Some women wore love beads: others wore dog tags

That is a paraphrased line from the book that describes Frankie's life in the 1960s and 70s. She was raised by her wealthy family to wear pearls and be a good housewife, but after her beloved brother is sent off to Vietnam, she enlists in the army as a nurse in the belief that she would be a hero and make her father proud. Well, the first part happened right away, but she came back after living the horrors of war to a society that condemned the veterans because they abhorred the war.

This was an excellent depiction of the soldier's view of the mess that was Vietnam. The troops were poorly trained (through no fault of their own) and everyone was lied to about how many people were being killed or maimed. I liked the female slant to this. I was unaware that female soldiers were generally thought to have not been involved, and if they were acknowledged, their service was thought to be much less than their male counterparts. I know of several people (brothers of my friends) who died in the war and remember the lack of respect the veterans received upon return. I did not realize that woman got even less respect than the men. As someone who knew people who died of Agent Orange and other related issues, I appreciated the parts about the chemicals that were sprayed and a little about the lasting effect on the soldiers. Also that it showed how the Vietnamese people were being killed for no reason other than fear and anger by our side.

This was really good historical fiction and would make a good reading for a book club or high school or college group..

The Women
Kristin Hannah
Feb. 6, 2024
St. Martins Press
*historical fiction
Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinion.
Hannah just keeps getting better and better! 5 stars!
I learned so much about the men and women in Vietnam. Our main character in this book is Frankie McGrath. She is stationed in Vietnam as a surgical nurse in a very difficult position. She comes home after serving two years. Her parents are ashamed of her, local citizens spit on her and she can’t find suitable employment. This is a very moving book. One I will not forget soon. I also enjoyed the authors note at the end. This book is a must read!
5 stars

I love the way Kristin Hannah makes me actually enjoy history - something I have never enjoyed otherwise. This book follows Frankie through her service in Vietnam and living life once she returns stateside. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, you’ll learn.

I received this book in advance through NetGalley.

Another amazing book by Kristin Hannah, and I feel so lucky I got an early look. I felt like I was in the 1970s, living everything along with her protagonist. She brought back the ugly times of that war, that we have managed to paper over as a nation. I'm very excited for the reception she'll receive when the book comes out.

The Women was a captivating read for me. I really enjoyed all the characters. The Vietnam War was a tough war all around but reading that women were basically discriminated against in serving in that war was awful. Frankie's character and her determination to serve gave this story many avenues to show what she had to endure. I really appreciated and loved this book. Thank you for an advanced copy!

Wow, just wow....Kristin Hannah has such a way of writing such strong and real female characters! We meet Frankie and discover she is a dreamer who is passionate about finding her place in the world in the 60's when women were only beginning to find their places. She follows her brother to Vietnam as a green RN.
Frankie was such a deeply developed character. I resonated with Frankie as a trauma OR nurse so I truly enjoyed the accuracy of her nursing career. I really loved everything about Frankie, including her struggles with addiction and mental health. The relationship with her parents is complicated but weaved with love that speaks for the Era. Her strong female friends are also well written as is her love struggles throughout the novel.
This is by far my favorite Kristin Hannah novel, thank you for writing such an accurate historical fiction on a time and war many would like to forget about, I'm sure many people are thankful for your words and how you represented them!

This is my favorite of the Kristin Hannah books, and I’ve read them all. I love historical fiction, and especially love when the strengths of women are seen throughout my reading. The character development was wonderful!

The Women is such an amazing, heart wrenching historical fiction! If I could give it more than 5 stars, I would, as it had such a profound and personal effect on me. It is extremely well written and researched and is set in Vietnam, as well as the United States, pre and post war. At the heart of the story is Frankie McGrath, one of the most memorable characters I have ever encountered. Through her eyes, the turbulence of the sixties, and the horrors of Vietnam war, with all those who were lost, and all who suffered from PTSD, Agent Orange and injuries that never healed come vividly to life. After reading this book, I realize how much I never knew about this time period, despite the fact that I lived through it. The heroic women who served as nurses, and in other non-combat positions in Vietnam were extraordinary heroes who cared for the soldiers injured in battle. Their service was never acknowledged by the government at that time and for a long after. Often, they were in as much danger in the field hospitals as they would have been in actual combat. Kristin Hannah has written a beautiful tribute to all "The Women" who served bravely, tirelessly, and selflessly in Vietnam and were ignored for so many years. I loved this book, and I am so glad to have read it. Thank you to the author, publisher, and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this outstanding book. The opinions of this review are my own.

