This was the best Kristin Hannah book to date!

It read like watching an episode of MASH, which made it really fast paced, and talk about the political chaos during that time period, and adjusting as a woman to re-entry into civilian life after serving a horrific tour in Vietnam.

Kristin Hannah is knowing for following the historical timeline, and with being in the middle of the Vietnam War, this book resonates with so many who have close stories or ties to those who were loved and lost. We all have had someone who didn't quite make it home, or if they did, they didn't do well with acclimating back into civilian society.

This is an important book by Kristin Hannah. Hopefully it will bring to light the forgotten women who served as nurses in Vietnam and the harrowing experiences they had both there and at home when they returned.

I didn’t think Kristin Hannah could top THE NIGHTINGALE. Her novels since have come close, but there was just something extra in it that’s hard to explain, that one thing that pushes it over the top. Enter THE WOMEN. I have had to sit with this one for a few days and I am still worried I won’t do it justice. I will say, as soon as I finished it, I called my sister (who read THE NIGHTINGALE after me and had the same reaction) and told her that she had to read THE WOMEN and that I cried, a lot. So, as others have said, you will need a box (or two) of tissues. You will need time to read THE WOMEN because putting it down will be physically painful. You will ugly cry, so make sure you are in a place where you are comfortable bawling your eyes out. This is not a bad thing, it is a testament to the emotions Hannah evokes in the reader with this story, and how utterly heartbreaking Frances “Frankie” McGrath’s journey is.
Frankie starts as an idealistic, pampered young woman, who starts her journey thinking it would be an adventure and give her a chance at a different life than the one set before her. When she hits Vietnam, she realizes that she had no clue, but luckily finds two close friends and a lasting friendship, as well as others to help her survive and grow. After the horrors, she returns home to a world that treats the soldiers horribly and finds that despite going through the same things as the soldiers and being an Army nurse, “there were no women in Vietnam” so she doesn’t qualify for the help she so obviously needs. Everything she endures is heartbreaking, including her parents’ embarrassment and denial that she was even there.
Hannah’s notes said she wanted to write this book for a long time, but waited until she could do it justice. The research and work she put into this novel shows in the outcome. THE WOMEN is well-written, well-researched, and a truly exceptional work. I highly recommend it to anyone and everyone.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of the novel. All opinions are my own and freely given.
#THEWOMEN #KRISTINHANNAH #STMARTINSPRESS #WOMENINVIETNAM #HISTORICALFICTION

This did not measure up to some of Hannah’s earlier works, in my opinion. Her ideas are always excellent, however the execution falls short. I would like to read a solid Kristin Hannah historical fiction novel without all the tropes and coincidences. Thank you for the galley.

Hands down my favorite Kristin Hannah book (and I’ve read them all). The story is incredible on its own, but best of all it brings to readers this often forgotten or unknown piece of history that is so important to learn and keep. I was born just after the Vietnam War ended, but growing up, my neighbors across the street lost their son who was a helicopter pilot shot down. His wife had been pregnant and I would play with his daughter when she visited her grandparents. This book opened my eyes and shed light on a part of history - specifically the forgotten women who served - in such an impactful way. I loved the television show M.A.S.H. which was set during the Korean War but in a similar type army hospital, and in my head as I was reading, I was comparing characters, the setting, the pace.
Frankie McGrath is such a strong character - despite everything she goes through - it is impossible not to cheer her on and cry with her every step she takes. The book is stunning but it is also graphic at times and not for the faint of heart. That is the point of course. Highly, highly recommend!

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this tremendous ARC which just released last week.

NetGalley ARC

I could not put this book down, I read most of it in one day!

This book is about the nurses of the Vietnam War. I feel like there hasn't been a lot of historical fiction about the Vietnam War, and I was definitely drawn to this topic.

