Another amazing read by Kristin Hannah. Her books always just soothe the soul. They give you a little something you didn’t even know you needed! Pick a comfy spot, grab a warm tea and get lost in this story. After reading this I definitely want to make my way to Alaska one day!

Loved this story! I was sucked in from the start and tried reading slowly so it wouldn't end. I didn’t want to let go of these characters. It is a novel filled with deep, complex characters, adventure, heartbreak, gritty, hard truths of life and love. I was already a fan of Kristin Hannah, but I feel this is one of her best.

“In Alaska, you can make one mistake. One. The second will kill you.”

A solid 4.5 stars. For many readers, they first fell in love with Kristin Hannah by reading The Nightingale. I encourage you to avoid the temptation to compare the two. They are distinctly different novels. What remains consistent is a strong, well-paced story with engaging characters.

The story is told in three parts, 1984, 1978 and 1986, on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska. The brutal landscape of Alaska is certainly a character all its own. Hannah does a remarkable job of not only conveying the scenery of the wilds of Alaska, but also the dangers of living on the land, off the grid.

This is a story about survival – mental and physical survival. Themes of abuse, community, and love and the impact of choices are woven throughout. I was engrossed by this book and while I had a hard time putting it down, I also wanted to savor the experience.

This was one of my favorite books of the past few months. I truly felt the loneliness and helplessness of the characters situations. My heart broke at certain scenes, but I always kept hope for the best. It was truly a well-written novel that I will remember and recommend for quite some time.

I almost quit reading, even though I loved the characters (except a few!) and the beautiful descriptions of Alaska. I just couldn't take much more for poor Cora. But I'm so happy I did, it's a great heartwarming and heartbreaking story!

Wow. Not since ... oh wait... not since the last Kristin Hannah book I read... have I been so tempted to cheat and peek at the last page of the book. Really, I'm a real adult now, I don't do that to myself any more, but oh.... the temptation. Another outstanding book that tackles some tough subjects. There were times I held my breath, times I couldn't read fast enough, sections I read repeatedly, just to savor the visuals.

The Great Alone was full of drama, pulling on the heartstrings in nearly every way. The storyline was full of ups and downs for sure, and hit close to home for me in more ways than one. I found the novel very well-written and obviously well researched. Hannah's ability to put the reader IN Alaska, feeling the environment, hearing the sounds, appreciating the wildness, was amazing. Parts of the plot felt rushed and undeveloped, and parts felt overly drawn out, leaving me wondering why so much effort was spent in places.

It was difficult to put this book down, especially in the last few chapters. But these same chapters felt rushed and incomplete by the time I finished the novel. For this reason, I would rate it 3 1/2 stars.

When I reached the Afterword, I wasn't the least bit surprised to read about the author's personal connection to Alaska, and I also wondered how much the parents in the novel were similar to the author's. This is a fairly easy read. I'm not sure if this book will be marketed as YA or adult, but I'm certain teens and adults will enjoy this book. If I were reviewing this as YA, I could see recommending this book for YA lit classes because it will interest both genders. For adults, I'm thinking fans of Lifetime will be most involved with this family drama.

Kristin Hannah follows her brilliant The Nightingale with The Great Alone and it is a worthy but very different successor.

The Allbright family is struggling due to Ernt's volatile anger resulting from his Vietnam experiences. In an effort to leave the past behind, they pack up and move to a remote village near Homer, AK. They are truly an example of "you don't know what you don't know", as they occupy their cabin and used their rapidly dwindling meager funds to get set up for the approaching winter. The grass is never greener on the other side and their problems follow them into their new life.

This quote describes 17-year-old daughter, Leni, as she tries to make a safe place for herself:
"If you knew me , you wouldn’t be surprised at all that I start my college essay off with a quote from Tolkien. Books are the mile markers of my life. Some people have family photos or home movies to record their past. I’ve got books. Characters. For as long I can remember, books have been my safe place . I read about places I can barely imagine and lose myself in journeys to foreign lands to save girls who didn’t know they were really princesses."

Full of harrowing experiences (trigger warning) and lots of warm and endearing characters. You have to jump in and take the journey to learn what happens in this family drama.

Loved everything about it - great characters, story line and location. Looking forward to recommend it to our customers.

