Content Warning: violence, war, gruesome injuries, death, misogyny, drug use, cheating, PTSD

+ This is Kristin Hannah and she always blows me away. I love her research, I love how she writes historical fiction and the stories are not pretty. It’s real, it’s raw, and her characters go through trauma but I go on the journey with them – I stay with them and root for them to make it. In this book, she takes us to Vietnam. I was riveted from the moment I started the book and I finished it in one sitting even if it took me past midnight and made me sleep at 1am (which is rare for a book to do to me these days). It’s just really good storytelling and you know she took her time with this book.

+ Frances “Frankie” McGrath is a powerful character and I don’t mean that she is perfect. It’s 1966 and a women’s role in life is still to stay at home and take care of her husband and have kids. Frankie comes from a sheltered, affluent home, is getting a degree in Nursing but her brother gets sent to Vietnam and never comes home. She leaves behind her comfort zone, takes all her sheltered naivety to a foreign country to become a hero and her eyes gets blown wide open to to the horrors of war. And just when she’s found herself and what’s she’s good at – she comes home to a country that despises her for her service. She has a lot to overcome and it’s a journey that made me cry at the end.

+ This book is called The Women and Frankie is not the only woman in this book. She meets two others in Vietnam who become her best friends for life, Barb and Ethel. These three women kept one another alive – kept each other going in Vietnam and after they come home. This is a friendship that saves Frankie and a friendship that didn’t sugarcoat anything because they saw the worst of humanity together and survived. I love that all of them have a different path after Vietnam but they are there for one another no matter what. Another woman who has what doesn’t seem like a powerful role, is Frankie’s mother – but she grew up in a generation where women were told to shut up and not get involved. We see her try her best and that’s all some women could do back then.

+ Vietnam. This author takes us to Vietnam and I felt like I was there with Frankie. There is one crazy scene where Frankie gets moved to another mobile hospital but near enemy territory and heavy fighting just made me panic with her. It made me appreciate the mental strength that these men and women who served had to endure in what was literal hell. In a war that was a lost. When Frankie leaves Vietnam and comes back home she isn’t celebrated as a hero like WWII vets were – she was spat on. No one was proud of her, no one wanted to hear that she was there. We see her PTSD heighten when she comes back home but there is no help available to her because people claim there were no women in Vietnam – because the government was saying so in the media. No women! To almost give her life serving and then coming back home to be told she wasn’t there?! Oh my rage…the story touches on other issues going on in the USA at the time like the war protests, the Black Panther movement, race issues, gender issues and lack of trust in the government. 

~ I said Frankie wasn’t perfect and her weakness was that she was alone and longed for comfort and sadly her pick of guys wasn’t the best. But that only makes her human. So as much as I was rooting for the romance in this book – this is not that kind of story, it’s about more than that even though the men she did encounter in her story did shape her in one way or another.

My Thoughts:

It’s another 5 star Kristin Hannah book for me – she never disappoints me because she can grab my attention and heart. This story teaches you something, and it reminds you that women were there in Vietnam, and that the men and women came back broken. There was hardly any help for them and our Vets deserve more than that. It’s heartbreaking, it’s brutal, it’s gripping, and I wish I could post quotes from the book but I won’t because it’s an arc. I can’t wait to read her next book.

What an absolutely beautiful, heartwrenching story written by well-known author Kristin Hannah. It will be hard to get over this one.

The story is set during the Vietnam War and follows Frankie McGrath who has enlisted as a nurse in Vietnam while the war is going on. Fighting against the disapproval of her parents and society, she has made the hard decision to do this and make something of herself. While the book is over 450 pages, I found that it took no time at all for me to get through it quickly. The author paced the book perfectly, and packed it full of action. You will fall in love with the characters and they will become like your friends. You will laugh and cry reading this book - I did many times.

You can tell that the author has put a great deal into researching the Vietnam War, it was incredibly eye-opening and heartbreaking to hear the stories that the civilians and troops went through. I also feel that she captured perfectly what someone with PTSD might go through after living through something like that. Frankie struggled mentally throughout the book, trying to go back to her normal life, and the author allowed you to feel all of those emotions with her.

I would highly recommend this book if you're a fan of historical fiction, this is one you can't pass up and I've already been recommending it to other readers. I can't wait to read more of Kristin Hannah's work in the future.

