The subject of the Vietnam War is so rare in fiction, I find, and even more so when highlighting the women who were there. Frankie's wartime experiences gripped me and I wished more of the story was spent delving into that. I was shocked by the reception she received stateside and the disdain and indifference she endured as a veteran. Overall, a very engaging and interesting read!

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path. As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over-whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost. But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam. The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.

Let me start off by saying what I remember of the Vietnam War consists of the movie Forrest Gump and my obsession with the Broadway revival of Hair in the late 00's, Because of that, I came into this one pretty open and ready to learn. To say the least, wow just WOW! I don't even know where to begin with this one This story was just one of the most beautiful written stories I've read in the past year. Frankie McGrath's story is turbulent, frustrating, and redemptive. I cried so hard multiple times and this story was steeping into my dreams. Her parents were equally frustrating and adorable. The men she meets overseas are swoon-worthy and also awful. But the women are the real heroes of this book. The sisterhood they share to get through the war and keep each other afloat post-war is truly beautiful. We need more books about the unconditional love of female friendships!

Please be aware this book is pretty graphic, especially the first half of the book. I am a squeamish person so I had to skim through some of the descriptive parts to get through it. This book also comes with a fair amount of trigger warnings due to the nature of war and the trauma that comes from it.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC in return for an honest review. This book releases 2/6

I learned so much from reading The Women. I didn’t know much about the Vietnam war and reading this book gave me insight into just how treacherous it was, from a woman’s perspective. I love how Kristin Hannah weaves a tale while at the same time educating you on the time period, geography and culture. Just like her other books, I have to say this one is truly 5 stars.

I was provided an ARC by St Martin's Press in exchange for my honest opinion, and I am so grateful!

Kristin Hannah is one of my favourite authors so I knew this book was going to be incredible. I was right. There is something about Kristin's writing style that is so incredibly well done that captures her characters at their rawest forms. They are relatable, real and become such a huge part of my reading experience that my heart breaks for them. This book is no different.

Our main character is Frankie, a rich girl from Coronado who's brother is heading to Vietnam to make their war hero obsessed father proud of him. Frankie doesn't want the life she has been raised for, a wife, mother and homemaker. But it's not until a friend of her brother lets her know that women can be heroes too, that she decides to volunteer as a nurse with the Army and make a difference.

What an incredible story. As a Canadian, the Vietnam war is not something I have a lot of knowledge about. I have seen images of the peacesigns and hippy protests but never fully understood how divided the United States was over the war overseas. This book is so well researched and explains how separated the veterans were from regular people safe at home and the trauma that they went through in country and then were forced to ignore and push down once they came home. The introduction of PTSD came about during this time as the suicide rate of Vietnam vets skyrocketed once they returned home.

Frankie's story is incredible and heartbreaking, and tells the story of so many women who were not only forgotten about after the war but blatantly told "there were no women in Vietnam" as they struggle daily with their nightmares of the mass casualties they treated and the friends they saw die.

I cannot recommend this book enough. It broke my heart and then healed it as our characters piece themselves back together and find a new future, all while carrying their incredibly heavy grief.

Wow, I loved this book right from the first page. The characters, the story line and the setting were all so engaging. I really didn’t want to put the book down. The topic is tough and often times sad, but this book did not disappoint.

Frankie McGrath, enlists to be a nurse in the Vietnam war to be a hero like many in her family, but will her family be proud of her like they are of the men? Will she be able to handle being in Vietnam with such little experience? This heart wrenching book will have you engrossed from page 1.

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for an advanced copy of this book for my honest feedback.

I could not have loved this book more. I stayed awake far too late to read it and polished it off in just a couple of sittings. What an amazing story of the women who changed the course of so many lives! I told my dad, a Vietnam vet, about it and he said he didn't really recall seeing many American nurses. I told him that was a good thing, because it meant he stayed clear of some awful situations. These women deserve recognition and respect. Such a loving tribute!

“The Women” by Kristin Hannah is a powerful exploration of the Vietnam War era through the eyes of Frances “Frankie” McGrath, a young nursing student who dares to challenge societal norms. The narrative unfolds against the backdrop of a changing world, where the mantra “Women can be heroes” becomes a revelation for Frankie.

Hannah’s meticulous research is evident as she crafts characters with detailed backstories, navigating the reader through the chaos and destruction of war. Frankie’s decision to join the Army Nurse Corps and follow her brother’s path to Vietnam leads to a gripping tale of life, death, hope, and betrayal.

The author masterfully captures the atmosphere of a mobile hospital in Vietnam, reminiscent of the iconic TV show M*A*S*H*. Graphic scenes portray the harsh realities faced by army nurses, emphasizing the importance of deep friendships as a coping mechanism for the repeated trauma they endure. The characters surrounding Frankie add poignancy to the narrative, creating a rich tapestry of relationships.

