able to jump right in and start the journey, and boy, was it a journey!
I could hardly put down the book, every page I wanted more. It has brought me to tears, which that could be a part of pregnancy hormones, but hey, that just tells you it is good!
Kristin Hannah did an amazing job transferring from different viewpoints: from going to present, back to the past, then how it all comes together. Her writing paints a beautiful picture of what you are reading, and you can see the story unfold beneath your eyes.
Being able to connect to the love that Tully has Marah is remarkable, Tully is not only Marah’s Godmother, but also her best friend. All relationships come with difficulties and you can relate, because not only we have all dealt with relationships, but I am sure we have all dealt with death at some point too. I love the fact that each character is developed, and the emotions of each one is different, but they all come together to make a beautiful book! We have all had to figure out ways to fight our own struggles, and this book proves that. Learn how Tully and Marah come to grips with their struggles, and see if you could be in their shoes. I know I was turning pages, pulling for Tully and hoping would work out in the best way possible.
You will start to understand the side of Dorothy, Tully’s Mother, the reasons of why she was never the mother she should have been, and you take a step into her life as Tully always reminded her that she was needed, regardless of what evil stepped into her way. There is love, understanding, forgiveness, and heartache within the chapters of the book, but I suggest you jump in the middle and start unfolding the secrets yourself.
If you decide to get this book, I would recommend it, even if you have not read the first book Firefly Lane, but I can tell you that by reading Fly Away makes me want to go back and read it!

Marah knew what was expected of her. She was supposed to say, It was great, wonderful, perfect, I feel better now, but she couldn’t do it. She opened her mouth and nothing came out. From pg 150