Let me start by saying I did not really enjoy this book. Three stars is for the 20% she was on Vietnam only. I loved the perspective of a young sheltered girl finding her way as a combat nurse in Vietnam. We don’t learn enough about what happened there and it captured my attention. Unfortunately, the actual combat portion was only about 20-25% of the book, to its detriment. This is my first book by this author (after disliking the first 20 pages of The Nightingale so much I DNF) and this will also be my last Kristin Hannah book.

The writing was clunky and felt very “tell not show.” Many scenes cut off right when it got interesting, as if the author could only tease about a party or mass casualty but couldn’t, or didn’t want to, fully flesh out the characters and situations. It was like there was a list of trauma boxes that had to be checked, many unsuccessfully. I saw many plot twists (and wow do I use that term LOOSELY) coming, because there was no subtlety or nuance in the whole book. No meaningful internal dialogue from Frankie. Just moving from one situation to another with no emotional connection from the reader to any situation (except maybe Jamie, but I’m getting there).

I didn’t even feel a connection to Frankie. She was a vehicle for all the terrible things that happened to our veterans when they came home. She was a symbol for a generation, and she wasn’t even a great one, one that moved us and made us root for her. Her story moved from personal loss that was barely touched on, to war, to undiagnosed PTSD, and a rapid, almost immediate, downward spiral into alcohol, drugs, and depression. There is a miscarriage, more betrayal, lies, and we see Frankie slipping beneath the waves (figuratively and literally, way to hit us over the head there) of her own trauma, grief, and loss.

In addition to Frankie’s personal struggles, we have men falling in love with her every 50 pages. Why? No idea. Jamie the surgeon was my favorite and most palatable, but what the author saw fit to do with the men- Jamie, Rye, Henry was, frankly, bizarre. It was like a soap opera at times even when I could see things coming a mile away. And the end? I mean I was glad, but also WTF?

It felt like a great story told poorly. I think Kate Quinn would have handled the story masterfully, given the book’s vague similarity to The Rose Code. And we know she can write grief well, evidenced by Mab’s story. In The Women, Frankie’s grief felt….artificial. As if written by someone who hasn’t experienced deep and profound loss.

Good premise, poor execution, and clunky writing style and plot line. I’ll be seeking out other Vietnam stories but this isn’t it for me.

I don’t think that it’s possible for Kristin not to write a good book. Some I like more than others. The Four Winds was not my fave. I found it overwhelmingly depressing. I realize the subject matter was going to do that, but, wow that story was in a dark hole and stayed there.

Now I’m sure you are wondering how this story about nurses in Vietnam can be anything but depressing. I hear you. But thankfully, Kristin found a way to make the story about so much more than the war. Yes- it definitely plays a huge part in this book- and there are depressing and sad times- but there is also friendship, camaraderie, self-discovery, grit, resolve, strength, family and hope.

There are tons of triggers including mental health struggles and substance abuse so be aware.

In traditional Kristin fashion, this book was not about flowery prose- it was about characters you grow to love (or hate) and root for. It was also about the treatment of Vietnam veterans when they returned home. And about the hugely forgotten role that women played in the war and how that was widely dismissed. There are not many books written about this part of history and so I really appreciated learning more about it. The truths are painful to read.

This book was eye-opening in many ways. I love how Kristin weaves her stories. I love that everything was not roses and candy. I love that consequences were real and not sugar coated. I love that the depictions of different relationships were honest and raw.

I think so many people will love this book. And it deserves attention. I highly recommend sitting with this one awhile. You’ll be glad you did! Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley for the physical and digital ARC to read and review.

The Women by Kristin Hannah is a fictional account about the very real Vietnam War. Since I was born in ‘79, I didn’t know a whole lot about the Vietnam War. My dad had a draft number but thankfully his was high enough that he wasn’t called, otherwise I might not be here. This gritty and heartbreaking story follows Frankie through losing her brother in the war to her enlisting to go be a combat nurse and all of the heartache that she endured over in Vietnam and coming home to be hated here too. She does eventually find healing but I won’t ruin the ending. While this is a fictional story, it’s realistic enough to really feel for the characters and the real people behind them. This was a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ read for me.

The Vietnam War is definitely a time period most Americans would rather forget. Unlike WWI or WWII where we can see ourselves as the heroes of the story - for this war, we were anything but. This realization extends both to the combat and the lack of support back "home". With this backdrop in mind, Kristin Hannah did a fantastic job of showcasing the patriotism felt by those who volunteered to go, the inadequacy of the battlefront plans, supplies, and flat out lies they endured, and the harshness bestowed on them by those opposing the war.