As the war ends, the real battle begins for Frankie and her fellow veterans as they return to a changed and divided America. The novel sheds light on the struggles faced by female veterans, particularly the lack of resources to help them transition back to civilian life. The strained relationships Frankie encounters at home underscore the broader societal disrespect towards military veterans.

Having been a school-aged child through the Vietnam War era, I appreciated the cultural references seamlessly woven into the story. The inclusion of music and historical context adds authenticity to the narrative, making it a compelling historical fiction read.

“The Women” resonates deeply with me as a retired nurse, highlighting the significant yet often overlooked contributions of nurses throughout history. This emotional and compelling novel is likely to stay with readers for years, serving as a tribute to the brave women who put themselves in harm’s way, their sacrifices too often forgotten.


In conclusion, Kristin Hannah’s “The Women” is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine, offering a captivating blend of deep friendships, bold patriotism, and a stark portrayal of the challenges faced by women in the military during a tumultuous period in American history. Highly recommended for those who appreciate historical fiction with heart.

I received an ARC of this audiobook from the publisher but the thoughts and opinions expressed here are my own.

Kristin Hannah has done it again with The Women! Grab your tissues, you'll need them as we get a look into the Vietnam War through women's POV.
Throughout the story we follow the main character Frankie as she enlists into the army as a nurse and is sent overseas to Vietnam. Where she experiences trauma and heartbreak, as well as loses herself. We follow her through her struggles to adjust to her old life back home after touring is complete. Frustratingly, she is told to forget the war and that women were not in Vietnam or the combat nurses didn't have real trauma like the men. After spiraling again and again she eventually finds herself and finds a new purpose in life.
The ending has a nice twist! This book is a must read. A whole experience.

💉The Women💉

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Author: @kristinhannahauthor
Genre: Historical Fiction
Release Date: February 6th, 2024

Synopsis: Frances McGrath, a twenty year old nursing graduate, comes from a family of war hero’s. She is constantly reminded of that when passing by the hero’s wall in her family home, a wall only for men. It isn’t until she is hosting a farewell party for her brother who will be shipping out to Vietnam that someone tells her Women can be hero’s too. Coming from a wealthy, conservative California family, this idea was a new revelation to her. Frankie dares to rewrite her future of just being a housewife, and enlists in the Army to be a nurse in Vietnam alongside her fighting brother. Through the horrors of Vietnam, the friends she loses, and the friends she keeps, Frankie finds her new, confident self. However, the real battle starts for her and her veteran friends when they finish their tours and have to face the realities of coming back to a divided America who wants to forget Vietnam, not support the veterans returning. Frankie returned to an America who refused to believe women were in Vietnam making a difference. This story is about one woman and her struggle during her time in Vietnam and longing struggle after Vietnam, but this one story sheds light on all the women whose bravery and efforts where chosen to be ignored and forgotten during their return to America.

Kristin Hannah has such a remarkable way to portray historical events. Reading about Frankie and her women friends was so inspiring and captivating. I hate to think that women who served in the Vietnam war were not credited for their efforts and were called liars to their faces. Kristin Hannah is saying it loud, the women were there and they made a difference. Something I really appreciated about this story, is the author mentioned at the end that she had this concept since 1999, but she didn’t feel like her writing was mature enough yet to deserve the right to write the story at that point. I respect the author so much that she waited decades, for the right moment to make that concept into this story. She executed it so well, and I was brought to tears on so many occasions.

My gosh, this book! I’m one of those readers that loves finishing a book as quickly as possible, I need to know what’s going to happen. When I was reading The Women, I couldn’t wait to pick it back up, however, I also didn’t want it to end because I was simply captivated and could have read more and more (and that’s saying something for an almost 500 page book).

The Women follows twenty year old Frankie McGrath, a nursing student from a wealthy family in Coronado Island, California who joins the Army as a combat nurse. Inexperienced Frankie is quickly thrust into the harsh realities of Vietnam and has to learn what it takes to save lives and comfort dying soldiers, not to mention survive the war itself. When Frankie does return home, she faces the harsh reality of a divided country, an angry country that doesn’t believe in fighting the war and wants to ignore its veterans.

Frankie is a strong, determined main character but she also has flaws which make her relatable. Frankie’s personal relationships with her friends, family, love interests, and the journey of self discovery are a large focus of the story as well. This book made me cry multiple times, made me think hard about our country’s past and present, and made me want to learn more. Overall, I loved this book and it will go down as a favorite of all time.

I immensely love Kristin Hannah and have given every other novel of hers 5 stars. I was so excited to see that Hannah was writing a novel about the Vietnam war. Those who served in Vietnam were treated terribly by the people they served to protect. The women who served were ignored and forgotten. The fact that Hanna wrote a book to address both of these things should not be ignored.

