I felt like I was surviving in Alaska along with Leni, Cora and Ernst. This book had so many different layers and underlying themes. Survival was the heart of it and I don't think I could have survived a winter in Alaska in the 70s that this book depicted. The descriptions of life and scenery in Alasaka were vivid and portrayed the beauty and brutality of that great state. The biggest theme was the sense of community that was created and how people could trade services and goods without exchange of money. Love was also a theme that came across throughout the book in different ways. I don't want to give anything away in this book, but there are many ways love was shown and depicted. There were times I was proud of the characters and other time I was so mad at them for choices they made. This is the 2nd book by Kristin Hannah that I have read and while the Nightingale's theme was completely different, in this book I also felt a connection to the characters and celebrated and struggled with them. Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an e-arc of this great book.

Family (Ernt, Cora and Leni) move to Alaska to escape "the Man," while hoping POW Ernt will heal from serving in Vietnam.

Wow. I am absolutely speechless after reading this book and am not quite sure what to write in this review. The end of the story absolutely gutted me. Can you say Total Book Hangover? So much so, in fact, that I went back and reread the last few chapters and bawled for a second time. Damn you, [author:Kristin Hannah|54493]... but seriously, I mean that in the best way possible. She explored, captured, and expressed so many of my own thoughts and emotions, it was an absolutely uncanny and surreal experience.

Do you ever feel like hugging a book and never letting it go?!? Ummmm, yeah, that's how I feel about this one lol.

Themes included the following: an ode to majestic yet brutal Alaska, familial love, parental love, young love, mentally ill veteran, spousal abuse, loss, grief, forgiveness, redemption, and more.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for a free Kindle ARC of this book! Thank you also to The Girlfriend for a hardcover edition won in a giveaway; I will cherish it. I have not been more excited to receive an advance copy of a book since over a year ago when I was approved for an ARC of [book:Small Great Things|28587957] by [author:Jodi Picoult|7128]. Swoon.

The emotion that I felt while reading this book? Wow! It was intense. Granted it was a huge negative emotion in the fact that I thoroughly detested one of the main characters. A man suffering, but the damage he caused, erased any pity you ever had for the man. I read this book seething. I will let you know domestic abuse is in full swing in the book. Not a plus or a negative, just a factor.

For that fact and the fact that I spent a whole day with these characters. It was rainy and I was lazy. In between bouts of Words with Friends, I lived this Alaskan world. Why anyone would want to do all that work and freeze their a$$ off most of the year? SMH

I was so mesmerized with this book and will remember a dreary winter day, spent in bed under the blankets totally living this Alaskan adventure.

Thanks to St. Martin's Press, Kristin Hannah and Net Galley for providing me a perfect winter day and a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Beautify setting. A story that resonates, family, challenges, and love.

Leni is just thirteen when Kristin Hannah’s The Great Alone begins. She’s the new girl in school, but she is used to that. Her father often loses his job and pulls up stakes chasing dreams of a different life, but he brings his ghosts everywhere he goes. He’s only been home from Vietnam a couple years. He was a prisoner and suffers from PTSD–undiagnosed, of course–it didn’t get added to the official roster of psychiatric diagnoses until 1980. Her mother is a beautiful woman whose fragile beauty hides inner strength, but her love for her husband is toxic and dangerous.

A friend from Vietnam who did not make it out left his cabin and land on Kenai Peninsula in Alaska to Ernt, Leni’s father. He’s excited by the chance to start again, with land and a home for his family, to live off the land, to be self-sufficient. It’s 1974, a year of turmoil with terrorism, civil unrest, nuclear brinksmanship, and a criminal president. People were afraid. Some of us might relate. Ernt thought the wilderness was a safer place for his family and when they arrived, he found a fellow paranoiac survivalist to feed his conspiracies–not that they needed feeding.

Alaska is a place that makes or breaks people. It made Leni, Cora, her mother, found hidden strength there, too, learning to subsist through growing and hunting their own food. It broke Ernt, whose trauma left him ill-suited for the months of darkness and isolation. Life gets even more complicated as the years pass and Leni’s friendship with her classmate Matthew deepens into love. Matthew is the son of a man her father hates with a murderous passion. Leni knows this is dangerous and may end in tragedy, but love is powerful and tempting.