Our main character and only perspective is Frances "Frankie" McGrath. A newbie Nurse from a family of service members, including her own brother who is a Navy pilot. She enlists with the Army Nursing Corps (because she doesn't have enough training for the Air Force or Navy) and is shipped over. It's a baptism of fire as soon as she arrives - Bare-bones living, understaffing, learn-as-you-go training, and a deluge of wounded to care for constantly. Along the way she learns the ins and outs especially from fellow nurses Barb and Ethel, as well as surgeon Jamie who she shares an attraction with. Also in the mix is "Rye", a hometown boy who is also a pilot.

Only half of the book is about Frankie's tour of duty though - the other half is her return to California, dealing with anti-war sentiment, family and friends she has lost, PTSD, families of POWs, and the oft repeated phrase "there were no women in Vietnam", which puts up more than a few barriers to Frankie getting the help she needs.

Overall, I would say I learned a lot from this book, even from side topics that weren't central to the plot (Black Panthers, Agent Orange, My Lai, etc.). My main criticism would be that since Frankie is the only character whose head you're in - ALL the bad stuff pretty much has to happen to her and those close to her. If Barb and Ethel had had their perspectives noted (especially Barb as a Black Woman), it would have kept the reader from being constantly dragged down by Frankie's woes and crashes that other characters are constantly saving her from.

Ultimately I rate this book a 3.5

Thanks to NetGalley for an eARC!

My first read of the year knocked it out of the park! This book is a beautiful, devastating, poignant, and moving tribute to the women who served in Vietnam. Kristin Hannah is the best historical fiction writer and I was completely immersed from start to finish. Big thanks to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for providing me with an advanced copy - pub day is 2/6/24!

The Women

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Kristin Hannah is such an amazing author, and her latest book fits right into her huge list of great stories. Per usual, her books highlight a new voice in a time period of history that is different from the stories you would have heard on the same topic.

Frankie signs up to do a tour in Vietnam as a nurse after watching her brother go off to war. The first half of the book shows of her struggles, the trauma that Vietnam war nurses witnessed, the friends she made, and the people she loved. When she gets back to the States, she struggles to adjust back into civilian life.

As always with Kristin Hannah’s books there are wonderful, real characters who are fully developed. I honestly learned so much about a time period I didn’t know a ton about through Frankie’s eyes. Definitely pick this one up when it comes out next month!

Thanks @netgalley for this eARC!

Once again Kirstin Hannah delivers spectacular historic fiction. Through the journey of Frances "Frankie" McGrath, Hannah shines a light on the experience of nurses who served in Vietnam but whose work was ignored or diminished. The story also covers what these women were put through upon returning home. Eye-opening and at times infuriating, this book tells a powerful story and honors the work these women did. A must-read.

I don't recall ever reading a novel set during the Vietnam war. I know for sure I haven't read one that focused on the women that served as nurses and the complete discarding they suffered from constantly being told there were no women in Vietnam. I enjoyed that the story introduced us to Frankie before the war, and let us get her full story by continuing on after the war, which is where a good portion of the book takes place. I thought the story being divided into before the war, during the war, and after the war gave us a full picture of Frankie. The Women focuses on Frankie and her life, but is a love letter to all women who served in the Vietnam war. Kristin Hannah said that she got the idea for this story when she was a younger author. I am so glad she waited until she was older and more mature in her writing to write this story because it was really well written. It is one of the best novels I have read in a long time. If you like historical fiction, you should definitely read The Women.

My thanks to Net Galley, St. Martin's Press and Macmillian Audio for an advanced copy of this e-book and audiobook.

This story of Frankie McGraff , a young woman who goes to nursing school after high school. Her brother is drafted to serve in the Vietnam War making their father proud to put his picture on their wall of heroes at home. But when he is killed, Frankie signs up to serve as a nurse in the Army, much against her parents wishes. They feel nice girls work until they marry the "right" man. She hoped her father would put her picture on the wall of heroes before she shipped out.

Frankie ships off to Vietnam and is completely overwhelmed as a new nurse seeing the horrific wounds and casualties of war. But with her fellow nurses helping her, she quickly becomes a very good nurse and eventually a surgical nurse. This part of the book reminded me of the old TV show MASH, about a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital in the Korean War. Frankie not only served one tour, but two tours in Vietnam before going home to face another kind of war - a country she didn't recognize. One where she was spit on and attacked when wearing her uniform. She was shocked and hurt and angry. Only her fellow nurses who were back fully understood her.

