Tuesday, April 23, 2013

FLY AWAY by KRISTIN HANNAH: A REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

GIVEAWAY ENDED 
FLY AWAY
BY KRISTIN HANNAH

ABOUT THE BOOK:
Tully Hart has always been larger than life, a woman fueled by big dreams and driven by memories of a painful past. She thinks she can overcome anything until her best friend, Kate Ryan, dies. Tully tries to fulfill her deathbed promise to Kate---to be there for Kate’s children---but Tully knows nothing about family or motherhood or taking care of people.

Sixteen-year-old Marah Ryan is devastated by her mother’s death. Her father, Johnny, strives to hold the family together, but even with his best efforts, Marah becomes unreachable in her grief. Nothing and no one seems to matter to her . . . until she falls in love with a young man who makes her smile again and leads her into his dangerous, shadowy world.

Dorothy Hart---the woman who once called herself Cloud---is at the center of Tully’s tragic past. She repeatedly abandoned her daughter, Tully, as a child, but now she comes back, drawn to her daughter’s side at a time when Tully is most alone. At long last, Dorothy must face her darkest fear: Only by revealing the ugly secrets of her past can she hope to become the mother her daughter needs.

A single, tragic choice and a middle-of-the-night phone call will bring these women together and set them on a poignant, powerful journey of redemption. Each has lost her way, and they will need each one another---and maybe a miracle---to transform their lives.

An emotionally complex, heart-wrenching novel about love, motherhood, loss, and new beginnings, Fly Away reminds us that where there is life, there is hope, and where there is love, there is forgiveness. Told with her trademark powerful storytelling and illuminating prose, Kristin Hannah reveals why she is one of the most beloved writers of our day.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Kristin Hannah is the New York Times bestselling author of novels including Night Road, Firefly Lane, True Colors and Winter Garden. She was born in Southern California and moved to Western Washington when she was eight. A former lawyer, Hannah started writing when she was pregnant and on bed rest for five months. Writing soon became an obsession, and she has been at it ever since. She is the mother of one son and lives with her husband in the Pacific Northwest and Hawaii.

To read more about Kristin Hannah's life, check out her "Bio" on her website HERE.

AN EXCERPT FROM FLY AWAY:
September 2, 2010
10:14
P.M.
 
She felt a little woozy. It was nice, like being wrapped in a warm-from-the-dryer blanket. But when she came to, and saw where she was, it wasn’t so nice.
 
She was sitting in a restroom stall, slumped over, with tears drying on her cheeks. How long had she been here? She got slowly to her feet and left the bathroom, pushing her way through the theater’s crowded lobby, ignoring the judgmental looks cast her way by the beautiful people drinking champagne beneath a glittering nineteenth century chandelier. The movie must be over.
 
Outside, she kicked her ridiculous patent leather pumps into the shadows. In her expensive black nylons, she walked in the spitting rain down the dirty Seattle sidewalk toward home. It was only ten blocks or so. She could make it, and she’d never find a cab this time of night anyway.
 
As she approached Virginia Street, a bright pink MARTINI BAR sign caught her attention. A few people were clustered together outside the front door, smoking and talking beneath a protective overhang.
 
Even as she vowed to pass by, she found herself turning, reaching for the door, going inside. She slipped into the dark, crowded interior and headed straight for the long mahogany bar.
 
“What can I get for you?” asked a thin, artsy-looking man with hair the color of a tangerine and more hardware on his face than Sears carried in the nuts-and-bolts aisle.
 
“Tequila straight shot,” she said.
 
She drank the first shot and ordered another. The loud music comforted her. She drank the straight shot and swayed to the beat. All around her people were talking and laughing. It felt a little like she was a part of all that activity.
To finish reading this excerpt from FLY AWAY, visit the Macmillan website HERE.
MY THOUGHTS/REVIEW:
What makes a person physically embrace a book when they finish reading it? Is it that one is so satisfied with the whole experience, or is it wishing it had never ended? Is it only me that does that kind of thing? Perhaps, although I think not because those who truly are lifelong readers and love the written word probably do that or something similar. All this so you can understand how much Kristin Hannah’s FLY AWAY meant to me. It has now taken up residence in my “Top 5” book list next to GONE WITH THE WIND, A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN, SHE’S COME UNDONE, and THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TOULANE.