The sheltered Frankie McGrath's one rebellion is a big one, joining the US Army as a field nurse. Though the field hospital is shocking at first, she quickly acclimates and finds purpose in nursing and bonding with fellow nurses Barb and Ethel. When Frankie returns after two years, she does not receive a warm welcome from her family or society.

The first half of the book focuses on Vietnam and the second is the return home. During her years in Vietnam, Frankie becomes aware that the government has not telling the full truth about the war. Fatalities are miscalculated, destruction of villages are swept under the rug. Once the truth is exposed, many American's turned against not just against the war, but those who returned.

I learned a lot about this complex time period. I am familiar with the protests against the war, and was aware of the disrespect shown to Vets. I did not realize how bad it was for returning vets, who were reviled. For Frankie and the other nurses, there is no help for them. The pubic perception is that there were no women in Vietnam, and even if the nurses were there, they didn't see combat. Frankie is clearly traumatized and experiencing PTSD but she has no support other than Barb and Ethel, who become her lifelines.

I found Frankie's story inspiring. She works so hard build a life for herself. She has many ups and downs (more downs) but perseveres.

THE WOMEN
rating: 5/5
genre: historical fiction

Kristin Hannah's 2024 release explores the often overlooked or marginalized stories of Vietnam War veterans, more specifically the US nurses who served their country overseas. Admittedly going into THE WOMEN I didn't know too much about the Vietnam war (even though I have family who served, which is extra embarrassing) and a lot of early readers expressed the same, so I would say this was a welcome new topic to explore. I had faith that KH would do this story justice, but it's hard to put into words just how. At the end all I can say is WOW. It feels wrong to say you enjoyed and loved a story filled with so much pain but truly... i did. I said this in my stories directly after finishing, but Hannah is a masterful story teller so even though the book is heavyyyy from cover to cover I absolutely devoured it.

Spanning almost a decade THE WOMEN follows Frankie McGrath from her home on Coronado Island to Vietnam as an army nurse and back again. Frankie's story in Vietnam is filled with growth, adaption, friendship, love, terror, joy, and pain but nothing could prepare Frankie for the America she returns to after deployment.

One of the reasons I love reading is because we are immersed into stories unlike our own. They're often thought provoking and grant us the ability to continue learning. THE WOMEN is a perfect example of this. I can't wait to read and learn more about this time period in US history and be able to converse more with those who experienced it first hand.

I feel very grateful to have received an advanced copy of The Women but unfortunately it was a miss for me.

I think Hannah excels at research in historical fiction but I've found her last book and this one included SO much research that it became overkill. In The Four Winds it was every bad thing that happened during the Dust Bowl happened to the family in her story. In The Women every bad aspect of the Vietnam War, whether it was in Vietnam or in the US, happened to the protagonist. At some point it becomes unbelievable and too cliche.

There is already tons of praise for this one so hopefully my humble opinion is the minority.

Thank you to Netgalley and St Martins Press for the advanced digital galley.

Fantastic book! I really didn't expect any less. Kristin Hannah is such a great writer. You always feel that you are in the middle of what's happening, which this time is Vietnam and the aftermath. I found myself feeling so anxious at times. The medical tent scenes are heart-pounding and just terrifying. The sadness of coming home from Vietnam, especially for the women who served (there were no women in Nam).

Frankie McGrath is at the going away party for her brother Finley and his friend Rye, they are off to serve in Vietnam. Her father has a heroes wall with pictures of his family that has served our country when Rye tells her that women can be heroes too. Frankie has just gotten her nursing degree so she decides that moment to enlist. It all seems so naive when she gets there and is faced with the reality of saving lives, saying goodbye to young men who don't make it and being the last person they see. She is thrown right into having to do surgery on her own. She grows up fast. Frankie makes lifelong best friends. She falls in love while there too. It seems Rye is her true love and then he is shot down and presumed killed.

As bad as Vietnam was, coming home was not a joy either. Women weren't in Nam, so they say. Protests against the war are in full force and she is called a baby killer, murderer, spat on. This sends her in a long, slow spiral of pain and mental illness. A relationship gone bad pushes her over the edge.