The Women is about a team of nurses who were stationed in Vietnam during the war and their trials and tribulations of their life in the combat zone field hospitals. The story gets help particularly from the experiences of Captain Diane Carlson Evans, who was stationed in Vietnam, and has dedicated her life to their post war healing and the difficulties to adjust to life after their tours of duty.

This story revolves around Frankie McGrath, who enlists in the army after her brother is killed in Vietnam. From start to finish the story has some great elements, but for my taste it was rather formulaic and predictable. I know I am going against the grain of most of the reviews, but the story just doesn’t break any new ground for me.

I even was able to guess most of the plot twists before they happened, because the book reads like a made for television movie with the good guys even reappearing when they were presumed dead. I probably expected more, as I know the author is well known and sells a lot of books, but this was just not something I enjoyed. I just could not suspend my imagination enough to see how the plots tighten up so well in the end. Really??

There are some great points made. Women in Vietnam were not in combat yet were scarred by their experiences in the war and were largely left to fend for themselves on the return. PTSD is real, and takes different forms in everyone, and addiction often goes hand in hand when people want to dull the pain they are experiencing. Many returning soldiers were not prepared for the rude awaking of coming back to the States when many people had turned against the war. This was all true, and many suffered upon reentry.

Frankie suffered greatly, and in fact it seems more than the other nurses. Every ill is hers, but in the end, she seems to find happiness with her one true love.

A moving, coming-of-age novel about a young woman who volunteers to be an Army Nurse after the death of her brother in Vietnam. Like most Kristin Hannah books, realize that you'll have your heart a bit broken as the heroine's heart is, but the personal journey is moving and the story of army nurses is lovely. Reminds me of the old play, A Piece of My Heart.

I have always has a fascination with Vietnam...call me crazy. So when I saw that this was set in Nam and based around women...well sign me up. The women in this book kick some major butt and it was amazing to read about! I loved everything about it!

I was hooked on this book from the first time I sat down to read it. I was excited each subsequent time I got to pick it up! I will try to provide the best summary without giving away any spoilers!

This book follows the path of Francis “Frankie” McGrath, as she joins the US Army as a nurse and goes to the war in Vietnam. The book continues to follow Frankie after she returns from Vietnam and the challenges that she faces. It was extremely interesting to learn more about the Vietnam war, and the issues that US soldiers faced when they got back to US soil. The author highlighted the challenges that women face too. This was heart breaking to read.

This book is no fairytale. Frankie struggles when she returns home. However, she is able to persevere, and eventually prosper, with the support of her family, and two of the women that she met in Vietnam. The relationship with many of her Vietnam comrades weaves throughout the book.

Overall, this was a great book. I am going to highly recommend this to family and friends when it is released. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review this book before its publication date. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this opportunity.

4.5 stars, rounded up to 5.*

Kristin Hannah is one of my favorite authors. The Nightingale is one of my favorite books of all time. The Great Alone and The Four Winds were phenomenal.

The Women starts out in classic Kristin Hannah form. She develops strong characters and gets you invested straight out of the gate. It is primarily the story of Frankie McGrath, a young woman raised in privilege who follows her brother's naval footsteps and enlists in the Army as a Field Nurse when the other branches tell her they won't take women. Coming from a family that reveres war heroes, Frankie wants to do her part. But Vietnam was a war unlike any other.

An epic of love, friendship, addiction, depression, loss, grief, and family ties. My only grumble is with the ending. I didn't love the final twist and was disappointed in the triteness. Nonetheless, another winner for Kristin Hannah.

*with thanks to NetGalley for the digital ARC in exchange for this honest review.
Publication Date 2/6/24

I found that I liked the story better than the character, Frances. The dark days of our country and what the Veterans went through were portrayed well.

Just like all of her other books, Kristin Hannah knocks this one out of the park! This incredible story of Frankie and her experience in the Vietnam War is an inspiration and an amazing, not often heard about, story! Kristin Hannah does an amazing job at shining light on the personal side of this war in our country's history. Amazing book!

“Women can be hero’s too…” - Kristin Hannah (The Women)

Kristin Hannah, has stolen the hearts of many world wide. If you’ve read a Hannah book I’m sure your heart is still aching.