The story makes a few jumps in time, from 1974 when it begins, to 1978, Leni’s senior year and to 1986 when the story closes–for all intents and purposes. There is an interview with one of the characters in 2009, a silly and extraneous addition.



This is a heart-wrenching story, thrilling and fascinating. The characters are so well-defined and rich. There’s Leni, smart, loving, and the heart of the story. There is her mother Cora whose great flaw is loving unwisely and too much. There is Ernt, her father, who loves his family but not well, not enough to put their welfare above his fears and trauma. Then there is Alaska, beautiful and magnificent, implacable and deadly, as complex a character as any person and certainly as important to the story. It seasons forming the rhythm of their lives and their troubles.

Hannah does an excellent job of showing the infuriating resistance many abused women have to the idea of leaving their abusers. She also makes clear the catch-22 abused women navigate, balancing the risk of abuse against the risk of leaving and inciting murderous fury. Hannah is very good at getting at human emotion, at developing characters we care about. Hell, we even care about Ernt–most of the time.

I only wish the ending were less complete. Hannah began her career writing romances and she has the romance author’s desire to tie things up with a bow. There is also a ridiculous police officer who has never heard of Miranda and a laughably bad courtroom scene complete with an absurdist bit of rector ex machina. I would advise Hannah to avoid any future legal plot elements. I can’t say exactly where I wish she had ended the story, but I wish she had left us with unknown possibilities.

I received an e-galley of The Great Alone from the publisher through NetGalley.

The Great Alone at Macmillan | St. Martin’s Press
Kristin Hannah author site

The Great Alone is a story of resilience along with a moving tribute to the wilds of Alaska and the pioneering spirit of its residents in the early 1970s.

Thirteen year old Leni Allbright hopes that this relocation to Alaska will be the thing her family needs to bring some stability to her father, who is struggling with PTSD from his time as a POW in the Vietnam War. When Leni arrives with her mother and father, they quickly realize they are not well prepared for what winter holds in this beautiful but brutal land. The town's residents step in and help the Allbrights setup their home and land for the winter month's ahead. It seems that Alaska really might be the cure for Leni and her family as they find new purpose on the land and Leni finally feels like she belongs. Unfortunately, just when things seem to be working out for the Allbright family, winter arrives. Alaska winters can be harsh and it isn't long before the danger inside Leni's home is more lethal than what waits outside.

I enjoyed the historical setting of this novel and it really provides an enlightening view of Alaska in the 1970s. The first half of the novel moved a little slowly for me, but the second half kept me engaged and eager to see how the story would unfold. The Great Alone was an uplifting story of determination and the power of love that was a four star read for me.

I received The Great Alone courtesy of St. Martin's Press through NetGalley.

If you've only visited Alaska on occasion, and never lived there on a dirt road in the 1970s, you will probably like this book. This book paints a very superficial and stereotypical picture of life in Alaska, The usual "colorful" characters, and people running away from something. I lived there for multiple decades as a child and young adult, and so the book doesn't strike me as very authentic. The dialogue seemed stilted, in particular when characters introduced themselves to the family. The dialogue was primarily to quickly tell there "back story". I think fans of Kristin Hannah will like this book, however, I cannot give it a strong recommend.
Note: My comments are based on an advanced ebook copy from netgalley, and perhaps the areas where I saw room for improvement have been revised.

After unexpectedly inheriting a homestead in remote Alaska, Ernt Allbright moves his family to the Kaneq wilderness. Suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder from his time as a POW in Vietnam, he looks at his new life as the answer to his problems. And in the beginning, it is, but his demons begin to catch up to him during the long winter nights in a hostile landscape.

The Great Alone is not his story, it’s the story of his resilient daughter Leni and the life she’s able to carve out in the wake of the Allbright family wreckage. Set against the backdrop of the tumultuous ‘70s – think Vietnam, Patty Hearst, and gas shortages – Kristin Hannah has written a riveting novel of survival and brutality. That’s not to say it’s perfect, the novel can be melodramatic and a few plot points are rushed, but in the end, I still loved it. Memorable characters and an unforgettable setting make this bittersweet novel a winter standout.

