I finished this book in a day, I didn’t want to put it down. This is an area of history I know practically nothing about and thanks to this book I really want to learn more. I really really liked it.

Truly the best book I'll read all year!
Kristin Hannah does it again with this poignant, significant, eye-opening, meaningful, and heartfelt story.

This book is a tribute to the women who served as nurses in combat during the Vietnam War- to their courage, strength, resilience, and determination. I learned a lot and was swept up in the emotion of it all. The author takes on difficult subject matter including the atrocities of war, PTSD, addiction, and the rejection experienced after the war. The character development and pacing are superb and kept me immersed and obsessed from beginning to end.

This book is exceptional, a must read! I'm beyond grateful to NetGalley, St. Martin's press, and Kristin Hannah for the ARC in exchange for my honest review. The Women publishes on 2/6/24.

Whew, reading The Women took me on a journey. I was not fully on board at the beginning, when young, green Frankie McGrath was introduced. It seemed like Kristin Hannah watched The Graduate a couple times and decided to write a character as disillusioned with her life and her uptight country club parents as Benjamin Braddock was. Frankie seemed like a shallow archetype who ended up in a MASH-like war story. But as the book went on, I was drawn into the environment of Vietnam and Frankie’s plight, both during the war and also as she navigated cultural, political, and personal turmoil during the 1970s.

The descriptions of the Vietnam War were difficult for me to read at times - as they should be, because it was a difficult and complicated war. There have been a thousand and one WWII-era historical fiction novels, and not nearly enough stories of Vietnam. These stories need to be told, and unflinching honesty will help to shine a light on the nuances and brutalities of that conflict and its lasting effects on those who served. Kristin Hannah did that really well.

In typical Kristin Hannah fashion, there was quite a bit of personal drama that will require readers to suspend their disbelief, but as always, she adds enough emotion and depth to her characters that you end up being willing to do it.

I think the sign of a good historical fiction book is that it piques my interest in the time period and leaves me wanting to learn more. The Women definitely has me wanting to read more stories of the men and women who were affected by the Vietnam War - the servicemembers, their spouses, the VVAW organization, etc.

Aside from a few inaccuracies that I’m hopeful will be cleared up before publication (Nixon was still in office for most of 1974, for example), The Women was well-written…an honest yet respectful account of America at war in the 60s and 70s.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

The Women is a great historical novel about the Vietnam War. I appreciated the move away from the overly written about World Wars.
The Women is very close to a five star read. It did make me cry and anytime a book can make you emotional, that should be a five star read. What made me knock off a star were the number of times I felt it repeated itself. Also, for me, the ending was a little too contrived.

Kristin Hannah really shines here. I truly loved Frankie, Barb, and Ethel. Their friendship was a beautiful one. We don’t get nearly enough representation of women serving so I was incredibly happy to see this!

This book covers and gives credit to a long ignored group—-women nurses who served with the military in Vietnam. And the author does them proud. The book was emotionally charged and brought up memories for me, a high schooler during the war. Thank you Kristin Hannah.

The Women is a beautifully written homage to the women who served and sacrificed their lives to help their country during the Vietnam War. An inexperienced Frankie joins the Army Nurses Corp having made the decision to follow her brother into the military. She is confronted with destruction and tragedy like nothing she has ever known. She returns home to the realization that people more or less have forgotten those women who served. The trauma of war has left her shaken to her core as she fights back to gain some normalcy in her life with the help of women she served beside. A spellbinding read.

I received a temporary digital copy of The Women by Kristin Hannah from NetGalley, St. Martin's Press and the author in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Twenty-one-year-old Frances “Frankie” McGrath joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows her brother's path to Vietnam. While serving for two years, Frankie experiences the chaos and destruction of war and experiences loss as she never had before. Upon returning home, she does not receive the hero's welcome she believed she was expecting from her family or the general public. Like so many Vietnam vets, Frankie struggles with PTSD and finding her place back in American society; will she be able to recover?

Hannah's writing has evolved so much over the years and this book exemplifies that. I felt Frankie’s joy, anger, sorrow, and loss…so much loss. I love that Hannah wrote this book about the women’s experience in Vietnam, a topic that is rarely written of, and highly recommend all to read The Women.

Fans of Kristin Hannah are going to love this book!! Unable to put this book down!! Full of powerful emotions, friendship and love this book does not disappoint (keep those tissues handy!). Phenomenally written characters and history, you feel like you are experiencing life right along side of them. Written about a time period and war that affected us in so many ways as a nation and still leaves its mark today. Ms. Hannah has written a profound book that will stay with you long after you finish.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you NetGalley, Kristin Hannah and St. Martin’s Press for hearing my honest review. Looking forward to reading more with you
#partner

This was my first Kristin Hannah book I’ve read and it did not disappoint. All of my friends have been raving about her books so I loved getting this ARC. This book was 5 stars and I will be recommending it to them!

Kristin Hannah has done it again. An amazing story of resilience, friendship, family mixed with the atrocities of war. The reader can not the down! A nurse struggling with self-doubt, self-identity and trying to live with the horrific memories of her war experiences. Hard subjects are handled with great care and prose in this must read novel.