As a long time fan of Kristin Hannah’s ever since I read FIREFLY LANE, I found that this sequel, FLY AWAY, did not disappoint. When you treasure a book and the characters that have stayed with you as long as Kate and Tully have, one is hesitant to read a sequel. However, not to worry! FLY AWAY not only continues Kate and Tully’s story but does it in such a beautifully written way! I first thought I perhaps should go back and reread FIREFLY LANE but in that I knew and loved the characters so much, it wasn’t necessary. This also bears well as it means that FLY AWAY stands solidly on its own. Of course, I would recommend you read both in order, but if not, never fear as Ms. Hannah has taken care of her characters very well.

Thanks to the author’s remarkable, creative technique and detailed commentary, FLY AWAY lets readers understand how Kate Ryan and Tully Hart became best friends as children and the part each played in the other’s life as they grew up. Using different characters’ points of view to tell the story allows readers to understand all the feelings involved while the characters are not afforded that luxury. As the story opens, Tully is at an all time low which we come to find out about as the narrative is peeled away one character layer at a time. This allows readers to understand the full picture of how each person fits into the puzzle that Kristin Hannah has created for them. As Kate is losing her battle against cancer, they all handle it in a different way. From her husband, Johnny, to her twin sons, from her teenage daughter Marah to of course Tully.

Tully is Marah’s Godmother so her care is entrusted to Tully which is a proposition that terrifies Tully. We see how far down Tully has gone and how her career is on the skids. When she somehow physically skids her car and winds up in the ICU at the hospital, her own life and death battle begins. I was very pleased that Tully’s mother, “Cloud”, tells her side of the story as it cleared up so much from the first book. All of Kristin Hannah’s characters are real and easy to identify with and many of us probably know people just like them. I believe it is this and the various points of view that allow readers to become so absorbed in the story and the characters. I hope that if you don’t have a copy of FLY AWAY in your hands right now, that you will take care of that quickly. I can not recommend a book any more than I do FLY AWAY by Kristin Hannah. Thank you, Kristin, and I hope all my followers enjoy FLY AWAY as much as I did!
 


SOME OTHER BOOKS BY KRISTIN HANNAH- HAVE YOU READ THEM ALL LIKE I HAVE? CHECK HER WEBSITE HERE TO SEE ALL HER BOOKS:
                    

                    

                   
GIVEAWAY
I HAVE ONE COPY OF THIS AMAZING, NEW
FAVORITE BOOK OF MINE, FLY AWAY, TO
GIVE AWAY TO ONE LUCKY WINNER! 
  
--U.S. RESIDENTS ONLY
--NO P. O. BOXES
---INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS
IN CASE YOU WIN!
--ALL COMMENTS MUST BE SEPARATE TO
 

COUNT AS MORE THAN ONE!


HOW TO ENTER:

+1 ENTRY: COMMENT ON WHAT YOU READ ABOVE ABOUT FLY AWAY THAT MADE YOU WANT TO WIN THIS BOOK, AND DON'T FORGET YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS 

+1 MORE ENTRY: BLOG AND/OR TWEET ABOUT THIS GIVEAWAY AND COME BACK HERE AND LEAVE ME YOUR LINK 

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON SOMETHING YOU FIND INTERESTING AT KRISTIN HANNAH'S WEBSITE HERE


+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON ONE WAY YOU FOLLOW MY BLOG. IF YOU FOLLOW MORE THAN ONE WAY, YOU CAN COMMENT SEPARATELY AND EACH WILL COUNT AS AN ENTRY 

+1 MORE ENTRY: COMMENT ON A CURRENT GIVEAWAY THAT YOU HAVE ENTERED ON MY BLOG. IF YOU ENTERED MORE THAN ONE, YOU MAY COMMENT SEPARATELY FOR EACH TO RECEIVE MORE ENTRIES
 GIVEAWAY ENDS AT 
6 PM, EST, MAY 10

   GOOD LUCK!

134 comments:

Mary (Bookfan) said...

I enjoyed Firefly Lane so the fact that you adored this sequel makes me want to read it (sometimes sequels disappoint, you know?).
meah56atgmaildotcom

debbie said...

This sounds like a really good sequel. I would love to find out what happens in it.
twoofakind12@yahoo.com

debbie said...

I am a gfc follower
debbie
twoofakind12@yahoo.com

Mary (Bookfan) said...