You will find yourself on edge throughout the whole book. If you couldn't imagine the ravages of war before, you will find yourself wrapped up and sickened by it all. I have a friend who was a nurse in Vietnam and she had told me a few stories but now, to think of her dealing with what Frankie did, breaks my heart. My heart did break for Frankie.

Everyone should read this book and everything that Kristin Hannah writes. Perfection.

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a copy for review.

This is a story about Frankie McGrath. She is a nurse that needs direction in her life. When a tragedy occurs in her family, she decides to join the military. The Vietnam War is going strong. She gets accepted to join the Army. The story is about her two tours in Vietnam and her return to the States after completing her tours.
The story is very heart wrenching and emotional.
The author lets us know what it was like to serve during this era. All who served deserve so much more then they received and to this day, not receiving.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity to read this book for my honest review. All opinions expressed are my own.

4.5 stars.

Took me forever to get through this one between a busy month and a slow start to the book, BUT it’s a beautifully written, well-researched piece of historical fiction and clearly written by Hannah with a labor of love and care.

It’s a powerful read, and though the major plot points are very predictable, the overall story hits you right in the heart nonetheless. I always love how Hannah’s books take you through a passage of time, and this was no exception - and it worked very well for this story, especially in terms of how she wrote about the Vietnam War and the after-effects on those who served. I honestly learned a lot, too, which I wasn’t expecting, but greatly appreciated.

Overall, a book I’m very glad to have read. Though I do believe it could have been cut down by about 100 pages (there was a LOT of filler — which is the main reason why I’m rounding down, as it was quite a slow read), it was still an incredibly written (and important, honestly) piece of historical fiction. Kristin Hannah does it again!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with a copy of the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Fans of Kristin Hannah’s historical novels will no doubt love The Women. Her newest story centers around the Vietnam War and the nurses who gave of themselves, and how it affected their lives.

We see the different attitudes of civilians toward men and women participating in the war. Hannah graphically describes the suffering endured by both soldiers and those treating them and the political attitude toward the war. If felt on par with learning about the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl in her book The Four Winds.

We see Frankie McGrath’s brother being sent off to war with fanfare and the support of his family. In 1966 Frankie also decided to offer her services, so she joined and worked as a surgical nurse in Vietnam. While there she strikes up a lasting friendship with nurses Ethel and Barb. These characters, along with a Navy officer, her brother’s friend, and Farnkie’s parents, essentially make up the cast of characters.

As a civilian, I experienced many of the happenings of the war. However, I still learned a lot regarding the lives and treatment of nurses who served.

My Concerns
The depiction of the war in the first half of the book, set the scene for more to come, but it felt long and drawn out.

The second half moved quickly, but I didn’t feel emotionally involved with the characters or plot. And though I saw the kindness Frankie’s two nurse friends exhibited, I didn’t get a feel for who they were. They felt a little more one-dimensional.


Final Thoughts
This felt like a believable depiction of a family’s story regarding a very unpopular, complex war. While it was interesting and memorable, it wasn’t one of my favorite books by this author.

Should you read it? Absolutely. Once again, I’m in the minority. Most reviewers loved it.

I've really enjoyed Kristin Hannah's previous books, and The Women was no different! It took a little while for me to get into it, but then I couldn't put it down.

