“No fear, McGrath.” 💪🩺🚁👩‍⚕️
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The Women by Kristin Hannah
Publication Date 2/6/24
🚁🚁🚁🚁🚁/5
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One of the best books that I’ve ever read. @kristinhannahauthor is my favorite author of all time for a reason. She has this wonderful gift for storytelling that makes you feel like you’re actually there. I really felt like I was in the throes of the war, right alongside Franky. The friendships in this story are so special and I found myself crying and laughing throughout the book. I won’t say much else as I don’t want to give anything away. Pick this one up, you won’t be able to put it down!

Thank you to @stmartinspress and @netgalley for giving me a chance to read this amazing ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Women by Kristin Hannah is about the forgotten women who went to Vietnam.
Not only were they forgotten they were treated horribly there and when they came home.
They had no resources to help them.
The story is about Frankie, a sheltered young woman who is recruited as a nurse to go to war.
I loved the story. It was hard to read but so good. The terrible history of the treatment of everyone who went to fight is heartbreaking.
The book was beautifully written. It was so good I read it in two sittings. I highly recommend this book.

First off,Kristin Hannah is my favorite author. I was really looking forward to reading The Women. This book did not disappoint.
This is the story of 3 nurses during and after the Vietnam War. The writing is so vivid that you can put yourself in the characters place. The horrors they faced while in Vietnam as well as the many issues after coming home are described vividly.
While I normally don't read books more than once,I will This one.

Thank you to NetGally and St. Martin's Press for an ARC of this incredible novel!

Kristen Hannah has a flair for historical fiction; I absolutely loved The Nightingale, The Great Alone and The Four Winds, and The Women is no exception. I commend her for writing about a group of people that are often forgotten and neglected – the women that served in Vietnam. ALL THE FEELS. We follow Frankie, a young nurse who comes from an affluent family, and decides to join the Army Nurse Corp to serve her country, to follow in the footsteps of those that came before her. The book is the story of her journey, as she arrives in Vietnam as a wide eyed innocent young women, through the devastation that she witnesses, the life-long friendships she develops, and the PTSD she struggles with when she returns home. This book is the kind that gives you that unmistakable internal feeling, that lump in your throat, the sensation of fullness in your body.

I’m sure that part of my emotional attachment to the book is that my dad was in Vietnam and died partially due to his exposure to Agent Orange. I remember his war stories and they line up with the stories in this novel. Hannah plays so many angles in this book – proud service members, lying US government, hippie protesters, veterans against the war, and the struggle to remain a patriot through all of it. The overall feel of America during that time is very well captured. Of course there is love, loss, and betrayal, because that’s her niche. And not just romantic love, but familial love and pain too. So so good.

Regardless of what your opinion is of the Vietnam war, I’m pissed about how all Vietnam veterans were treated when they returned home, but I’m EXTRA pissed about how women veterans were treated, and I am glad we have come a long way since then. This was a well researched book based on real experiences. I openly weeped at the end reading the Authors Note and Acknowledgements. The fact that POW/MIA bracelet that the main character Frankie wears in the novel has a real missing pilot's name on it, and was a bracelet that Hannah wore herself for years, destroyed me! I remember my dad wearing a similar bracelet every day of his life. May they never be forgotten.

If I could give this book a hundred stars I would. An absolutely incredible book. I was up until 2am reading and woke up this morning at 8am so that I could finish. This book is about so much. It details the experiences of Frankie McGrath, a young nurse who serves in Vietnam but also about what happens when she returns home. It is about loss and believing in something but being disillusioned. It is about coming of age in a turbulent era in this Country. It is about the service of women in Vietnam and how everyone discounted that service because “there were no women in Vietnam”. I am just so blown away by this book. I have ordered a print copy because this one will be added to my library. Thank you Kristin Hannah for your words and the honor you pay those some who serve.

Hannah always tells a great story, and this one is no different. This book shines a light on an all-but-forgotten group of women, the Army nurses that served in the Vietnam War and its homecoming aftermath.

