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themrshedrick816's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Cursing, Medical content, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Gore, Child death, Toxic relationship, Grief, Miscarriage, Death, Police brutality, and War
bringmybooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Thank you to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, & Macmillan for the opportunity to read and review this book before it's publication date! This in no way affected my review, opinions are my own.
Review: One of my favorite authors, Kristin Hannah continues to prove that she has an unbelievable way with words. It's unbelievable how quickly she sucks you into a novel and makes you care so much about all of the characters. There are parts of her books (especially her more recent ones) that are a bit melodramatic and require a bit of suspended disbelief, but to be honest I don't know that it bothers me so much.
While there is a bit of heightened drama on the interpersonal side, the research and care that Hannah provides to the historical aspects of her novels is top tier and so welcomed. I feel like I learned a ton about the Vietnam War that I was not aware of before (mostly the women's experience of it), and I was very grateful for this book so that I could do more of my own research.
I did really enjoy the characters in this novel, even when they're making the most piss poor decisions - but my favorite part of the novels, and pretty much all of Hannah's novels, is the way she writes relationships between women. I do think this book is her penultimate example of that, and the relationships between the Frankie and her two best friends will stick with me for a long time.
Overall Rating: ★★★★★ / 4.63
Rating each element of the book out of 5★
Characters ★★★★
Atmosphere ★★★★★
Writing ★★★★
Plot ★★★★
Intrigue ★★★★
Logic ★★★★
Enjoyment ★★★★
Pacing ★★★★
Dialogue ★★★★
★ did not like / ★★ it was okay / ★★★ liked it / ★★★★ really liked it / ★★★★★ loved it
Graphic: Blood, Drug abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Addiction, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Infertility, Torture, Miscarriage, Murder, Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Pregnancy, War, Alcoholism, Cancer, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Self harm, Vomit, and Suicide attempt
jeggert10's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: War, Toxic relationship, Child death, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Pregnancy, Racism, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Cursing, and Miscarriage
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Forced institutionalization, Torture, Abortion, Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Police brutality, and Rape
esjackson's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Car accident, Grief, Violence, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Gore, Gun violence, Cursing, Suicide, Addiction, Child death, Alcohol, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Medical content, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Vomit, War, and Self harm
Moderate: Classism, Vomit, and Cancer
Minor: Torture, Hate crime, Abortion, and Police brutality
christinedavid17's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Drug abuse, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, War, Alcohol, Miscarriage, and Death
oproy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Overall, I honestly probably would not recommend this book because it is so heavy and at points a little too preachy for my taste. However, the setting and idea behind it is very interesting and definitely something I want to look into further after reading. Even in school, I don’t feel that I learned much about the Vietnam War let alone the women in the war, so this feels like a jumping board.
Graphic: Police brutality, War, Addiction, Suicide attempt, Death, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Alcohol, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Gore, Body horror, Car accident, Medical content, Suicide, Blood, and Child death
shaney_swift's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Sexism, Blood, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Drug abuse, Car accident, War, and Death
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Addiction, and Alcoholism
ckozik1017's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Medical content, Gun violence, War, Suicide attempt, Violence, Addiction, Grief, Drug use, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Racism, Police brutality, and Infertility
rkibler24's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
The writing is terrible, the main character is unlikeable, and the story too contrived and predictable. I listened to it in the car because at least the narrator was good.
The war scenes were especially graphic, gratuitously so. Despite how long this is, there is no real character development except that you dislike the main character more and more as it goes on. I was disappointed that some of the other women weren't highlighted - from the title it sounded like it was going to be about the women, not the woman. It felt like the book didn't actually have an editor. Either that or the editor was afraid to hurt the author's feelings.
Just as with The Four Winds I am baffled as to how this got published + why there are so many four and five-star reviews.
Graphic: Medical content, Addiction, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, War, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Blood, and Child death
Moderate: Miscarriage and Infidelity
Minor: Car accident
gellinasreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Infidelity, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Drug abuse, Grief, Addiction, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, War, and Suicide attempt