Fly Away

By: Kristin Hannah

Narrated by: Susan Ericksen

Length: 16 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's Summary

Kristin Hannah's Firefly Lane became a touchstone novel in women’s lives. Across the world, women embraced the story of Tully and Kate’s enduring friendship. They laughed with Tully and cried with Kate and anguished over Tully's fractured relationship with her mother. Now, five years later, in Fly Away, Kristin Hannah returns to the world of these unforgettable characters and asks the question...how do you hold yourself together when your world has fallen apart....

Fly Away is the story of three women who have lost their way and need each other - plus a miracle - to transform their lives. An emotionally-complex, heart-wrenching novel about love, family, motherhood, loss, and redemption, Fly Away reminds us that where there is life, there is hope and where there is love, there is forgiveness. Told with her trademark visceral storytelling and illuminating prose, Kristin Hannah reveals why she is one of the most beloved writers of our day.

Includes a Reading Group Guide read by Kristin Hannah.

©2013 Kristin Hannah (P)2013 Macmillan Audio

Depressing with a capital D, D, D!

Readers who haven't enjoyed the excellent book of Firefly Lane and learned to love the characters would have great difficulty sloshing through the river of depression of all of the characters in this book. Fly Away is not a stand alone book.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

first one, so much better!

I was very disappointed in this audiobook. I have been doing a lot of driving and the first one made me want to keep driving. This second one was bad. I loved the focus on the main characters in the first one. This one, I really didn't care to hear all about Cloud's story at all. I don't recommend it.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

Pretty Book Cover. One Darned Depressing Novel

Painfully maudlin: So syrupy that my teeth ached if I read for too long in one setting. Trusting the rave reviews of this book’s prequel, I didn’t fear preordering so that I could download it the first day it came out. This book does stand on its own. I got enough of this whole group of characters in this one book. I have not a single desire to read the first novel after slugging through this novel. This book starts off depressing and doesn’t stop till it gets dismal.

The first four chapters could have been summed up in a single paragraph. It doesn’t take 4 chapters to get across the sorrow of cancer survivors. Repeating and counting the depth of bereavement over and over doesn’t deepen the idea of sorry. By chapter 5 the author has beaten just how sad everyone is to the point that Moses-Tobaini’s “Hearts and Flowers” is lilting in background. Kate and Tully had thirty year friendship. I was impressed the first time you stated it. Dragging “thirty year friendship” in over and over in some kind of weird speak was pointless and irritating. Who has these type conversations? No one talks like the people in this book. Ms Hannah writing should be put on a question mark diet. At least one question follows too mnay statement in this book. Tully sees a man walking towards her. Why does he look so familiar? Tully considers speaking to him. Why does she feel the need to? Why? Why ask why when you really don't want to know why? Why?


The general story is good. I rolled my eyes and groaned aloud through the entire book because it was basically interesting and I was curious enough in the plight of the characters to drag myself to the ending. Along the way there were additional surprises, twists and turns that makes for a strong plot. It’s a clever story between the sappy sugary morose languishing of repetitive waves of insecurities and vacillation.

13 of 16 people found this review helpful

Good Lord! What a complete waste of a credit!

What would have made Fly Away better?

Such shallow writing. So many cliche sayings. Such an absolutely weak and unbelievable story.

What was most disappointing about Kristin Hannah’s story?

Lack of any real writing skill.

How could the performance have been better?

The narrator was terrible! If I had to listen to her impersonation of a teenager saying things like "rad" or "dude" or "totally like" one more time I might have ripped my earbuds out. I lost count of how many times I groaned and rolled my eyes at the cliche sayings and her terrible impersonation of a teenagers saying them. Just comical really.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Not really. The only thing this book did for me was to make me think that I should write a novel. Seriously.....if this stuff can sell millions of copies then I should give it a try, can't possibly be worse.

Any additional comments?

Last Kristen Hannah novel for me. Should have known better.

9 of 11 people found this review helpful

0H PLEASE, A dispeptic experience in melodrama!!!

Would you try another book from Kristin Hannah and/or Susan Ericksen?

I don't think so;

Would you be willing to try another one of Susan Ericksen’s performances?

No, I believe this narrator was WAY over the top....slow and melodramatic

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

disappointment

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Sorry, but I can not recommend this book

What disappointed you about Fly Away?

60% of this book was flashbacks and repeating the first book. Then, a storyline would be told by several different characters viewpoint. If you read it one time, you can figure out what the others were thinking.

What was most disappointing about Kristin Hannah’s story?

Too much was the same as the first book, just repeated by different character.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

great sequel to Fire Fly Lane.

What did you like best about this story?

I wanted to know how the characters that I grew to know and connect with were doing.

Any additional comments?

If you read Fly away as a stand alone book, you may have found it depressing or boring. I loved Fire Fly Lane which made Fly Away a great read for me.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Love! You'll want to listen Firefly Lane again!

The story picks up four years from where Firefly Lane ended, with more depth and insight into the characters and the reasons they are who they've become. Tully (and even Kate) are still present but it also branches into those who were minor players in the last novel, so it keeps the listener engaged.

For a sequel, it has the strength of its own story line, similar to Jennifer Weiners "Certain Girls" was to "Good in Bed".
This book is worth a credit, one of Kristin Hannah's best!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Forever moved by this book

There are times in this book I can’t stop crying...then rejoicing, and fighting for every character. It genuinely depicts who people really are, the tender, raw, exposed and broken humans we have no other option to be.
But it also shows the hope we are gifted with when we are afforded the opportunity to reflect. And while I’m not sure how much reference there actually is to Christ, I see in this story the grace God gives to all Christians that we are forever held and protected and loved despite what tragedies we are facing. Thank you for writing Firefly Lane and Fly Away. These two books are the best I’ve read all year.

Spoke to me

I’ve been going through a hard time lately with family members and this book helped me wrap my mind around how relationships can be redeemed.