Review of "Fly Away" [49]

Fly Away by Kristin Hannah
St. Martin's Press, ISBN 9780312577216
4/23/2013, 416 pages

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"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."

Ok, I will admit I did not read this book. I had read one of Hannah's books before and enjoyed it, so even though it is not my usual fare, I was hopeful. I did read about 30-40 pages and had no desire to go further. No, no, not liking it. But it is a review copy...so what to do?
Hey, one of my co-workers is a big reader and actually a fan of the author. In return for a review, I would be happy to loan her the book! Win, win, right? Well, until she texted me that she felt like cutting her throat after reading it.
And so, in the words of The Co-Worker...

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"I have read most of Kristin Hannah’s books and usually enjoy them.
Not this one. This book is very dark, depressing and repetitive.
It was also confusing as it jumped back and forth between people and time. I kept waiting for it to wrap up and inject some sort of happiness into the story but it never did.
This book was very difficult to finish."

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Short, but pointed.
She said that she was hopeful, until the very end, that just one happy, hopeful thing would happen. And it did not. 
Seems she did not like it and, from what I read, I can not disagree.
Nice cover though.

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