I tweeted:
https://twitter.com/bookfanmb/status/326641499095838720

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Mary (Bookfan) said...

I loved learning about her roundabout way of becoming a writer.
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Mary (Bookfan) said...

I follow via email any time you post :)
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CMash said...

What makes me want to read this? The author's name. Am a big fan!
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CMash said...

I follow GFC (feedly)
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CMash said...

I like on FB CherylMash
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CMash said...

I follow on Twitter CherylMash
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CMash said...

I follow via email
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Carol N Wong said...

I just finished a book that I hugged several times! So definitely know that feeling. Any book that you hug is one that I want to read!

CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com

Carol N Wong said...

I tweeted:

http://t.co/52MpT1PVyg

CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com

Carol N Wong said...

I thought it was funny that someone asked her if she missed practicing law!!


CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com

Carol N Wong said...

I follow your blog with an e-mail subscription.


CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com

Carol N Wong said...

I follow your blog with Facebook.


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Carol N Wong said...

I follow your blog with
Networked Blogs.

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Carol N Wong said...

I follow your blog with
a RSS feed on my IGoogle Page.

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Carol N Wong said...

I follow your blog with Google Friends Connect.


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Carol N Wong said...

I entered the giveaway for
'Oak and Dagger'.

CarolNWong(at)aol(dot)com

Carol N Wong said...
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Carol N Wong said...
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Carol N Wong said...
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Carol N Wong said...
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Carol N Wong said...

I entered the giveaway for 'Prophet of Bones'.


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Carol N Wong said...

I entered the giveaway for 'That Old Flame of Mine'.


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Carol N Wong said...

I entered the giveaway for 'The Smart One'.


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Carol N Wong said...

I entered the giveaway for 'That Night on Thistle Lane".


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Carol N Wong said...

I entered the giveaway for
'Malled to Death'.

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Carol N Wong said...

I entered the giveaway for 'No Way Back'.


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Carol N Wong said...

I entered the giveaway for
'Going, Going Ganche'.

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Carol N Wong said...

I entered the giveaway for 'Swimming at Night'.


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Carol N Wong said...

I entered the giveaway for 'Against the Edge'.


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Carol N Wong said...

+5 April Facebook Bonus (1)


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Bonnie said...

I want to win this book as I am a huge fan of Kristin Hannah and read Firefly lane a few months ago and loved it. That you loved the sequel and it's on your top 5 books makes me want to read it even more!!

Bonnie said...

I found it very interesting that Kristin Hannah feels that Firefly lane was the book that made her career. She had written 18 books before that but this one was different.

Bonnie said...

Shared on facebook page:
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Bonnie said...

Follow on Google Reader

Bonnie said...

Follow on Facebook

Bonnie said...

+5 April Facebook Bonus-1

Bonnie said...

+5 April Facebook Bonus-2

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+5 April Facebook Bonus-3

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Bonnie said...

Follow your blog with Networked Blogs

Bonnie said...

Follow your blog via email subscription

traveler said...

This would be interesting. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

traveler said...

I am an e-mail subscriber. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

traveler said...

I entered Oak and Dagger. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

Sue Farrell said...

You liked this book so much that you make it seem like a must read. But I wonder if I should read Firefly Lane first.
suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com

traveler said...

I entered Prophet of bones. saubleb(at)gmai(dot)com

Sue Farrell said...

I am an email subscriber.
suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com

traveler said...

I entered that old flame of mine. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

Sue Farrell said...

I follow on twitter as @Suekey12.
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traveler said...

I entered The Smart One. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

Sue Farrell said...

I follow on GFC as Suekey.
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traveler said...

I entered That Night on thistle lane. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

Sue Farrell said...

I entered Oak and Dagger.
suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com

Sue Farrell said...

I entered Prophet of Bones.
suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com

traveler said...

I entered Stallion by starlight.saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

Sue Farrell said...

I entered The Smart One.
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traveler said...

I entered Cross Currents.saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

traveler said...

I entered No Way Back. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

Sue Farrell said...

I entered Stallion by Starlight.
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traveler said...

I entered The Abundance. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

Sue Farrell said...

I entered Under Currents.
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Sue Farrell said...

I entered The Abundance.
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traveler said...

I entered Going Going Ganache. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

traveler said...

I entered Swimming at Night.saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

Sue Farrell said...