I absolutely loved the character of Frankie, who volunteered to become an Army combat nurse in Vietnam after her brother went to war. The story detailed both her time in Vietnam and her return to a very changed, very angry country. She struggled in both places and hit rock bottom numerous times, but her friends were there for her every step of the way. This book was so well written and engrossing that I read the entire 450+ thing in a day, and I can't wait to pass it on for others to read. A few parts were definitely a bit far fetched, but I thought the story of the women who served and were entirely forgotten by their country is so important and I'd highly, highly recommend this book. Can't wait to see what the author does next! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I absolutely adored Kristin Hannah's newest book, The Women. It follows Frankie, a young woman who volunteers as a nurse in the Vietnam War after experiencing a personal tragedy. I think everyone can relate to Frankie at different times of the book, from her feelings of inadequacy when starting out as a nurse, to frustration about not being taken seriously, to feeling left out, to heartbreak when she discovers someone she thought she knew was lying to her. Hannah is a master of making major historical events highly personal, and The Women is no exception. Even though my grandfather served in Vietnam, I didn't know much about the war, because as Hannah astutely points out throughout the book, no one wanted to hear about the war when veterans returned home. I felt a new level of grief reading this book, in the best possible way.

If you are a Kristin Hannah fan, you will love this one! It was well written and had an interesting subject - the Vietnam War and PTSD. It did not get 5 stars from me because I found the romance aspect to be too predictable.

This book was a masterpiece. I loved the characters, and the story, and I LOVE that the author did so much research for this book. Kristin Hannah is such an amazing author, she never disappoints.

Kristin Hannah has done it again! I knew little of the Vietnam War, but her book offered a first hand seat to the horrors of this war and the tragic way its vets were treated upon returning home. The fact that the women weren’t recognized for their service, even by our own government, was heartbreaking. A great story that also brought to the forefront terms like PTSD, agent orange, and other war terms.

The Women is historical fiction at its total best. A compelling story that keeps you turning pages, yet takes a deep dive into some very serious topics that have been overlooked by the genre at least for as long as I’ve been a reader.

Frankie McGrath lives a country club life in Southern California when her brother enlists and dies in Vietnam. Her family is military proud — his father’s office displays photos of all those who served their country. (He father could not serve and that is a sore point with him.). Instead of following the life she is meant for (marriage, children, golf), Frankie enlists as a nurse. Her parents are horrified.

We follow Frankie to Vietnam where she quickly is forced to deal with raw human suffering and broken bodies. As important as the Vietnam piece of the book is, Hannah takes us with Frankie as she returns home to a country divided where veterans are spit on and mental health treatment for veterans, especially women veterans, is basically non-existent. This really made me think about all of the soldiers who have come back from war and have not received adequate, or any, mental health treatment. I’m still thinking about this.

This book ties THE GREAT ALONE as my favorite Kristin Hannah book.

This is the fifth or sixth book by Kristin Hannah that I have read. Her ability to sweep you into a nearly forgotten time is singular. She can take you to the past in the same kind of way an old Hollywood movie can, except she can do so with just her beautiful words.

That being said, I wasn't sure what to expect with THE WOMEN because of my own personal bias with the American Military and my dad's history as a Vietnam veteran. I shouldn't have been so silly. THE WOMEN is just as good, if not better, than previous Hannah novels, and I got swept away like I do every time I read one of her books.

I don't want to spoil anything for anyone, but I genuinely appreciated how shall we say, messy, the protagonist, Frankie, is. She endures A LOT as a young combat nurse, to put it mildly, and her character comes out far from unscathed. Her challenges with mental illness, addiction, and other fun life things make her all the more engaging. I loved spending 480 messy pages with her and all of the other amazing women in this story.

This is a powerful novel from a powerful storyteller. Keep the tissues close by and be prepared to gift this book to all the women in your life.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC.

Thank you Netgalley, St Martins Press and the author Kristin Hannah.
I love Kristin Hannah's novels and this one did not disappoint.
Set during the Vietnam War, it's the story of the nurses and what they go through during this terrible war.
You both cannot stop reading and at the same time you need to because the pain you feel for the characters feels so real.
The love, heartache, death, pain they had to enduring during the war and especially when they came back home is heart-wrenching. This novel make you smile, ache, cry, mad.
Another winner for this wonderful author. My favorite of the year so far and ordered my copy
Highly recommend.
5 stars