Now, how do I get to Alaska?

I know it is extremely difficult for an author to follow up a huge bestseller such as The Nightingale. And even though it is completely different, The Great Alone is just as wonderful and beautifully written! I LOVED this breathtaking story and was glued to it from the beginning. Countless times I have recommended The Nightingale as one of my all time favorite books and now I will also be singing the praises of The Great Alone! Seriously, just read it! Kristin Hannah, you are a genius and I cannot wait to see what gift you have for us next. #TheGirlfriendGreatAlone

The Great Alone was captivating and beautifully written. This was my second Kristin Hannah book, and I had high expectations after The Nightingale. This book was emotional and had well-developed characters that I came to really care about. Heartbreaking and thoughtful, I greatly enjoyed this book and will most certainly continue to pick up Kristin Hannah's books.

An emotional and gripping read that will keep you up all night.

The book opens with 13 year old Leni listening to her parents arguing. Leni reflects how this normal in her home especially since her dad came home from Viet Nam. Her dad is notified a comrade he served with in Viet Nam has left him his homestead in Alaska. Leni's dad thinks the best thing for his family is to move to the homestead and learn how to live off the land and provide for themselves. He tells them it will help him emotionally. Off the family goes to Alaska in the VW van with nothing more than the clothes on their backs pretty much. We follow Leni and her family as the learn what it takes to be a true Alaskan and a family that is riddled with abuse with nowhere to go.

I cried happy and sad tears as I read late into the night each night. Last night I read until my eyes could not focus as I wanted to finish the book. Just like she did with The Nightingale, I questioned what I would do in similar circumstances and if I had to the guts and strength to survive what the female characters survive. How much are you willing to love someone whether it be blood or not? Is blood love the strongest of love? You will find yourselves wrapped up in the characters so much that you will take a moment to refocus and remember where you are in the real world.

The description of the wilds of Alaska is beautiful but at the same time Hannah is not afraid to show the ugliness of Alaska either. Alaska is not for the faint of heart. It takes a special person to survive.

Run to the nearest bookstore, library or e-reader and pick up your copy today and make the time to read it over the weekend. I think you will be glad you did.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy in exchange for an honest review in my own words.

Absolutely loved this book, another bestseller from Kristin Hannah!

Wow! What a book! I was hooked from the first chapter and couldn't put it down. I particularly loved the descriptions of homesteading in remote Alaska. Brilliant!

Kristin Hannah takes you to hard places in her books which I experienced first in The Nightingale. Her new book, The Great Alone, is no exception. It begins in 1974, with thirteen-year-old Leni coping with a father who is a former POW home from Vietnam afflicted with PTSD in a time when little was said or done about it, and a mother who is drawn back to his volatile abusive behavior. The book pictures vividly the mindsets of the abuser and the victim who keeps returning for more. The setting moves from Seattle to the wilds of Alaska to add yet another difficulty to her life.

Early on, Leni seems to be the most adult member of this dysfunctional family as she questions “How was Mama’s unshakable belief in Dad any different than his fear of Armageddon? Did adults just look at the world and see what they wanted to see, think what they wanted to think? Did evidence and experience mean nothing?” The question looms often of how many ways are there are to die in Alaska. In a bit of balance, the unique Alaskans who have carved out a life in this unforgiving land add color and helpfulness to the newcomers.

Tempted to close the book as one difficulty piles on the next, I really couldn’t but needed to turn yet another page since I couldn’t leave Leni in that chapter’s trouble. Also, there was a love interest as she grew up. Surely, something good would come of it.

I’m glad I stayed for the resolution, though Kristin Hannah took her own good time in coming to it. This thought-provoking book kept me turning pages, but I’ll need recovery. I think I’ll have time before she gets another one on the market.

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah is a very highly recommended coming of age story and portrait of a family and a time in history.