☺️The Vietnam War descriptions were well written- Hannah did a great job creating a strong sense of place. She obviously did her research and she paints an accurate portrait of what it must have been like for those on the frontlines.

☺️The friendship between Frankie, Barb, and Ethel was such a sweet one. I adored Barb and Ethel!

Now, for what didn't work:

😕The book was just too long. It really dragged in places. The first half just felt like one long battle scene. The last quarter seemed to go on and on.

😕Her writing felt clunky and repetitive much of the time. I read the phrases "Frankie couldn't remember the last time she ate," and "Long distance calls are just so expensive, no less than five times each.

Finally, there was one plot device that she used TWICE that caused me to lower my rating from 3⭐️ down to 2.5⭐️. One thing that happened right at the end just made me angry. Not only that, but the entire second half of the book was one dramatic event after another. It felt unrealistic and also a bit predictable.

The story of the women is Vietnam is such a compelling story - and a piece of history I knew nothing about! I have not ready a book that talks about what it was like to be a woman in the military during one of the most pivotal wars in US history. Hannah did a fantastic job of weaving a narrative that both packed a punch and made you feel deeply for the horror the women suffered.

Another book by Kristin Hannah that I could not put down! Frankie McGrath grew up on Coronado Island, where she was raised to be a good girl and be proud of the many military veterans in her family. At her brother's party, before he shipped out to serve in the Navy in Vietnam, she hears "women can be heroes, too." Frankie decides to enlist as a nurse with the Army. When she gets to Vietnam she quickly realizes how inexperienced and naive she was. Over time, Frankie becomes a skilled and highly competent surgical nurse. While she helps to save many lives, she also has to deal with the horrors of war. When she comes home, she expects to be regarded as a hero, but instead finds that Vietnam veterans are hated and made to feel ashamed for their service. Even worse, women are not even considered veterans and her own family is ashamed and doesn't want to talk about her experiences. Frankie struggles with PTSD and having no one except her two close friends from the Army to help her.

The Women might be the best book I have EVER read. I will never forget this heart-wrenching tale of the women who served in Vietnam and the men whose lives they worked to save. I could not get enough of this story, it is just so incredibly well-done.

You cannot believe my excitement to have gotten approved for the ARC of this book. It did not disappoint. Kristin Hannah crafts such beautiful historical fiction novels, The Nightingale & the Four Winds being two of my all-time favorites.
The Women is about a young nursing student Frankie who had a sheltered life raised in a conservative family in Coronado Island. Then the Vietnam war begins, and her brother is shipped off, so she rushes joins the Army Nurse Corp. The first part of the books is mostly about her time in Vietnam and all the horrors she saw and experienced, the bonds she made with other women serving and her growth as a nurse. The Second part is mostly about her time upon returning home, the divide of the country and how she must grapple with her PTSD in a world that doesn’t accept she suffers from it. Not only because she wasn’t in combat, but most people refused to accept women served in Vietnam due to a lot of war misinformation.
The research that must have gone in to this book is impressive, and I think Hannah did a wonderful job with Frankie, she has so much depth and her story will grip you. This story will shed light on not only the atrocities of the Vietnam War but what the service men and women suffered if they were fortunate enough to come home. A must read.

I was fortunate to receive an ARC of The Women. Exceptional book, this one will stay with you a long time. Kristin Hannah's books are always well done. And this one is too, extremely poignant story of an Army nurse serving in Vietnam.

I was hooked by this book right from the start. I have never read a book or seen a movie about Vietnam from a woman’s viewpoint. This story was a harrowing account of a young nurse catapulted into the horrific medical tents in the depths of Vietnam. this is Kristin Hannah’s finest book to date and I won’t forget this story for a long time

5.0 stars

I received a complimentary Kindle e-book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Thank you to Kristin Hannah, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

OMG, I had no words. I loved this book so, so much. It was about the forgotten women of Vietnam; all who were killed were nurses. They were there helping their fellow allies and Americans and lost their lives to help others. I have the chills just writing this.