That being said… this one wasn’t for me. I fully believe that Hannah did a wonderful job telling the story of service in Vietnam and the aftermath that the Veterans faced upon their return home. I loved the friendships in this story as well. The main character was someone that I found unlikeable from the beginning, and that only progressed as the story continued. The romance ruined this novel for me. I didn’t feel like the plot/romance issues started to wrap up until the last two chapters. In my opinion, that made the ending feel rushed and the timelines got a little confusing.

I highly recommend that you give this novel a try for yourself. It wasn’t for me, but I can see why many have given it 5 stars. I will absolutely pick up Hannah’s next novel.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my ARC.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for the ARC of The Women by Kristin Hannah. I was thrilled to get my hands on such a well-known author’s advance copy.

3.5 stars for me. First, the good. I love the Vietnam War era and Hannah did establish a strong sense of place and time (except when she named two sixties children 2023 names, Kaylee and Braden. Sorry, no kids were named that back then. You were alive then and should know that. That’s just my nitpicky historical fiction nerd side showing through.) I’m happy that there’s a big name presenting historical fiction that’s not WW2, and better yet, acknowledging women’s role in the Vietnam War (and Vietnam vets in general.) This will expose a lot of people to the horrors of that war and the PTSD that came after who might not have learned these things otherwise. For that, I’d definitely hand it to a high schooler and they’d probably devour it because…

This book was just so melodramatic. It completely distracted me and made me like it a lot less. I’ve encountered this with Hannah before (hello Firefly Lane) and maybe I’m just outgrowing that brand of fiction. Anything bad that could happen did, and I saw it all coming ten miles away. I feel like it was very surface level (except for that the descriptions of the war were fairly graphic, so I’ll give her that.) But character development and perhaps multiple perspectives would have made this feel richer, and I would have cared more. A little less time devoted to trying to emotionally manipulate me, which I hate, and more time establishing the people and relationships and it would have been a much bigger success for me. I already know based on pre-reviews and the popularity of Kristin Hannah that I’m going to hold an unpopular opinion here, but that’s my middle name when it comes to books sometimes.

Around 1971 or 1972, when I was 11 or 12, I began wearing a POW/MIA bracelet. At that age, I thought it was the "cool" thing to do. I wore it constantly, even when the cheap nickel turned my wrist green. Finally, it broke in half and it was thrown away. Now that I am older, I wish that I had kept it and found out what happened to the man whose name I wore. Author Kristin Hannah, who is a few years younger, still remembers the name on the bracelet she wore. Unfortunately, her soldier never returned. Now, she has written a powerful book about the forgotten women who served in Vietnam.

Frances "Frankie" McGrath was raised in an affluent home on Coronado Island, CA. When her older brother goes to Vietnam, Frankie enlists as a nurse so she can go, too. At 21 years old, she is wholly unprepared for the violence of war but quickly rises to the occasion. After her return home, she struggles with hatred of those who oppose the war, her family's shame of her service, and the common misperception that no women served in Vietnam.

Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group has preemptively acquired rights to The Women. It will make an excellent movie or mini-series.

4.5-Stars. The only thing that kept me from giving it the full 5-stars was that Frankie went from one bad thing to another, and then would still make bad choices. It got exhausting at times.

“The women had a story to tell, even if the world wasn’t quite yet ready to hear it, and their story began with three simple words. ‘We were there’.”

I’m not exactly sure why I have always been so drawn to this memorial. Maybe because my mom was a young nurse during this era. Maybe because I proudly wore my POW/MIA bracelet for many years. Maybe I felt a connection when I watched the tv coverage of the soldiers returning home, always searching for Sgt. Thomas’s name. Maybe seeing yellow ribbons tied to trees is a profound memory for you as well. Thanks to Ms. Hannah I finally could digest with an adult perspective what the war had been to grade school me, to others so deeply affected by it, and to those today who might receive the gift of a deeper understanding of the women of the war.

In this long awaited new novel by beloved author Kristin Hannah, Frances “Frankie” McGrath, a 20 year old nurse, has followed her adored brother to volunteer in The Vietnam War. As you can imagine, the combat and MASH unit scenes are explicit and insightful, but the second half of the novel, when some characters return home to the US, provided the more disturbing and shocking scenes. Players large and small circulate through the plot with surgical (forgive the pun) precision, and had this reader gasping and weeping through some chapters. Ms. Hannah delicately navigates the subject of the bonafide government misinformation campaign during this dark period of our history. Many of the themes remain incredibly relevant today and encourage us to explore the injustices of the past to move forward to a more informed future.

This novel, 20+ years in the making, will be on my BEST OF 2024 list, and I look forward to discussing it with other readers soon!

