This is a great book if you want a detailed glimpse into life off the grid in the wilds of Alaska. The descriptions are beautiful and you truly get a sense of the day-to-day joys and hardships. But this book is about a third too long and so much could be gained by cutting down on the analogies and the repetition (lost count of how many times Leni's dad's anger was simmering to a boil).

Ironically, the final portion of the book (after the dramatic event) was rushed. The series of changes that followed were significant but it felt like all the author wanted to do was get to the ending she had in her mind.

I also felt that many of the other characters were too one-dimensional and I even forgot many times who they were and didn't really care enough to go back and find out.

But I read this pretty much non-stop to find out what happens so I have to give a nod to Kristin Hannah's talent at crafting yet another intriguing story.

The Great Alone was a fantastic story full of complex layers. I'm not quite sure how to describe this book except as powerful and all consuming. I was so in love with Leni. Kristin Hannah is skilled at creating well-developed characters and describing the setting in a way that makes you feel as though right there with them. She knows exactly how to tug at your heartstrings and punch you in the gut at the same time. Although it is still early in the year, I can say with certainty that this will be one of my favorite books of 2018.

An amazing story! Alaska and Leni are fascinating. Strongly recommended.

When Leni is just 13, her parents bring her to Alaska to start over. Starting over happens a lot for the Allbright family; ever since her father returned from the Vietnam War, where he was held as a POW for six years, he has been mercurial and restless. The family is dangerously ill-equipped and unprepared for survival in the wilds of Alaska, but they learn quickly. Leni thrives, feeling as if she belongs for the first time in her life. But her father grows angrier and more dangerous with each long, dark Alaskan winter. This novel was gripping, harrowing, and touching, and had a lovely sense of place. It was my first book by Hannah, but it won’t be the last.

Alaska. The Great Alone.

"Were you ever out in the Great Alone, when the moon was awful clear,
And the icy mountains hemmed you in with a silence you most could hear..."
Robert W. Service, The Shooting of Dan McGrew

The Allbrights come to Alaska in the 70s to run away from the world below and get a fresh start. Ernt Allbright is a Viet Nam vet and former POW who is still suffering the effects of his war experiences, what we now call PTSD. He has been chasing one bright idea after another with his wife and young daughter in tow...but somehow things always end in dismal failure for him.

Then he receives a letter and learns that he has inherited a cabin and piece of land in a remote part of the Kenai Peninsula from his deceased war buddy, Bo Harlan. A chance for a new start! The Allbrights pack up their decrepit VW bus and take off--no planning, no skills, very little food, supplies or money. Luckily what they do find there are good people who are willing to help these raw newcomers they call 'cheechakos.'

But it isn't long before winter sets in with its darkness, cold and isolation. And the darkness of
Alaska reveals the darkness of Ernt's character and soon he is drinking and abusing his wife. And even in a place where everyone is allowed to do his own thing, Ernt's paranoia is beginning to divide the townspeople.

Can one person ever save another? Ernt's wife, Cora, thinks she can save him with her tremendous love and patience. She and her daughter, Lenora, live on that hope...at least for a while. Neighbors and friends urge them to leave Ernt but life is all about choices, decisions, isn't it? Where will Cora's choices lead? Will mother and child be able to survive the cruel beauty of Alaska...or the cruelty of the wild man inside their cabin?

Kristin Hannah has created some truly awesome and strong female characters in her story. Big kudos for that! Leni was my favorite: she had to be strong for both her mother and herself in this strange, harsh new world. But I especially identified with her love of books to which she turned for comfort and escape. And in later years, when she first sees the library at the University of Washington, she reacts in this way: "And the books! She had never seen so many. They whispered to her of unexplored worlds and unmet friends and she realized that she wasn't alone in this new world. Her friends were here, spine out, waiting for her as they always had."

And then there is Large Marge, who runs the general store and dishes out more than just supplies and friendship. She's a rock! For a long time, I wasn't so sure about Cora; she seemed to be suffering from 'battered wife' syndrome. I wondered what in her life had set her up for that. How much pounding can one woman take before she fights back? What will be the breaking point?