This book puts into words the horror, beauty, and terror that being in Vietnam must have been for everyone who served in Vietnam, but most especially those who were healers and tried to send everyone they could back home to their friends and family.

Beautifully written and researched. I loved every minute of reading it!

HIGHLY RECOMMEND

Absolutely captivating + heartbreaking + eye opening. Kristin Hannah is the queen of historical fiction. She immerses you into the story so well. It’s really incredible how she conveyed the story of a woman who served in the Vietnam war, went through so much heartbreak, was ignored by her country, and still came out stronger.

WOWOWOW. Yet another stunning one from Kristin Hannah. I could not put this one down and finished it in about two days. I learned so much that I didn't know before about the Vietnam War and the women who volunteered their time and skills.

Frankieis a spectacular character, and we see her mature from a privileged albeit sheltered young woman to a confident, capable, and skilled combat nurse. Her return back to society was heartbreaking and confusing as she returned to her former fragility, her damage manifesting itself in harmful behavior she herself cannot explain or understand - nevertheless those around her. Her battle back to health was adeptly handled.

I was so invested in all the characters of this one - Kristin Hannah, you did it again.


Thank you to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for the ARC.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC of The Women by Kristin Hannah, published by St Martin's Press
What an incredibly written novel by an amazing author, a novel I couldn't put down. Kristin Hannah wrote so well about the women who served in the Vietnam War, the women who were not recognized as heroes when they returned home.This was a story packed full of emotion and history, I certainly learned a lot.
Frances is the main character from a well todo family, her brother has gone off to war and is deemed a hero by the family. When he doesn't return, Frances (Frankie) decides to do her part and becomes a nurse and joins the army. Her parents are appalled, but she wants to do her part and be seen as a hero by her family and for her brother
I enjoyed reading of Frankie's journey through her time in the military, the people she met along the way, the learning curve, people she saved. And the journey her life took her on once she returned home and how long it took for her to get help for her PTSD.
This novel gripped me from the beginning, very well written, characters were awesome, well described and thought out, I loved the storyline and the plot.

Preorder this book now! A beautiful, heartbreaking book about Vietnam. There is just something about Kristin Hannah’s writing that draws me in and won’t let go. This book is no exception, another historical novel that gets ALL the stars!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. THANK YOU!!!!!! Another home run for Hannah and I can’t get enough!

The Women by Kristin Hannah
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

Release date: Feb 6th, 2024

Kristin Hannah does NOT miss yall!! The Women 🥹. This book made me so emotional. She takes these real, historical events and circumstances, and puts fictional characters into them in the most remarkable way. She creates a setting where the reader can really become apart of the history. Coming from someone who is not a huge fan of Historical Fiction, it’s still the most beautiful and immersive writing I’ve ever read.

In The Four Winds, you get an insight into life during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression.

In The Nightingale, you get insight into what people in France suffered through during WW2.

This book? It takes you on a journey through the Americans side of ‘Nam. The long, brutal, and drawn out war. The veterans, both men AND women who came home to a completely different and unaccepting country. The way they were treated and neglected. The discovery of what PTSD actually is. And how the women fought to find their place in a world that no longer welcomed them.

Kristin Hannah writes real and raw fictional stories that strike so damn close to home that it’s impossible to read her books without emotion. This books was absolutely beautifully written and raw. It broke me, as all her books do, and put me back together again.

I cannot recommend Kristin Hannah enough. Her books are so well written, planed, researched, and executed.

Thank you so much to @netgalley for this ARC!

Kristin Hannah has done it again! The Nightingale will always been my favorite I think but The Women comes in a close second. The research was incredible and I loved that friendships were at the heart of the story and romance took a backseat. It wasn’t a happily ever after, but a realistic optimism that I felt at the end. Highly recommend!