Frankie McGrath is born into a privileged family in southern California. After she loses her beloved older brother to the Vietnam War, she makes an impetuous decision to join the Army and serve as a nurse there. Frankie meets Ethel and Barb there and the three of them literally go through Hell together. Frankie falls in love with men while "in-country" but her real love is with the women that she serves with. When her tour of duty is over, she is left to return to a country that doesn't support the war and literally and figuratively spits on the servicemen. To add insult to injury, she is repeatedly told while searching for mental health help that "no women were in Vietnam". As per usual, Hannah has a main character that is repeatedly exposed to every bad event that they possibly could have-it's almost trauma porn. Ethel and Barb are great friends but I didn't get the sense that Frankie was a good friend to them. However, I learned so much about this era that I didn't know and the story was compulsively readable. I think that fans of Hannah's The Nightingale will love it.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC in return for my honest review.

Kristin Hannah's books are always amazing, but this one was phenomenal. I knew within 10 minutes of starting this book that it was going to make me cry, literally from beginning to the end i cried. Frances was a nurse in Vietnam, she had no clue what she had truly signed up for but did not give up, she made some great friends while she was there, extended her time and stayed longer.

There were so many things about this book that i loved, first was her 2 best friends who took her under their wings and helped her. The very vivid details about the war, the doctors and nurses, all of the soldiers that she took care of the camp they were in. how she tried to make sure noone died alone and she was exceptional with her duties.

She finally goes home and this book described how horribly veterans were treated when they came home but especially the female nurses because "there were no women Vietnam". It talked about all of the protests, arrests, government and even how she went to get help and was ignored. She seriously struggled with herself and her family, at her jobs,relationships-=everything because of PTSD and that noone ever wanted to talk about or listen to her tell them about Vietnam.

This book covered everything perfectly, and should definitely be the top book of 2024, heartbreaking and phenomenal in one. Kristin Hannah has wrote her best book yet and even threw in a surprise near the end. She deserves all the praise for this one! Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for this arc.

One of the best books I’ve read in a long time. This novel focuses on a war that is underrepresented in media and in education, so I feel like I learned a lot about Vietnam through this. It also focuses on an extremely underrepresented group - women in the war. I loved the characters even if at times I thought Frankie was naive. Loved this book and will recommend to everyone.

Finished this a few days ago and not ready yet to write my review. So much in this book to digest. It will be popular with book groups as well as her many fans. Excellent HF about women who were often forgotten about or ignored. Five stars!

The Women by Kristin Hannah is beyond amazing. The books takes place during the Vietnam War and the years that follow.

Kristin Hannah weaves a tale that is not for the faint of heart. First don’t believe the lies. Women served in Vietnam. They were in the military. They served our Country. They were Nurses. This story is about Frances ‘Frankie’ McGrath who was raised in a wealthy area of California. Without giving anything away, Frankie enlists in the Army as a battlefield Nurse. She is stationed in the thick of it. There are bombs dropping, mutilated bodies that will be hastily put together and shipped out and those soldiers who were never coming home. Frankie becomes friends with her two roommates and luckily for all three of them it is a friendship that lasts their entire lives. These three women helped save so many lives as well as each other. They jumped in and helped the Doctors and finished the surgery while the Doctor went to start on a new patient. The stamina and skill of the Doctors and the Nurses are what made it possible for so many to come home. These women also held hands and stayed with those wounded soldiers who couldn’t even survive the operating room. They held their hands and let them know they weren’t alone on their journey from this life to the next.

I am ashamed to say that anyone who served in Vietnam did not get a heroes welcome. Unfortunately because so many American’s disagreed with the war, they shunned the returning military and treated them like they were garbage. The United States Government let them down in a big way, especially the women. Kristin Hannah explores this part with mastery. We get to feel so many emotions - the terror, the PTSD, the empathy, the hatred, the exhaustion, the inability to understand, and the strength of friendship.

I was in middle school during the Vietnam War. My father’s brother was serving. I remember my mom and I would record reel to reel tapes and send it off to him and he would do the same. I was very worried during the Vietnam War. I had several of those POW bracelets and I still have them to this day. Whether you remember the Vietnam War or just learned about it in your history class, this is a must read story. Ms. Hannah is a masterful story teller in every way. I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us next.

I would like to thank Kristin Hannah, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Women’s participation in the Vietnam war was essentially erased. Did you know women were even involved in that war? I didn’t. After reading the description, I was excited to read another hard-hitting historical fiction from Kristin Hannah about brave women. She delivered on that front, but I didn’t connect with this one as much as I did her other stories. The characters were not as moving and emotionally written this time, in my opinion, and that made it less gut-wrenching than her other works. I still recommend this, however, as the female participation in the Vietnam War is so overlooked and their heroism is important to read about. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for my gifted copy!