Hannah is an author who touches your soul and will leave you a completely different person after concluding one of her books.

One of my childhood best friends @lrodio , shares in my love for Kristin Hannah and recently told me about The Women.

When it comes to Hannah’s books, you just can’t wait or the book will literally burn a hole in your shelf.

I was in awe the ENTIRE time. This book is mesmerizing. My heart was ripped from my chest and destroyed over and over again, The Women, has bestseller written all over it and personally, this is my vote for book of the year.

Check out this teaser :

The missing. The forgotten. The brave… The women. 

From master storyteller Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds, comes the story of a turbulent, transformative era in America: the 1960s. The Women is that rarest of novels―at once an intimate portrait of a woman coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided by war and broken by politics, of a generation both fueled by dreams and lost on the battlefield.

When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these unexpected words, it is a revelation. Raised on idyllic Coronado Island and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing, being a good girl. But in 1965 the world is changing, and she suddenly imagines a different choice for her life. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she impulsively joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path. 

As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction of war, as well as the unexpected trauma of coming home to a changed and politically divided America. 

The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on the story of all women who put themselves in harm’s way to help others. Women whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has all too often been forgotten. A novel of searing insight and lyric beauty, The Women is a profoundly emotional, richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose extraordinary idealism and courage under fire define a generation.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the advanced reader copy of The Women.
Kristin Hannah never disappoints, but I think The Women may rival my all-time favorite of hers, The Nightingale.
The novel follows the story of Frankie McGrath, her service in Vietnam as an Army nurse, and the challenging years after Frankie returns home.
Before reading this, I thought “The Women?? Such a boring title…” but there were several times “the women” were referenced in the book and it gave my goosebumps. Kristin Hannah did such a wonderful job telling the story of these hidden heroes, through the eyes of fictional Frankie.
Be sure to put this one on your “to-read” list! You won’t regret it!

Best book of the year! I can't wait for everyone to read this book. Kristin Hannah is an amazing story teller and one of the best historical fiction writers! Thank you Kristin for telling the story of everyone who served in Vietnam including the often underappreciated nurses. #KristinHannah #NetGalley

Upon the death of her beloved brother Finley in Vietnam, 21 year-old Frankie McGrath feels the pull to enlist; to use her nursing education to save lives in-country. Nothing, however, prepared her for the horrific conditions she endures, for the devastating injuries and burns of both soldiers and civilians alike. She thrives in her role, and is an incredible nurse - caring for the fatally wounded, seeing to it they are not alone in their final moments, writing letters home to their loved ones. Frankie finds unbreakable bonds with other nurses and staff, even finds an unlikely romance. That all turns on it's head once she's back home. Instead of pride she's met with shame. Her unraveling is quick and aggressive. The impact the war and saving those lives scarred her permanently. No one sees her, no one understands her, no one even recognizes that women had served....

In a manner that only Kristin Hannah can do, The Women brings us to a place no other historical fiction really has -- to show us the horrific underbelly of a war we never should have been in, and the aftermath that blazed our culture in its wake. Part war story, part love story, part homage to the strength and endurance of women and female friendships, part coming of age, this is undeniably a masterpiece. I was hooked from page one and will carry Frankie in my heart for some time. I wish this book had been written in 1997 like Hannah says she first flirted with this topic -- I for one believe the importance of this history has not been given the awareness it deserves. Women played a tremendous part not only in this war, but suffered immensely alongside the men who faced combat. I learned so much about this time, the struggles, the misunderstanding of trauma, the tumult in the country in general. This book has opened so many doors in my mind that make me want to learn and understand more. It's so important that we never let the mistakes of our past go quiet or forgotten. Just wow, I can't recommend this book enough.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this advance copy in exchange for my honest review. I cannot wait for others to devour this as well. Thank you Kristin Hannah for shining a light on such an underappreciated slice of Vietnam War history. Incredible.

One of the best reads this year. A powerful history lesson, a tearjerker, a story of friendship, a family saga…this novel has a little bit of everything. The best was a recounting of the experience of a nurse in Vietnam, and then of her re-entry into the United States, where her service was spit upon, and even Veteran offices failed to treat her as a veteran. I lingered over the final pages, as I wanted the story to continue. A winner.