Wow. This book came out less than two months ago and already 155,000 ratings. Kristin Hannah books kind of intimidate me because they are long, hard reads. But I do think she creates great characters that you feel like you know and you want to check on them later and see how they are doing. I usually have to remind myself that they aren’t real people. I read this on flights yesterday and I sat by someone who had recently finished it. She thought it was predictable and I do agree with that.

The first half of the story mostly takes place in Vietnam. It follows Frances “Frankie” McGrath as she goes to Vietnam to be a nurse. She wants to be part of the war effort so her dad will see her as a hero, after she hears one of her brother’s friends say women can be heroes too. She wants to be more than a wife or even a night nurse. She signs up for the army to go immediately and about the same time realizes what is really happening in Vietnam.

The second half of the book is her story after she gets back and deals with the PTSD from her experience, as well as the shame people direct on her from her service. She is treated as anything other than a hero.

THE WOMEN by Kristin Hannah has secured itself among my top books of the year. I just KNOW it! Woweeewoweewow.

I loved this book. I won’t get into it much, but it’s about army nurses in the Vietnam War. Mostly following Frankie, who leaves her comfortable home on Coronado Island to be closer to her brother. I mean, how bad could the war be? The news says the US is winning. 🙄

Obviously this book made me feel mostly heartache, anger, and rage. Kristin Hannah sure knows how to make me feel feelings. I wanted to punch a certain JERK in the face. A couple times really. Oh my goodness, and the way veterans were treated (ESPECIALLY the women) made me so angry. As always, the historical accuracy was on point.

Thank you @stmartinspress for this gifted book and tote bag! Also, thank you everyone who checked up on me asking if I was ok after reading chapter 28. Thanks to @netgalley for allowing me the option to read it early!

Have you read any Kristin Hannah, and if so what’s your favorite KH book?

🖤🖤🖤

This was actually the first time I've read a book by this author and I was really disappointed after hearing all the hype about her work. As a veteran myself, I appreciated the author's choice of subject material and I did think the depth of research behind the story was palpable. But the pacing is awful in my opinion and especially given the horrific loss and trauma Frankie experiences, the emotional quality of moment after moment that the reader just blows through as the plot hurtles forward falls completely flat. Massive loss happens on one page and then on the next page the story moves on without conveying any of the depth of emotion that could have been present. Her editor should have pushed her on that. I am grateful to the author for introducing me to a few historic names of women from the era about whom I've gone on to read some very compelling nonfiction biographies.

I can honestly say that I would never have read a book about the war in Viet Nam if had not been written by one of my favorite authors. Along comes Kristin Hannah, who writes a book from the woman’s perspective of an Army Nurse who served two years in Viet Nam, and the combination of Hannah and the MC reeled me in.

War is scary and, like all wars, the war in Viet Nam was terrifying, mystifying, and traumatic for most of the U.S. Citizens who lived through it - both in the field and on returning home. Many of the descriptions are grisly and heartbreaking. Hannah succeeds in immersing the reader in a period of lost innocence, the slippery slope where blind patriotism was replaced by skepticism and the knowledge that a country’s elected officials often fail to meet the expectations of the those who elected them, the standards of honesty and transparency. The country took the lives, the limbs, the mental and physical health, and the respect of those who served. The travesty is displayed in all its “glory” in the atmospheric pages of this book.

I have rewritten and rewritten this review and realized I could never do justice to Hannah’s tour de force of a novel. Perhaps because I remember the period so intimately, the trauma of which many veterans are still living through today. I felt like I was reliving the period. The descriptions were spot on: the hair, the clothes, the music, the demonstrations, the venues….Oddly enough, I think the only thing she didn’t mention was the shuddering over of the draft lottery, and how many people scrambled out of the country to avoid (if not dodge) the draft?

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for affording me the privilege of reading this novel, in exchange for my honest review. I think everyone should read this book. Hannah presents an accurate description of the mood in the U.S. during the Viet Nam War, and complexity of many of the core issues, in a less than flattering period of U.S. history.

I was born in 1975, the end of war. Wow. I have learned so much and now want to learn more.
Heartbreaking, raw, emotional, inspiring, incredible. Kristin Hannah has written another 5-star read. This is the first historical fiction book I have ever read about the Vietnam war and it was so incredibly done. She really showed so many different characters and perspectives while also giving us a main character that I absolutely loved.
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Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

In this emotional historical fiction, Hannah has transported readers to the frontlines of the Vietnam War. After Frankie makes a rash decision to enlist as a war nurse to make her family proud, she finds herself completely unprepared for what awaits her in Vietnam.

Hannah gives us a searing tale of life as a nurse during and after the war, as Frankie learns how to nurse, bonds with her fellow medical staff, and even falls in love during wartime.

The book's second half explores what it was like to return home to a country divided over whether the war should even be fought. It was shocking to see how people treated returning vets, and how they refused to acknowledge that women were in ‘nam.