The story brought me back in time to the music (the Beatles, Bread and Tony Orlando's "Tie A Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree"), the fashion (bell bottoms, hot pants, and gunny sack dresses), and hair styles (ironed hair straight with a center part). I remember wearing the silver cuff bracelet with the name of a POW on it to remind us to never forget these men. I was completely immersed in this book and this awful time in our nation's history. So many were cruel to those who were drafted and served in Vietnam; yet the war continued when back home with a war from their own countrymen as well as the war that went on their own head.

"Some women had worn love beads in the sixties; others had worn dog tags."

When 21 year old Frankie McGrath enlists in the Vietnam war to follow in her brother's footsteps, she makes a choice that will irrevocably alter the rest of her life.

Hannah is an absolute master when it comes to creating an immersive fictional world for her characters to reside in. <u>The Women</u> was no exception to her impeccable story-weaving abilities, however; this nearly 500 page book felt unnecessarily lengthy and encumbered by repetitive storylines. At times, I didn't know whether I wanted to hug or shake Frankie as her life slowly started to unravel. I appreciate that Hannah brought to light the very real troubles that many during this time faced-equal rights issues, PTSD, abortion rights, reproductive rights, veterans rights, etc.-but at times the ways in which these issues were brought up and addressed in the story all just felt very cyclical and repetitive which led to Frankie making the same mistakes time and time again. While I enjoyed this story overall, I do feel that it could have proven just as impactful while being 300 pages instead of nearly 500. For this reason, and because I just wasn't as drawn to the characters as I have found myself in Hannah's previous novels, I'd give this a solid 3 star rating

This book was profoundly sad, yet touching and memorable. I highly recommend it! Women's contributions to war are typically ignored and I love the questions and thoughts this book raises.I hate admitting that I know so little about the Vietnam War, but I really do. It just was so glossed over in my high school and college history courses. After reading The Women by Kristin Hannah, I am interested in learning more about this war that had a profound effect on so many people, including family members and neighbors.

Kristin Hannah's writing is superb, and using the character of Frankie, along with her friends (women AND men) I learned so much about the effects of combat in Vietnam and the horrors of war. Like any good historical fiction novel, this book blends fact with relatable characters to make you consider how people living in that time would have been affected by current events. It was heartbreaking to consider how Frankie's life was affected by her service in Vietnam. At the same time, I was awed by her friendships built during that period of her life and how they helped her survive very difficult times. Great book! It was hard for me to get immersed in another book after reading this one because it was just so good.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for this eARC. All opinions are my own.

“Women can be heroes.”

Marriage and motherhood. That was what was expected of women. Trained "to iron buttonholes to perfection, how to precisely fold a napkin, how to set an elegant table ."

“No fear, McGrath .”

“There were no women in Vietnam .”

Francis “Frankie” McGrath was very close to her brother Finley. He went away to war in Vietnam. She wanted to serve alongside him the best way she could. She joined the Army as a nurse and became a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps. However, before she was sent to serve, her family received tragic news of Finley's death. Even though she wanted to change her mind, she had no choice but to go. So, Frankie takes on her commission.

Even before the news of Finley's death, Frankie's parents were not happy with her decision. In fact, her mother rebuked her. However, Frankie did go, and during those last years of the Vietnam War, Frankie gave everything she had. She not only tended to soldiers, but to the many who were orphaned during the war. But, that is only the first half of this stellar book…

This compelling read opened my eyes about the women that served during the Vietnam War. It was impossible not to relate to Frankie’s strength, vigor and sorrow. PTSD was real for those Vietnam Veterans, and Frankie was a perfect example of this.

On a personal note, I remember when my grandfather returned with the POWs held and tortured for years. He lived with us upon his return to the US and while in the eighth grade, I was able to do a current events based on his tragic experiences. It was because of these memories of my grandfather that I felt a very strong connection to this book.

Frankie’s experiences, while dealing with PTSD, but not recognized for her honorable service, were utterly heartbreaking and I was brought to tears more than once in this amazing book by Kristin Hannah. Her struggles grew day after day as she tried to adjust to civilian life. Addiction became her crutch. It was her method of coping, as she struggled to gain footing as her life went on. However, as a pillar of strength, Frankie truly impressed me, from the beginning of the book, through her challenging struggles, and as her life found fulfillment.