The Great Alone, a remarkable family drama, is the latest novel from Kristin Hannah, author of The Nightingale. In 1974, thirteen-year old Leni Allbright’s father has just returned to the U.S. after six torturous years as a Vietnam POW. Ernt inherits a small cabin in off-the-grid Alaska, and moves his wife Cora and daughter there for a fresh start. But the Allbright family is woefully unprepared for the upcoming Alaskan winter, and the months of darkness reveal a darkness within Ernt. Leni, for her part, embraces life in tiny Kaneq, attending a one-room schoolhouse and finding a friend in Matthew Walker, a third-generation Alaskan. Hannah lovingly unspools the years, interweaving Leni’s coming-of-age with her parents’ passionate but violent marriage. Several fraught survival scenes remind readers of the many ways to perish in Alaska, but finding out what happens to the inimitable Leni (and her beloved mother Cora) is what truly keeps those pages turning. Readers will hate to see this crossover novel come to an end!

What do you do for an encore after writing the critically acclaimed and incredibly popular novel The Nightingale? Considered by many to be her career defining work, The Nightingale is destined to become a literary classic sitting beside Gone With The Wind and The Thorn Birds. Surely anything that follows cannot possibly live up to such a high bar-but don't tell that to Kristin Hannah. Nearly three years after the publication of The Nightingale, Ms. Hannah returns with The Great Alone-another dynamic, magnificently written and poignant novel that will quickly earn a spot next to its beloved predecessor. Set in the mid 1970's, The Great Alone tells the story of the Allbright's-a family lead by a tormented man desperately trying to outrun the nightmare of his years spent as a Vietnam POW. In an attempt to leave his demons behind, Ernt moves his wife and daughter from Seattle to a virtually uninhabited part of Alaska after inheriting the land from a buddy who did not return from the war. In Alaska Ernt, his wife Cora and daughter Leni live in a ramshackled cabin with no electricity or running water. But buoyed by the towering mountains and crystal clear waters they can see from their front door, the Allbright's are determined to make this their home. Living among a handful of "homesteaders"-people who left civilization behind for the untamed beauty that is Alaska-Ernt believes he has finally found the peace that has eluded him for years. But while there's danger lurking in every corner-from the bone chilling cold that can break even the strongest of men, to the bears and coyotes vying with the Allbright's for the food they've stored for the winter-Cora and Leni sadly learn their greatest threat comes from the man beside them. If you've been to Alaska The Great Alone brings you back in spectacularly vivid fashion-if you haven't this is the best introduction you can ever imagine. Kristin Hannah's words flow with the same fierceness as the creeks and rivers rolling through the landscape, and her characters are as fragile as the sunlight that stutters from the sky. The Great Alone is beautiful, brilliant and beguiling-just like the land that inspired it.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for the free review copy of this novel. All opinions are my own. 

This book gripped me from the very first page until the very last. It was beautiful, heartbreaking, and wonderful. This book gave me all the feels - I laughed, cried, loved, and lost with these characters. While reading this book, I wasn't sitting in my living room, I was in Alaska with Leni and her family. This book is challenging to get through at times. It will make you look at how far the care for veterans has come. 

Hannah is able to take things that seem like they wouldn't work - Vietnam veteran moving his family to Alaska in a VW bus - and makes the plot so believable and realistic. Her vivid language helped to put the reader in Alaska between the mountains and lakes. She showed how people survived during the cold winters. Not only does she show the Alaskan experience, she also shows how the family unit can function in this 'great alone.'  

I don't want to give too much away about this novel, but you should know this: reading this book will make you think deeply. It will frustrate you, but it is worth it in the best ways. This book releases on February 6, 2018. Go pre-order it now; you won't regret it.

I'm apparently in the minority, but I just couldn't finish this book. It is so dark and disturbing. The author does have a sense of place and also an understanding about PTSD and domestic abuse.

I loved this book. Ernt, Cora, and Leni Allbright leave the lower 48 to embark on an Alaskan adventure in 1974. It follows their family as they strive for a fresh start after the Vietnam War and try to adapt to a life in the brush. Kristin Hannah creates a world and an experience through her storytelling that is so vivid and clear, you feel as if you are there with the characters. Leni grew throughout the story and you could feel the turmoil and angst she experienced daily. I was so frustrated with Cora and her inability to act or take help, but understood why she didn't. I even felt horribly for Ernt and how he was left adrift after his world was shattered in the war. As a reader, I understood his mental anguish but hated his actions. It was his actions that initially divided a community and then ultimately, brought them all back together. It was such a sad and great story.