And of course I loved the Alaskan setting! Alaska herself will always be one of the main characters in any novel set in her wilderness. I chose to read this book because I have a great love for Alaska and have had the great fortune to have made two trips there so far (so far, meaning we hope to go back yet again!) But I know I could never spend winters there with its darkness and isolation. I get cabin fever here in Illinois!

One thing I've learned from all the books I've read about Alaska (both fiction and non-fiction) is that Mother Nature is in control and can find more ways to kill you than you could ever imagine. Five out of every 1000 people in Alaska go missing without a trace. I was a little surprised that the Allbrights didn't have more problems with wildlife than they did--especially with penned-up farm animals as an attraction.

I detracted a little from my rating for the melodrama in the last half or so of the book that seemed a bit drawn out to me. At some point the story turns from adventure to romance, which leads to the predictability of the ending. But yes, I did have tears in my eyes at several points, even as I complained that I KNEW that would happen... :)

One caveat to recommending the book to other readers: the spousal abuse depicted will be very hard for some to read, especially those who have lived through abuse or observed it as a child.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for granting me an arc of this new book to read and for the free trip to Alaska through its pages.

I have been a fan of this author since her first books years ago, and I have been a fan of Alaska since my first visit there in 2014. This is a powerful story packed with emotion, drama, and engaging characters who tugged at my heartstrings. I couldn't stop reading this because I cared about Leni and her mother so so much and wanted to make sure they were all right. Kristin Hannah is very sensitive to the needs of Vietnam veterans as well as to accurately describing the beauty of the Alaskan wilderness and the heartrending fear of living with a violent person. Highly recommend!

I felt as if I were on a great adventure into the wilderness of Alaska while reading The Great Alone. Witnessing the lives of all the characters, all the emotions of these very brave people. Love that endures. Kristin Hannah is my favorite author and she does not disappoint. I did not want this book to end. Highly recommend this book to any one who enjoys a well written book.

This book! I devoured it. It was such an emotional read for me and I literally didn't put it down until I'd finished (it was a long evening). I remember my heart pounding at one specific, suspenseful point in the book, and I felt such hope for the protagonist. The writing was so lovely and I felt that the author did a wonderful job of really placing you in remote Alaska. A fantastic read.

"The Great Alone" follows the Allbright family, and focuses on 13 year old daughter Hannah after her father,
a vet and former POW in Vietnam, decides to take his family to Alaska to homestead. As isolated as Alaska is now, the book begins in 1974 and so their homestead is completely off a relatively non existant grid. I really enjoyed the parts of this book that focused on homesteading in Alaska, they felt authentic and addressed the myriad of terrifying and exciting adventures one would face in that last frontier. However, I feel like it’s important for other readers to know that that storyline is a pretty small part of the overall plot. Much of the book focuses on the domestic abuse that the wife and daughter suffered and how their isolation in Alaska heightened and complicated that. My biggest disappointment with this book was the ending, my Kindle said I had about 2 and a half hours of reading time left at the point that felt like a natural ending to the story.

*An ARC of this book was provided to me by NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.*

This book broke my heart and I loved every minute of it. These are complicated people living in complicated times, and as we follow Leni through her unusual adolescence we are repeatedly challenged to examine what it means to love someone, to accept their faults, and where we would be ready to draw the line.

This is the first Kristin Hannah novel I have read and if even some of her others are this good, I understand the hype. My only complaint was in pacing at the end; the climax seemed to come a bit early and even though the denouement was long, the final few chapters seemed rushed. There was A LOT to tie up and the book is already pushing close to 500 pages, but I would have gladly read another hundred just to wring a little more out of the final summation.

Definitely expect to see this one on bestseller lists and book club picks!

I was excited to read this book as I am a big fan of The Nightingale. Unfortunately, I was ultimately disappointed. I didn't thing the story was as compelling -- a former Vietnam POW had trouble adjusting when he returns home. He takes his family to Alaska for a fresh start. The harsh conditions and climate only compound the problems for the vet, his wife and daughter.

I received a free ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

As a reader, I’ve seen Kristin Hannah books everywhere. I’ve never bought one. Perhaps this was a mistake.
Perhaps it was fate, because I was meant to read this Kristin Hannah book.