Another amazing book of Kristin Hannah. Knowledge on Vietnam and the war. Story of a woman nurse who was on 2- year- duty in Vietnam. An heart- touching story on role of women, judge of society on women. Story of love, responsibility, betrayal and choice. And as always, a book will make readers burst into tear in "Kristin style"

Do you ever read a book that is so powerful and captivating that you just know it's going to stay with you forever? That is exactly how I felt after reading The Women by Kristin Hannah. There are still 4.5 months left of 2023, but I think this one is going to be my favorite book of the year. It's been awhile since I've had the desire to read historical fiction, but this book hooked me from the very beginning. I read through the entire 480 pages in a day because I kept thinking about the story and wondering what was going to happen next. Frances McGrath, aka Frankie, is 21 years old when she decides to go to Vietnam and be a nurse there. Absolutely nothing could have prepared her for the gruesome injuries and painful deaths she would face. But the story doesn't end there, as Hannah vividly explores what life is like for men and women after the war. Although I know about Vietnam and general and have heard stories about it from the perspective of the men, this was the first time seeing it through the eyes of women who were there experiencing it all as well, which is the whole point of the book. To tell the story of the forgotten women. This was a story about love, family, friendship, and so much more. No review I write could even come close to doing it justice. I literally felt like I was transported back in time and like I was right there with Frankie throughout her journey. I saw the Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC as a child, and I would like to go back there someday. However, the walls of names on the Vietnam Memorial is something that always stayed with me, all these years later. Believe me when I say you absolutely must add this one to your 2024 TBR. It's available to request on Netgalley now too! Absolutely,without a doubt, 5 brilliant, shining, moving, profound stars for The Women.

Kristin Hannah has written a remarkable, heart wrenching and incredibly powerful novel that will forever be one of my favorite novels of all time. "The Women" are the nurses who served in Vietnam in the medic units and hospitals that heroically tended our wounded and dying American servicemen. Divided into two parts: in country and then back home in the U.S. found me reading with a lump in my throat...and for the first time in years moved to tears at the end. I was in my late teens and early twenties so I remember it vividly - friends that served and came home changed - the protests and the news reports - the incomprehensible treatment of the returning veterans - the return of the POW's -the metal bracelet with the name of a serviceman MIA that I wore. It was a terrifying time that Hannah has perfectly captured as a young woman, Frankie, loses her innocence and is forced to grow up while serving as a nurse and later dealing with the accompanying demons that plague her return. A one day read for me and I'm already considering rereading it as it was that amazing. Be looking for this in early February 2024...this is a must read and an excellent book club selection. I want to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Powerful story detailing the trauma women serving in Vietnam had to endure both in that country and when they returned home. Well researched and informative about an era that has not been seen in many current novels. Rich, complicated characters drive the story to a satisfying conclusion.

Kristin Hannah has written some outstanding books, especially her recent historical novels. Unfortunately, this one didn’t measure up for me. The topic was interesting, and points given for writing about something that isn’t usually addressed: women in the Vietnam War. But it felt like the main character could have been more fleshed out. Instead it seemed like there were some cliche situations/characters added for no great purpose. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC.

Whenever I pick up a Kristin Hannah book, I know I’m going to be transported to whatever time and place she is writing about and I will feel as if I am there. With “The Women”, Frankie McGrath is a nurse in Vietnam. This book portrays not only her enlistment, but her journey to Vietnam, her time as a nurse in Vietnam and then her attempted integration back into “normal” society after her tour of duty. “The Women” is an emotional portrayal of what I would imagine is a very difficult experience being a woman in the military. I felt everything that Frankie felt and I saw her challenges and wanted her to succeed in life. This book gave me a greater understanding of the commitment that our men AND women have when they join the military and the compassion, understanding and gratitude we need to show them when they return from tours of duty. Amazing book! Five stars!

What an amazing and well written book! The story begins when Frances “Frankie” McGrath enlists in the Army as a barely 21 year old nurse during the Vietnam War. When she arrives in Vietnam she is immediately thrust into the goings on in the hospital and quickly learns she has a lot to learn. We follow her through her two years of active duty, her transition back to the US and all the acrimony and hatred directed to her because she served in Vietnam and was considered a “baby killer”, her PTSD and eventual healing. I believe every adult should read this book but be aware there are brief descriptions of injuries sustained by soldiers. It was not off-putting to me but may be others. I received an arc of this book from NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions expressed are my own.

Was thrilled to learn on Elin Hilderbrand's podcast that Kristin Hannah had a new book coming out & even more thrilled to receive an advance ecopy from NetGalley. Grateful to have had my eyes opened to the overlooked nurses who served in Vietnam and to better understand this conflict from the viewpoint of a returning veteran.

Another hit from Kristin Hannah. This book explores the Vietnam War through the viewpoint of the war nurses. Frankie, a sheltered young woman, decides to sign up to join the military as a war nurse. This event and the consequences were end up being life changing and life shattering. A great story told from a unique perspective.