I really liked how this book showcased the strength of women and the strength of their bonds together. I also liked how it showed the good in a community when there was so much that was dark and ugly. Hannah described the beauty and the harsh reality of living in Alaska in a gripping and captivating story that I just couldn't put down.

**ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review**

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah is the story of Lenora “Leni” Allbright and her life in the Alaska wilderness. The story opens in 1974, Leni is 13 years old and her parents, Ernt and Coraline “Cora” Allbright are fighting. Her dad is a Vietnam vet and POW who has had a hard time adjusting to life after the war and has lost another job. Things look bleak until a letter arrives which offers the family a new start in Alaska. While life is hard as they learn to live in the wilderness, they are helped by their neighbors, Large Marge, who runs the local grocery story, and The Walker family, whose son, Matthew, is the same age as Leni. Through trial and error, the family learns to live in their new home. However, her father’s demons has seemed to follow them to Alaska and with the darkness and isolation of Alaska wilderness, Leni must learn to fight back and trust her instincts.
The Great Alone is another amazing story by Ms. Hannah. It has heartbreaking drama, love and hopes for survival. The story immediately pulls you in by Leni’s narration. The reader will laugh with her, cry with her and feel her fear as it grips the heart. It is a page turner as you cannot wait to see if she survives. Ms. Hannah’s descriptions of the Alaska wilderness and its cold winters are so vivid, you can almost feel the icy wind. Behind the stunning beauty of Alaska, there is a harshness that very few learn to survive. I highly, highly recommend The Great Alone.

The Great Alone
will be available February 6, 2018
in hardcover and eBook

I received an arc from Netgalley. This author never disappoints and I am so glad I had the opportunity to read this book.

This book spans over several years and is a book I couldn’t put down. Matthew and Leni have a beautiful love story set in the state of Alaska. There were times I laughed and times I cried. Goes to show true love never dies.

If I could give this book ten stars I would. Best book I have read in a long time and definitely an author I will continue reading.

Kristin Hannah knows how to write. Everything I have read by her has sucked me in and this one is not any different. I loved the love story of Leni and Matthew and was kept on the edge of my seat wondering what was going to happen next. Although I wasn’t as emotionally attached as I was with her previous books, this was still a great read.

A Stunning Piece of Fiction

Hannah’s epic sweeping tale of a young family’s move to a remote town in Alaska during the turmoil of the sixties and seventies is a stunning piece of literature that will not disappoint fans of The Nightingale.

It is said that Alaska reveals the true nature of a person. Leni is thirteen years old when her father, a dark casualty of the Vietnam war, inherits a cabin in Alaska on a piece of land overlooking the water. He moves Leni and his younger wife to this place to start life anew. Prone to domestic acts of violence, unable to hold down a job, and suffering intense nightmares since coming back from the war, Ernt Allbright decides to uproot his family once again.

Arriving during the Alaskan summer, Ernt, Cora, and Leni are welcomed into a small, tight knit community and taught the essentials on how to prepare for the tough winter ahead. As winter approaches, jealousy over his wife consumes Ernt, even in a place as remote as this. An ugly knot begins to grow. As winter’s darkness descends on their world, a sinister darkness takes hold of Ernt. As his nightmares and paranoia intensifies, so does his acts of violence toward his wife.

Leni comes of age at serious odds as to what love is while discovering real love for herself. Her mother continually refuses help from those around her who are aware of what she is suffering which sends a confusing message to her daughter. No matter how hard Leni and Cora try to pacify Ernt, his paranoia and hate-spewing continues to grow and he is eventually ostracized from the community. This has grave consequences for both his wife and daughter. Leni and Cora’s circumstances grow dire with each passing day until things come to a sharp head.

This story is a page-turner from start to finish. Hannah keeps the tension taut and the suspense building throughout. The threat of physical violence is set against the often brutal Alaskan territory in which Ernt, Cora, and Leni live. The stunning landscape play a vital role in framing the unrelenting urgency of this story about love, loss, and the contrast between true survival and what it means to thrive.

BRB Rating: Read It.

Kristen Hannah is one of my favorite authors, so I was very happy to have the chance to read this book. It grabbed me right from the beginning and I couldn't seem to let go of it. This is a dark, intense story about domestic abuse in the Alaska wilderness. Leni, who is 14, moves with her parents to an isolated Alaskan town. Her father is a survivor of the Vietnam War who has spent time in a POW camp. As a result, he is very mean and abusive. Leni has a very hard life, and I felt sorry for her because she seemed to be stuck in this harsh environment. It is a book that will stay with me!