Firefly Lane

Firefly Lane is one of those girlfriend stories we've all read a hundred times: Two friends who are opposites but stay bffs all their lives through heartbreak, fights, love, marriage and tragedy. (See: Best Friends, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, Summer Sisters, Snow Flower and the Secret Fan...and these are just the ones I've read that I can remember...) These stories are filled with cliches (chapters titled after hit songs of the decade) and can be quite predictable (will a man come between them? Of course.). But, I keep reading them for some reason, right? In the end, they're entertaining and fun, much like a season of Sex and the City, and are usually very quick reads.

Firefly Lane follows Tully and Kate from age 14 to their mid-40s. The story keeps to the formula. Tully is a wild child while Kate is more reserved and idealistic. Why these two girls, and then women, would stay friends through the years is really beyond me, but they do. The book alternates rather well between the characters' perspectives, though I feel the author tried to fit a few too many years into the book. Several years get glossed over and the story can feel a touch disjointed. The story is definitely overdramatic, but some real issues are discussed, too. I cared more about Kate than I did Tully, but that could be because my own personality falls on the same side as Kate. All in all, a good story and a quick read.

What other books about best friends have you read? Do you see a similar formula in those stories?

Songs Without Words

This story, by Ann Packer, was mostly focused around Liz and Sarabeth, two friends from high school. The book starts with the girls in high school, when Sarabeth lived with Liz and her family after her mother committed suicide. Flash forward to present-day, when Liz is a mother of two and Sarabeth lives alone. They get together often.

When Liz’s 16-year-old daughter Lauren falls into a depression, Liz and Sarabeth’s relationship hits a rough patch. The rest of the book follows the Liz’s family and Sarabeth separately and together as they deal with Lauren’s depression. The book speaks from the perspectives of Liz, Sarabeth, Lauren and Liz’s husband Brody.

I liked the book, but it wasn’t those ones that I couldn’t put down. I wasn’t extremely attached to the characters, so I wasn’t absorbed in how I wanted it to end, or how I didn’t want it to end. However, the issues the book raised did make me think. It focused a lot on depression, particularly teenage depression, but also adult depression. I’ve always felt this is a real illness and it’s so important to treat if possible. So, it was informational to read about these situations, even if it was in a fictional book.

The book also studied Liz and Sarabeth’s relationship deeply. This was interesting to read about because, as a woman, I’ve always been fascinated by the way we manage relationships. Many of us have a hard time telling our good friends if they make us mad, if they hurt our feelings. Then we steam and stir to ourselves, act indifferent, cut off communication, etc. Why do we act this way? It’s hurtful to everyone involved and it really doesn’t solve anything. I even just read an article online the other day about ending friendships – that sometimes giving your friend the cold shoulder is the only way to break off a friendship, even if she never learns the reason why.

The book and the article made me think back to previous friendships I’ve had that didn’t work out in the end. Sometimes my intuition just told me to let it go, sometimes distance did it, sometimes a boy. Oftentimes I ended these relationships by just stopping contact. It just seemed easier – but it never provided closure. Obviously. I still think about them to this day. But, both the book and the article also made me value and thankful for the true friendships I have now.

If for only that reason, it was a good book.