Either way, requesting an ARC, being ever so kindly granted an ARC, and reading THE GREAT ALONE over the holidays was the perfect way to end a year and start a new one.

This book is long, 450 pages, but I could not put it down and I read it in five days between Christmas and New Year’s. It’s one of those books you rush through because you can’t stop and then it’s over and you’re sad… until you realize you can read it again, almost like new because you read it so fast, and all is well again.
I’m not the only one who feels that way about books, am I?

Anyway, I started reading this tale of wild, untamed Alaska at what might seem like an inopportune moment because I live in Erie and for Christmas Erie got… sixty-some inches of snow in the two days before I started this book. I mean, who wants to read about Arctic weather while you are living it?

Me. Apparently.

I knew this for a fact when I started the book and got to 12% without looking up long enough to realize it had snowed another two inches. This after days of being a little weather-obsessed.

Hannah has created a masterpiece for me with this story. The backdrop of remote, unpredictable Alaska being combined with the struggles of a Vietnam POW and a coming of age story for a teenage girl is immediately haunting and magical.

Ernt Allbright is listless and tormented in regular life after surviving years as a POW during the Vietnam War. He loves his wife, Cora, and his thirteen year old daughter, Leni, but he doesn’t know how to… he doesn’t know how to be. So when a man named Earl Harlan writes to tell him that his son Bo, who died in Vietnam, would want Ernt to have his land in Alaska, the Allbrights leave Seattle for Alaska.

Earl, as it turns out, is more commonly known as Mad Earl and spends his days with his family in a compound that’s part survivalist, part doomsday prepper, and part anarchist. Mad Earl brings Ernt into the fold and they feed off each other, creating a powder keg that’s always ready to spark. More so for Ernt and the demons he battles from the war.

Leni makes friends in Alaska, despite it all, even developing a crush on a boy. The boy is the son of the man Ernt thinks has eyes for Cora, which doesn’t help anything. The tiny town rallies around Cora and Leni as Ernt begins to beat his wife. The tragedy is that Cora doesn’t think there’s any way out, that as long as Ernt doesn’t hit Leni, that he still loves her…

Her constant refrain to her daughter is that “I wish you remembered him before…” and that becomes a sort of theme for the novel. Everyone has a Before and sometimes it’s all you can do to hold tight and fast to that fleeting memory.

As I said, rural Alaska provides a deadly backdrop for the topics and threads that Hannah weaves seamlessly together. Domestic abuse, coming of age, race relations in the 1970s, mental health care for veterans, political beliefs, the wealthy versus the poor, how the law treats women and how it treats men…

There are parts of THE GREAT ALONE that could seem a little forced, a little too perfect. I think they work. They’re forgivable because of everything else that this book is. I can’t go into too much detail because they’re spoilers and I very much need for you to read this book asap.

Seriously. I know this makes for a terrible review but, let’s face it, if you’re following me, reading my reviews… we have similar tastes in books so there’s a strong you’ll love this book as much as I did. Do. Definitely still love this book.

The rest of the books I’m going to read in 2018, be warned. The bar has been set HIGH.

(Also, if you’re seeing this on the book page on Goodreads or something… just get it. You already want to. You won’t regret it.)

(I received a copy of THE GREAT ALONE from NetGalley & the publisher in exchange for an honest & original review. All thoughts are my own.)