480 pages as an audiobook went in the blink of a eye. One of my favorite narrators, Julia Whelan, did a superb job with this book. Her narration made this winning book that much better. Kristin Hannah’s style of writing will make any reader feel every emotion Frankie feels, and this book made me feel at times that I was living Frankie’s story. Definitely my favorite book of January, and this just might end up my favorite read of 2024.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

An incredibly important story about the Viet Nam war told in a beautiful and poignant manner. Frankie is a debutant from a military family who wants to be respected. She becomes a nurse and joins the army to go to war and be near her brother. A lot happens, experiences that will change the trajectory of people’s lives. What I appreciated about this book is that I really felt I was living in the story, not just watching it pass before me. Yes, there are some predictable aspects, but others surprised me. I completely appreciated the experience. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

How dare you Kristin, how dare you make me cry like that multiple times 😭

THE WOMEN by KRISTIN HANNAH

Rating: 4.25🌟
Genre: historical fiction, women heroes, women veterans

Top Quotes:

💫 “It’s called lust Frankie, and it can rock your good-girl world.”

💫 “as frightened and angry and betrayed as she’d often felt by her government and the war, she’s also felt alive.”

💫 “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.”

This is a beautifully written fiction story about a young new American nurse, Frankie, who becomes an army nurse in the time of the Vietnam war. The novel is divided into two parts. Part one: Frankie’s experience as an army nurse during a time where women weren’t heroes and “didn’t go to war”. Part two: focuses on her time after returning home. We witness Frankie’s experiences as an unseen veteran trying to navigate her life as an entirely new version of herself with the help of friendship and time. Let’s just say she spent a lot of time stumbling until finally starting to walk once again.

Have you ever watched M*A*S*H the sitcom? Part one played out in my head exactly like an episode but with the focus being on the women’s perspective. There’s action, trauma, medicine, romance/lust, friendships, grief and a whole lot more. I honestly have never ugly cried from a book before. This was a first. I can’t pinpoint on why but I imagine it has a lot to do with how well Kristin paints a picture with her words and makes you experience every emotion the characters feel.

Part two was even more heartbreaking if that’s possible and you have to read it to understand. All I can say is, the tears at the end, they were both sad and joyous.

I can’t speak on the accuracy of the novel but it certainly did its job of reminding us what the women endured during those times. It wasn’t only the men in combat who came home changed and fought to be heard.

Thank you kindly, @kristinhannahauthor & @netgalley for this Advanced Readers Copy! I highly recommend this novel 💕

How does this author do it? Every book I’ve read by her is just so touching and memorable. I remember the characters long after I’ve turned the last page. She creates characters you feel you know intimately and you have to remind yourself these people aren’t real! Come on, you do that too, right?

The Women is Hannah’s latest historical fiction novel set against a Vietnam War era backdrop. It’s dropping next month and will be everywhere for a while. Deservedly so. It’s a book about war, loyalty, courage, heroism, patriotism, female empowerment, and so much more.

Do not miss this one. It should be read far and wide. For the women who served in Vietnam.

Thank you NetGalley and StMartinsPress for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I think this one may be Kristin Hannah’s best one yet. It was very interesting to learn about the women involved as nurses in Vietnam and how they weren’t recognized as being there. The main character is so well drawn, and I really felt empathy for this character and all her trials. One of the best parts was the friendships that were made with the two other nurses that carried and sustained her after the war. I knew about the protests about the war and that the vets did not receive the hero’s welcome they deserved, but I didn’t realize how mean people were to them for being a part of it and how people really didn’t grasp the horror of what they had been through. This book really tugs at your heart, but it is so worth it and will keep you turning the pages to see what’s next. I read this book, but I have also heard that Julia Whelan does a remarkable job narrating the audiobook.

Thank you Net Galley for an advanced copy of the book for an honest review.

I am not sure where to start with a review for a book that told such a powerful story. This was an epic story of coming of age, friendship, and survival. Frankie joins the Army at 21 years old, broken after her brother’s death in Vietnam and her story just unfolds from there. Her friendship with Ethel and Barb is truly a beautiful sisterhood. My heart broke over and over for Frankie watching her struggle after coming home from the war and her attempt at finding her place in the world. Very heavy themes throughout but a profound story that needs to be told to bring awareness in a fictional way.

This was my first Kristen Hannah book and I truly don’t know why I waited so long. I’m not one for historical fiction but this drew me in immediately and never let me go. I think this a story that will stick with me for a very long time.

Another 5 star read from this author. The storytelling is chef’s kiss. Fmc is incredible and we are basically transported to active war Vietnam. I’m beyond excited that all of America is going to fall in love with women veterans.