Sunday, February 12, 2023

Firefly Lane: A Novel by Kristin Hannah (Book 1 / part 1)

Kindle Edition

In mid-January my hairdresser told me about the Firefly Lane series on Netflix (had never heard about it) and The Husband and I binged it in about 3 or 4 days. It is SOOOO GOOD! I didn't know when we began the series that it was based on 2 books.

I requested the Kindle book from Libby / my public library and started it on February 1 and reluctantly had to put it down on February 12. Not because I finished it. Not because it was bad. But because the first book continues beyond where the series ended. 

It was a major conundrum - finish the book before the series? Or finish the series before the books? Ultimately, I put the book down and wanted to finish the series first. Bummer because we didn't know how long we'd have to wait for the series to come back. 

As I'm writing this months after I finished the book, I can tell you that the series came back in late April and we finished it. So, I'm ready to finish book 1 and now can't get it from the library for a few months. Ugh.

So, the story. It's great. It follows two girls from when they met in middle-ish school throughout their lives. In the series, the adult main characters are played by Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke and their younger selves are played by Alissa Skovbye and Roan Curtis. That's neither here nor there in book-land though. 

The girls grow up in a suburb of Seattle called Snohomish in the late 1960s. They go through the typical things that kids go through - like boys, parent & family drama, school drama, first kisses, first jobs, college, heartache, and more. We see their relationship bloom, ebb, flow, fight, and make up.

The characters are deep and believable, and the story is easy to follow and relatable. It's funny. It's sad. It's deep. It's shallow. Good characters. Good writing. It may have helped that I watched the series first so had visuals to go along with what I was reading in the book. There are some differences between the book and the series. Let's be honest, when isn't there? The differences, so far, aren't that much and aren't detracting from the reading or watching experience.

The cutoff in the series was heart-wrenching. And the series ended satisfactorily. I can't say more.

I'm really looking forward to finishing the first book and reading the second.

The series is worth a watch - just decide if you want to watch or read first. 

 Post written on May 8. Publication date reflects date I finished the book.

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