When Leni's parents decide to move to a remote Alaskan cabin, sight unseen, in 1974, the young teenager wants to believe it will be a successful new beginning  for her father, a Vietnam vet haunted by flashbacks and nightmares.  But then there have been so many other attempted beginnings, always leaving Leni as the new girl in school, the stranger without any friends. Books and her polaroid camera have been her solace, companions, when there are no others.  Despite the hard work necessary to prepare for winter once they arrive at the ramshackle cabin, it appears that this strange new land may heal the family.  Leni makes friends with Matt, the son of a major land owner in Kaneq, and the sparsely populated community welcomes them with open arms.  Then as the sun retreats and endless hours of darkness steal over the landscape, her father Ernt's mood slips into its own unreachable darkness and both Leni and her mother fear the abuse that could follow any misstep or misspoken word.  Paranoia, resulting in middle of the night "warfare" drills, becomes the family's norm.  As Leni matures, she understands more and more than her father is much like dynamite, ready to explode and destroy all around it. It will only take a bit of "kindling." But it is hard to align that with the man who, on good days, calls her "Red" and takes her salmon fishing.  While she longs for a normal, safe life, she cannot leave her mother, who will never leave her father, and even Leni, herself, cannot imagine life without Alaska.  Despite the summer's bright sky, the Northern Lights, and Alaska's beauty, it seems that prison doors have closed upon mother and daughter.
As a reader, I was ready to embrace Alaska's wildness with the Allbright family, sure that the dangers of the wild itself would cement them into a whole.  But the dark shadows of that first winter bring a foreboding that this story would not end well.  At times I feared reading on because I did not want any of the characters to suffer.  I did not want Ernt, who served our country with valor, to be broken beyond repair.  I did not want to think about love that is so tangled that it will not separate itself from abuse.  And I feared for the people of the village who were willing to help Leni and her mother Cora.  But like all Kristin Hannah's books, you can't choose not to finish once you start.  The pages flew by, the tension increased, and still I read.  I read late into the night, I read the next morning as my husband drove us to a movie/shopping trip an hour away, I read on the way home as the daylight ebbed away.  Finally I reached the ending, forgetting supper, for the story was so much more important.  A day later, the story of Leni, her mother and the choices they made still fill my mind.  THE GREAT ALONE publishes in a few weeks; you will want to read it. I received an e-copy of THE GREAT ALONE from NETGALLEY for review purposes.    All opinions are mine

Surprisingly, this is only the second Kristin Hannah I’ve read. While I enjoyed this it just did not live up to The Nightengale. I did love the descriptions of the Alaskan wilderness and the dangers it presented, but for some reason the characters just did not adhere themselves to me as they did in The Nightengale. I, also, felt that it was too long... the last 20% I found myself starting to scrim. Still a very solid novel and one that I would recommend. 4 stars.

Fabulous book. Thoroughly loved. Highly recommend!

Leni Allbright is thirteen years old and has moved five times in the last fours years. Her dad, Ernt, is a former Vietnam POW and her mom, Cora, is a waitress. Ernt suffers from nightmares, can be violent, and has trouble keeping a job. They are continuously on the move to escape Ernt’s demons, their creditors, and to find new work. Ernt receives an unexpected letter from Earl Harlan that will change his life forever. Earl’s son Bo was a very good friend of Ernt who passed away in Vietnam. The letter is to inform Ernt that Bo has left him his land in Alaska on the Kenai Peninsula. Cora and Leni are very hesitant to make the move to Alaska, but will do anything if it will help Ernt, and he thinks this is just the fresh start he needs.

The Kenai Peninsula is an extremely isolated area that can only be reached by boat or plane. The Allbright family arrived in May and were immediately warned that they must prepare for winter. The town is small, but everyone is very friendly and willing to show them the Alaskan way. At first Leni and Cora were quite happy with how well Ernt seemed to be doing – he was excited about his new land and worked very hard to fix up the land and the house. However Leni was fearful that once winter was upon them and the days became long and dark, her dad’s temper and nightmares would return.

Kristin Hannah did a fantastic job of transporting me to Alaska! I felt like I was right there with the Allbright family working the land and preparing for the brutal winter months. Her character development is excellent, with many likable characters and a few that are unlikeable. I loved Large Marge! She was not one of the main characters and I wish there was more of her. She is spunky, speaks the truth, and has a big heart.

This is a coming of age story spanning over a decade. It is raw, heartbreaking, and violent at times. It is also a story of love and survival of both the wilderness and by the hands of Leni’s father. I devoured this book and stayed up late one night because I had to know how it would end. Although it was tough to read at times, I could not put it down. It’s been awhile since a story has pulled me in quite like this one.

I highly recommend this book and have no doubt that it will end up on my top ten list for the year!

This book gets all of the stars.

I have read a couple of other books by Kristin Hannah, and I liked them, they definitely pulled at my heartstrings (especially Winter Garden, I actually bawled uncontrollably for about half an hour while reading that one) but none of them have affected me quite as deeply as The Great Alone.