It is 1974 when her father, Ernt Allbright, loses his job yet again, and decides he will move his family, wife, Cora, and daughter, Leni, north to the untamed wilderness of Kaneq, Alaska, where Ernt has inherited his deceased buddy's cabin and land. Thirteen-year-old Leni is used to be uprooted and moved at her parent's whim. Her father Ernt is a former POW and according to her mother, Cora, he came home a changed man, full of anger and nightmares. Even with the violence, Cora will do anything for Ernt. Now Leni has no choice but to head north with her angry father and learn to live off the grid. All she can do is hope she will find a place to fit in and that Alaska will calm her parent's unhealthy, passionate and volatile relationship.

At first Alaska seems to be the answer to her family's dreams. Kaneq is made up of fiercely independent, strong people who all have a before and after story. Alaska changes Leni. She falls in love with the land, the way of life, and Matthew. The community believes in bartering and they pitch in to help the Allbrights prepare during the long summer days for the harsh, unrelenting winter. As Large Marge tells them, "There's a saying: Up here you can make one mistake. The second one will kill you." But that saying is referring to the harsh, unforgiving wild nature of the land. For Cora and Leni the real danger as winter approaches and darkness increases is Ernt. The darkness brings out his nightmares, paranoia and violence, especially toward Cora. Soon locals have to step in and find a way to keep Cora and Leni safe, but it is a tenuous solution at best.

The Great Alone is a wonderfully engaging novel and will hold your rapt attention from beginning to end. The writing is exceptional. Hannah depicts the violent effect of of Ernt's PTSD on the family and his toxic relationship with Cora, while expertly weaving into the story events from the 1970's and the attitudes from the decade. All the characters in this admirable novel, including the state of Alaska, are unique, deftly drawn and expertly developed. Leni is a wonderful character.

This is a perfect stay-up-way-too-late reading book, which makes it a wonderful choice for long winter nights (or overnight at the airport). The plot is complex and layered, like life itself. Hannah perfectly describes the essence of the relationship between mother and child, of love and loss, of sacrifice and regret. It is also an emotional novel. There was a point when I wondered where else Hannah could take us, what was left to experience, and she surpassed my expectations with this insightful and intelligent novel. This is one of the best novels I've read this year.

Disclosure: My review copy was courtesy of St. Martin's Press.
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Kristin Hannah tackles life in the Alaskan wilderness in the 70’s in The Great Alone. Having lived through this time, I well know it is before cell phones, satellite TV, and the World Wide Web. This is the world that Leni Albright spends her teenage years, more isolated than me because of the vastness of Alaska. It is a coming of age book, a survival book, a book if despair and one of hope too. It is a story of mother and daughter banding together, of how war changes a man into a monster, and a story of love.

Fresh starts would work better if one didn’t have to take their old selves and old issues with them to the new beginning. The unforgiving environment is not only without but also within the walls which should been a refuge but instead is a warzone for the Albrights. Ms. Hannah does not shy away from the stark but vivid described setting and events. One could not come away from this book without feeling that they had experienced along with Leni the merciless beauty and cruelty of the Alaskan environment as well as sense of community among the people who lived there.

Ms. Hannah builds this story through the careful development of the characters in the first half so that the second half has a much quicker pace. Like a snowball it starts out slow and small then builds, gaining momentum. Likewise, there is an emotional intensity throughout the story that makes this longer novel hard to put down. Even when I had to put it down I was anxious to get back to the story to see how Leni was faring. Powerful, poignant story that I can highly recommend.

Ernt is a Vietnam war veteran. He has become unstable, volatile and abusive since his time as a POW. When he inherits a homestead in Alaska, he decides to move his family for a fresh start on life.

Alaska has always been on my bucket list. The vastness is appealing to me. So, I jumped on this book as soon as I heard it was available. Kristin Hannah nailed Alaska for me. I could just picture the greatness and the dangers which encompass this last frontier.

Not only did Kristin Hannah have a great setting she also created some of the best characters. Ernt with his insanity, Cora with her strength and Leni, their daughter, with her determination form a family like no other. And then there is Large Marge…yes that is her name…Matthew and his family, just to name a few. I enjoyed this community of outcasts. They have a tough exterior but their hearts know no limits.

Parts of this novel I savored and parts I rushed through because it was terrifying. It was tough to get through some spots. I had to stop and breathe in places, especially where Leni was concerned. This is an incredible book! This story encompasses so much. And I cannot tell you what I liked more…the story, the land, the people…all of it creates a tale of survival, love and hope.