I entered Swimming at Night.
suefarrell.farrell@gmail.com

traveler said...

I entered Against the edge. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

traveler said...

Kristin's books are memorable.saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com

petite said...

I would like to read this sequel. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

petite said...

I am an follower. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

petite said...

Entered Oak and Dagger. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

petite said...

Entered that old flame of mine. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

petite said...

Entered that old flame of mine. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

petite said...

Entered Swimming at Night. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

petite said...

Entered Stallion at Starlight. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

petite said...

Entered No Way Back. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

petite said...

Entered Prophet of bones. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

petite said...

Entered Going going ganache. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

petite said...

Entered That night on thistle lane. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

petite said...

Entered Against the Edge. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

petite said...

Kristin has such talent and has written books that I can relate to. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com

Connie said...

I want to read this book for several reasons:
1. I love this author
2. I like the characters
3. I love the setting
4.The last book I read by her "Night Road" stayed with for awhile...her books stay in your memory for a long time.

Connie said...

I am a loyal GFC follower! :)

Unknown said...

This book sounds really good. A tear jerker. Please enter me in contest. Tore923@aol.com

Shan said...

I have been looking forward to this book for a long time. I am very excited to get back into the lives of the Firefly Lane girls. With a KH book I know I need to have tissues at the ready though.

shan4178 at comcast dot net

Shan said...

Tweeted:

https://twitter.com/zoya513/status/326862383911927810


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Shan said...

I think it is very interesting that Kristin Hannah thinks this was one of her toughest books to write. You would think when you have already established characters that it would get easier. But I understand the pressure she feels to do right by her fans.

shan4178 at comcast dot net

Shan said...

I follow by email

shan4178 at comcast dot net

Reading said...

THis is one author I have always wanted to read. But for some reason, never did.

lizzi0915 at aol dot com

Reading said...

I follow on GFC

lizzi0915 at aol dot com

Reading said...

I follow on GFC

lizzi0915 at aol dot com

Reading said...

I am an email subscriber

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Linda Kish said...

Just your reaction to the book is enough for me to want to read it. It sounds wonderful. I may go out tomorrow to look for Firefly Lane, too.

lkish77123 at gmail dot com

Linda Kish said...

I enjoyed her photo gallery

lkish77123 at gmail dot com

Linda Kish said...

I am a GFC follower

lkish77123 at gmail dot com

Linda Kish said...

I am an RSS subscriber

lkish77123 at gmail dot com

Linda Kish said...

I am an email subscriber

lkish77123 at gmail dot com

Linda Kish said...

+5 April facebook

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Linda Kish said...

+5 April facebook
2
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Linda Kish said...

+5 April facebook
3
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Monja Blue said...

I love the way Kristin Hannah weaves stories about relationships! Your recommendation of this sequel has me hooked!
MonjaBlue(at)gmail(dot)com

Monja Blue said...

It was interesting learning about her path to writing!
MonjaBlue(at)gmail(dot)com

Monja Blue said...

Longtime email & GFC subscriber!
MonjaBlue(at)gmail(dot)com

Pat L. said...

I love a good tale of redemption and 3 women trying to fix their lives.

patoct@yahoo.com

Pat L. said...

Am a gfc follower.
patoct@yahoo.com

Pat L. said...

Am an email follower.

patoct@yahoo.com

Pat L. said...

Kristin grew up at the beach.
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Nise' said...

I loved Firefly Lane and can't wait to read this one, especially since it will be in your top book pics!

nisethusfarATyahooDOTcom

Nise' said...

I am a follower on GFC. Nise'

nisethusfarATyahooDOTcom

Margie said...

This sounds like a wonderful familyh drama with some great character development. Thanks for the giveaway.
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Margie said...

Kristin's mother always believed she would become a writer.
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Margie said...

FB 2
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Margie said...

FB 3
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Margie said...

FB 4
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Margie said...

FB 5
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Margie said...

GFC follower
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Margie said...

Networked Blogs follower
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Margie said...

Facebook fan
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Margie said...

email subscriber
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Margie said...

RSS vius Google Reader
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Margie said...

entered Abundance
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Margie said...

entered Swimming at Night
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Margie said...

entered When Summer Comes
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Margie said...

entered Heading Out to Wonderful
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Margie said...

entered Sleeping Salesman
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Margie said...

entered Starting Now
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