I'm truly at a loss as to how I can review this one. The parents' story hit really close to home for me. There were pieces of dialogue that I swear I have said or have heard someone say to me. It definitely reinforced in my head that my decisions over the past year have been right for me and my children.

This was a really good read. Kristin Hannah can be relied on to tell a great story. I thought the characters were wonderful and I thought she did a good job in particular with the father. I hated and feared him while still maintaining an understanding of him and feeling empathy for him. The descriptions of life in Alaska were beautiful to read. I was compelled to Google images of Alaska several times throughout the book. I also admired the ending. I wondered how the author would wrap it up and I was pleased that it was a happy ending while still being realistic. This will be an easy book to recommend for 2018.

I had the pleasure of receiving an advanced copy of Kristin Hannah's gripping novel about homesteading in the Alaskan wilderness. I could not put this book down! In this story Hannah paints a vivid setting, keeping the reader on the edge of her toes with a raw look at one family's struggle to survive nature's harshest elements and one another. Told from the point of view of the young daughter, this tale defines the meaning of the term brave. Emotional and suspenseful. I'm a Kristin Hannah fan forever.

The Great Alone
Kristin Hannah


MY RATING ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
PUBLISHER St Martin’s Press
PUBLISHED February 6, 2018

A spellbinding family drama of survival set on the wild and rugged side of the Kenai peninsula of Alaska.

SUMMARY
It’s 1974, gas prices are up, the country had been divided over the Vietnam war, and women had begun to disappear in Washington State without a trace. Leni Allbright, 13, was the new girl at another new school, with no friends other than her dog eared copy of Watership Down. She was worried about her family. Her parent were always fighting, they never had enough money and they moved all the time to get away from creditors. Her dad, Ernt, had been a Vietnam vet, who had gotten shot down and captured. He’d come home four years ago a changed and volatile man. He hated the government, thought it was being run by lunatics. Now he had another plan to change their lives, he’d had lot of plans in the past. But this plan involved moving to a cabin in Kenaq, Alaska on the Kenai penninsula. This, he said, was a place they could be self-sufficient and live off the land and have a simpler life. It was just the change Ernt thought he needed in order to forget the torture he endured in Vietnam.

But when they got to Alaska, things were no better. The property and cabin were in shambles and the family had arrived ill prepared. The welcoming Kaneq community swept in to help the Allbright’s prepare for the upcoming winter and for being off the grid. The work was hard, the winter was dark, and the drinking was easy. Ernt’s drinking and jealousy got the better of him and he took it out on his wife, Cora, who was always quick to forgive the man she loved. Leni has finally made a friend at school, a boy. Matthew is about the only person in school who is even close to her age. But her dad doesn’t approve. Matthew is the son of Tom Walker, a man of money and influence over the town, a man who Ernt detests.

It’s Leni’s come of age story, as she and her mom face the dark harsh winters and her father’s relentless demons in the small snow covered cabin. It the story of human frailty, strength and survival.

Leni was afraid to stay and afraid to leave. It was strange—stupid, even—but she often felt like the only adult in her family, as if she were the ballast that kept the creaky Allbright boat on an even keel.

REVIEW
THE GREAT ALONE is a stunning family drama! Having made a recent trip to Alaska I was so excited about the setting for this novel. As anyone who has been to Alaska knows, pictures don’t do it justice and its rugged beauty is impossible to describe. But KRISTIN HANNAH did a marvelous job painting the natural backdrop with magnificent and vivid details. Her descriptions were intoxicating.

Hannah expertly delivers a family story, not soon forgotten. She effortlessly blends a father with PTSD, a fragile mother and victim of spousal abuse, and Leni, who just wants to fit in somewhere, but carries the weight of her families secrets in her heart. The mother-daughter bond between Cora and Leni is so strong it’s palpable, making the story all the more poignant. It is together that these two women face the backbreaking work, the dangers from the land, and the havoc at home. It is out of necessity that Leni quickly grows into a strong young woman. The Kaneq community characters are all refreshingly unique, and you can’t help but fall in love with the general store owner, Large Marge, and her larger than life personality.

Hannah’s writing is fast and fluid, and kept me reading long into the night. It is an arresting story of modern day homesteading that would make an excellent movie.

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Kristin Hannah for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.