Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah

Tallulah Hart was left with her grandmother by her mother when she was four years old. The next time her mother came by was six years later. Then she took Tallulah and left her in a crowd of strangers. When the grandmother died Tully had to live with her mother which wasn't a loving or supportive family situation. She didn't know who her father was or where and her mother, Dorothy, was a pothead who preferred being called Cloud.
On this street called Firefly Lane lived Kate Mularkey with her parents and eight year old brother. Kate's family was loving but she was in eighth grade and feeling alone. Then she met the new girl on the block who wanted to be called Tully. They needed each other and this was the beginning of a friendship that would last more than thirty years. Two girls from very different family beginnings promised each other to be there for the other through everything. Early on they rode bicycles together and watched the stars and listened to crickets and the popular music of the day.
Tully introduced Kate to makeup, parties and sneaking out of the house and getting arrested by the police. Kate introduced Tully to parents who cared and gave guidance and love.
Tully realized her dream was to be a news anchor and she wanted Kate to do the same. The 'Firefly Lane Girls' began their journeys. Tully was tireless working long hours and sometimes working as a volunteer when she began her broadcasting career. Being in the spotlight and on camera really made her happy.
Kate worked in broadcasting, too, writing and producing. But it just did not give her the same fulfilling feeling that Tully experienced. She wanted to fall in love and have a family of her own. So even though the 'Firefly Lane Girls' took different paths to happiness they remained 'friends forever,' in happy and sad times.

Princess Ben by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

Princess Benevolence of Montagne, aka "Ben," is spoiled and childish for her fifteen years. Still pampered by her parents, she reads only fairy stories, plays with dolls and makes mudpies. She has little to no self-control, is stubborn and wilfull, and is unable to focus on any task she is given. Then her world is destroyed. Her parents, her uncle and a royal guard went to visit her grandfather's tomb one morning. The bodies of her mother and uncle were brought back on carts. Her father and the guard were never found. Queen Sophia moves Ben, as the only surviving royal heir, into the castle and begins the long process of educating the unwilling girl in the ways of royalty. Lessons in deportment, dance, languages, dress, conversation, etiquette and more are suddenly filling Ben's life. She stubbornly refuses to learn. Meanwhile, Montagne's neighbor, Drachensbett, assumed the assassins of the royal family, are threatening war...or alliance through marriage. Their Prince Florian is about Ben's age. But the two take an instant dislike to each other. Drachensbett is determined to have the lands of Montagne one way or another.

Ben is not a likeable character in the beginning. She is interesting, however, and as the story progresses, so does her personality. There is lots of action and adventure and a bit of magic in this tale, and the writing style will sweep you into the midst of it all. With nods at traditional fairy tales, Murdock crafts a story unlike any other. Fans of strong female characters, the Princess Diaries, and Murdocks other books (Dairy Queen, The Off Season), will really enjoy this title.

Girlwood by Claire Dean

"The first and last kiss Polly received from her
sister was as contrary as Bree herself. Lightweight by intense, a kiss
that was supposed to impart some deep meaning but offer zero affection,
a kiss that was retracted nearly before it began. It was past midnight,
and Polly was not only too tired to open her eyes, she was so sick of
her stoned, skeletal, sixteen-year-old sister that she didn't even
acknowledge Bree was there." The next day it is discovered that Bree
has run away, and Polly isn't sure if her midnight memory is true or
only a dream. She also vaguely remembers Bree saying "I'll be somewhere
in the woods. Our
woods." When she mentions this to the police and her
mother, they smiled at her "the way adults often did, like she was
darling and ridiculous." But Polly knows what she saw and heard, and
knows that it's up to her to keep Bree alive through the coming winter.
Together with her friends, she uses the woods knowledge learned from
her grandmother to build a shelter and bring wild, edible plants to a
magical clearing. The woods are in danger, though. A developer has
obtained permission to clear cut and build on acres of the overgrown
landscape. Polly has to hope that enough will be left to sustain her
sister and keep their secrets.

This eloquent tale is rich and
evocative. Several plot lines twist and wind around each other like
vines, interweaving yet remaining separate. Class bullies, abuse,
addiction and growing up are all part of the story, yet none overpowers
the other. The story flows easily, and I became so caught up in the
story and the language that it was difficult to stop. I highly
recommend this book.