I received this novel from Netgalley for a honest review

Alaska. The Great Alone. In 1974, a Vietnam vet suffering from PTSD takes his wife and teenage daughter to a small community in the wilderness of Alaska. A buddy who died in Vietnam left him his land and cabin. Ernt and his family are unprepared for what living in Alaska requires, but the tight-knit community rallies around them to help teach them to survive. For awhile, life in the wilderness calms Ernt's nightmares, volatile temper and paranoia. But, soon things start to unravel. Ernt is like a ticking time bomb.....his wife and daughter both know at some point he will explode. His daughter, Leni, loves him but at the same time, his behavior terrifies her.

This is such a moving story. The Great Alone doesn't just speak to the isolation in Alaska. Ernt is alone because he is a veteran left to deal with extreme PTSD with no support structure. His wife is alone because she just can't bring herself to escape from their abusive, toxic relationship. And Leni is a child caught in the middle of it all.

As a former victim of spousal abuse, this book was difficult for me to read. I kept wanting to jump into the book and plead with the mother to at least send her daughter away to safety, and to STOP making excuses for her husband's behavior. Every time she was weak, selfish and ridiculous, I wanted to shake and smack her. There is never an excuse good enough to keep a child in an abusive atmosphere. NEVER. In the end, the situation had a life changing effect on Leni. How could things have been different if Ernt had sought help instead of running from place to place and letting his demons gain control? How would things have been different if Cora had put her daughter's safety first and sent her to live in town, or Anchorage.....anywhere but in constant fear of her father and in view of their disintegrating marital relationship. And Leni.....how would things have been different for her if she wasn't constantly in fear of, and victimized by, her father's temper, violence and erratic behavior.....and her mother's refusal to do anything about it. In the end, I guess the truth is that love, when it is an addiction or too powerful, can be dangerous. Human emotions like jealousy, anger, resentfulness can be overpowering in a rough wilderness like Alaska. In the end, the parents' inability to control their emotions and situation was just as dangerous, unpredictable and volatile as wild Alaska.

Wonderful, haunting story. It's a difficult subject for me to read about....but I was hooked from the first chapter. Portions were gut wrenching and emotional. The story is very well-written and engaging. Kristin Hannah has written several other books. I will definitely be reading more by her.

**I voluntarily read an advanced readers copy of this book from St. Martins Press via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

The Great Alone by Kristen Hannah was a moving story about a family’s strength and survival. Set in the seventies, a family finds themselves moving to Alaska for a second chance. For the father, a Vietnam POW, who is suffering from PTSD, this is the fresh start he seems to be looking for. For the mother and daughter this may be the change they need for the man they both love and want back to who he was.

This was without a doubt a very touching and heartbreaking story. A family struggling to find their way, a father, Ernt, suffering from a condition that was not acknowledged at the time and a mother, Cora, and daughter, Leni, trying to survive. All of this while they move to a new home with conditions they never expected. Even so, they find a camaraderie with the small community they are now a part of.

As we read their journey, it is heartbreaking to see Ernt’s downfall, Cora’s courage and struggle and experience Leni’s heartbreak. The characters, story and vivid detail of Alaska will draw you right in. An emotional story that will touch your heart.

Happy reading!

How to write this review. From the moment you pick this book up, it sucks you in and you don't want to put it down. You will go on an emotional roller coaster. Ernt came back from Vietnam a broken and changed man suffering from PTSD, which they didn't recognize how to treat after that war. Cora loved him through all the mood changes and abuse. I still don't understand this personally. Daughter Leni is on the cusp of coming into her own. She wants her dad back, the man who used to laugh and smile. Wishing for better times, Ernt was left a cabin in Kaneq, Alaska. So off they went. The feeling of getting away and going off grid. No mortgage, living off the land and no pressure. The cabin was small, dark, no running water or electricity. Winter was coming and they weren't prepared. The people of Kaneq pitched in to help them prepare. When winter arrives, no one can prepare you for the constant darkness. No one can prepare you for your worst nightmare.

You have to read this book. If you don't read any other book this year, this is a must.