Hannah’s portrayal of PTSD had me gasping and feeling deeply for the characters within the story - particularly Frankie. This fast-paced story had my heart thumping throughout. It did get quite heavy at times and I had to have a lighter book on hand for breaks. Once again, Hannah has delivered a five-star book. #gifted by Macmillan Audio / Macmillan/ Netgalley

You can pretty much always rely on Kristin Hannah for an engaging, multifaceted look at a point of time in history. This book is set during the Vietnam War, and centers around young, idealistic nurse, Frankie, who volunteers for service in Vietnam to care for wounded soldiers and make her father proud. The reality of the war becomes clear immediately upon arrival, and upends everything she thought she knew about the world and her place in it. After her tour of duty, she returns home a changed person, to a changed country, neither for the better, and finds that she’s still at war with herself.
Enjoyed this a lot.
Thanks to #netgalley and #stmartinspress for this #arc of #thewomen by #kristinhannah in exchange for an honest review.

I had to warm up to Frankie who I found a bit naive, unlikeable, irritating and very, very privileged. The first part is a really heavy hitter with all the horrors of war and their descriptions, and it didn’t really pick up for me until about the 42% mark, but then I was hooked, with the second part of the novel flying by quickly. I also loved the frequently mentioned “music soundtrack”, and how well the time periods of the 60’s & 70’s were captured. Some of the events in the second part did perhaps feel a bit cliche or predictable, but overall this was a worthwhile and immersive read that I would recommend to readers who like historical fiction or war stories.

4.5 stars rounded up for a book that breaks your heart.. It is a book of historical fiction, starting in 1966 and ending in 1982. This book tells the story of Frances "Frankie" McGrath, a Catholic school graduate who becomes a nurse. She idolizes her older brother, Finley. He is a Naval Academy graduate and assigned to Vietnam. She joins the Army to be with her brother. He is killed before she gets to Vietnam.
She undergoes a baptism of fire, working to save lives while the base is being attacked with rockets and mortars. She falls in love and has her heart broken. Her idealism is damaged. But her courage is inspiring.
One quote: "Her pockets bulged with cigarettes and lighters.(She always kept them on hand to give to her boys. That was how she thought of the casualties now: As her boys). In her breast pocket she had a small flashlight and bandage scissors. A length of stretchy tubing hung simply from one epaulet, just in case she needed to draw blood on the fly. A Kelly clamp hung from one belt loop."
I read this book in one day.. My wife says 5 stars.
For anyone interested, there is a monument to these nurses in Washington, DC.
Thanks to St.Martin's Press for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.
#KristinHannah #NetGalley

Kristin Hannah’s latest novel ‘The Women’ exposes a hidden part of the Vietnam War: that of the 11,000 female nurses who worked in combat zones.

Following Frankie McGrath from her dysfunctional home in the U.S. directly into the heart of the Vietnam War, I honestly didn’t learn much new information. The war scenes were brutal and graphic and impossibly painful to read. The arrival back to a vitriolic American public was disappointing to live through, just as expected. The misogyny around every corner was never surprising but always a let down.

But Hannah weaves the thread of female friendship and support through the entire tale, and for me, that - and Frankie’s utter resilience- is what carries this novel from interesting into wholly memorable.

When discussing her latest novel ‘The Women’ in a TODAY.com article, Kristin Hannah said, “What I’ve learned is what I should have known, and what I should have been taught: Women are incredibly resilient, courageous and daring.” THIS is at the heart of a war novel written by a woman, about women, and for women.

Thank you to Kristin Hannah, NetGalley, and the publisher for this arc.

Julia Whelan delivers an impeccable performance on Hannah's new historical fiction novel, offering an earnest portrayal of the lives of nurses who served in the Vietnam War but seemingly were forgotten.

This novel celebrates nurses and their service during the Vietnam War, a detail that few Americans think about, showcasing the sacrifices made and the disbelief in their journey when returning home. It delivers on the book's goals while encompassing a signature soapier spin perfect for fans of her earlier work on Firefly Lane.

There were many elements of surprise that made me glad that I read this. I had yet to learn that nurses could not take advantage of the VA benefits when returning home from their service. I appreciated the accurate portrayal of PTSD on returning and the haunting nature of caring for patients in this environment. I found it enlightening how women were demoted to the roles of candy stripers upon their return home despite their expertise in serving on the frontlines.

Shifting POVS from these nurses or adding a Vietnamese perspective would have enhanced this story in many ways for the reader.

I loved every second of this book! I have been a lover of Kristin Hannah's novels for many years and I believe this is my favorite.

This is a story about Frankie. A nurse who enlisted in the army to help in the Vietnam War. The best and the worst time of her life.

Many thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Almost a 5 star read for me. Missed for me with one plot point that felt like a soap opera. Other than that this book was amazing particularly the first half where the book immerses you into the evacuation hospitals of Vietnam. What an incredible sacrifice our men and women made to fight an unpopular war. Vietnam ended about the same time I was born yet I know very little. I am grateful to have read this to give me a glimpse of a war I know nothing about. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book

Another amazing book from Kristin Hannah. I loved everything about this. I learned so much, there was a lot I didn’t know about Vietnam, especially to do with america - whether from my own ignorance or perhaps because we tend to learn about history from our own country’s point of view, at least at school. I read another historical fiction book recently – about a different war – and the research was well done and the quality of the writing was there, but the plot wasn’t strong and I didn’t love any of the characters. I’m not meaning to bad talk that book, but it just made this one stand out even more to me – Kristin Hannah blends everything so well, you learn, you love, you laugh, you cry. Heavy and sad, with a mix of lightness and happiness. Narration was perfectly done as always. Highly recommend.

Kristin Hannah does it again with another strong female character story, this time set in the late 60's and the Vietnam War. This author does an amazing job creating characters that we root for and cry for. Her character, Frankie, faces so much adversity in such a short time and it is heartbreaking but she is surrounded by her friends. I felt there was so much growth of the charcters throughout the story.

My thanks to Net Galley , the author and publisher for a free digital of “The Women.”copy of I have come to expect great things when I open a book by this author. “ The Women” was no exception- in fact it is an exceptionally good novel. A well - written novel with characters whose portraits on the page come to life on the page and a story that involves the reader in the life of those characters- all of that is present in “ The Women”.
Those women are of USArmy Nurse Corps serving in the Vietnam War. All are volunteers, like 2LT Frances McGrath , formerly of ritzy Coronado CA who enlists after her beloved brother is KIA when his chopper is shot down. In country at Pleiku hospital she grows up fast as she is thrown into a level of Hell that Dante could not imagine. Her fellow nurses help, but Frankie, as she is called, grows into her job. Like the men in the surgical wards, Frankie will have scars forever. Without giving much away, Frankie’s war does not end when she flies home .These women were heroes in VN, but at home forgotten and hardly acknowledged.
MS Hannah does not spare the much; her word pictures of the ORs depict the blood, the torn, burned and shattered bodies and the hollow- eyed staff after twelve hours working in gore. Forget “ Mash”- there are not many laughs. The few moments of R&R help a bit - until the next wave of wounded comes in.
I am an old guy who was too old for that war, but this book opened my eyes despite all my reading of history I have done. No cold history text has told Frankie Mc Garth’s or the other nurses’ story so well and so movingly. Hell, there were times in the book when I had to take a break less my emotions overwhelm me.
Now that is the thing only a great novel can do.
Read “ The Women” . Be warned it is not an easy nor comfy read . Just a great novel.

This one was a doozy. There is so much that goes on in Frankie’s life throughout this story and she is often naive to it all. There were so many heart pounding moments- some unfolding completely out of her control and others because of idiotic decisions this gullible girl was making.

The majority of her story takes place during the Vietnam War and processing not only what Frankie is experiencing as an Army nurse but the lives of other nurses, soldiers, and families back home really put a depth to this novel that I had not expected.

I had previously read about PTSD and how completely stunned many war veterans have become by this disease upon- returning home- and I think coupling that understanding with this narrative was pretty impactful for me.

I have thought lots about my own family at war in Vietnam, while reading. My grandfather was shot in the leg in a helicopter- my uncle, a pilot, shot down behind enemy lines…and I think it just brought all of this to life- the characters and their experiences became more real.

Of course they were all traumatized in their own ways- and it makes me love Frankie for all she endured as a woman in the military during a time in history where women were not seen as heroes.

Kristen Hannah will always be a favorite with historical fiction- they are painful stories but so impactful. It’s history- and unfortunately our history is hard. People have endured much- and for Frankie it’s quite a lot- prepare yourself- but def read.

Thank you @NetGalley for the arc!!

I could not put this novel down. The range of emotions I felt while reading, I don’t even know how to put them all into words. Grief, relief, disgust, betrayal… Hannah does an amazing job providing enough details for you to really feel Frankie’s emotions right along side her. The vivid detail allowed me to visualize the scene, Frankie’s hooch, the camps, the injuries and surgeries, everything.

The first half had me absolutely enthralled. The details, I’m telling you, just chills. Literally, not figuratively. I had chills whilst reading, that’s how engrossed I was. The second half, I wanted to cry, scream, throw things. I will admit, it did become slightly predictable BUT I was still slack jawed when the things I expected to happen happened. There was still a shock factor.

The only thing I wish was different was Hannah’s emphasis on romantic relationships for Frankie. I know that they were vital at times to her story, the relationships helped shaped her and help us understand her, but at other times it just felt like too much? I didn’t understand the purpose of the last few pages, not the event but the thing that happened at the event (IYKYK, trying to avoid spoilers.) I just really felt that it could have been left out as it didn’t really contribute and then the story ended. Or if not left out then expanded upon, I just felt like I needed more. Which is ironic because I just said it was too much.

It takes a lot for me to enjoy historical fiction but somehow, KH pulls me right in!! I absolutely loved this dedication to women who have served. The writing is so immersive and I felt so engaged with the whole cast of characters. I appreciate how KH doesn’t shy away from hard topics and handles them with such grace. I can’t wait to read more by her!!

I’ve been a fan of Ms. Hannah’s books for year but The Women is her best yet. So well written and researched.