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anabelchen'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
4.75
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Deportation
letyreadsbooks'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? No
5.0
This epic story was beautiful written, it's a masterpiece!
While reading Kristin Hannah's work, you are immersed into the story; as emotional and difficult it can be to read about war, heartbreak, parent's sacrifice, death, you won't regret reading this book.
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and War
Moderate: Rape
florentina_kellyann'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, War, and Deportation
Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, and Rape
erinnz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Antisemitism, and War
dkamada's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Genocide, Antisemitism, and Abandonment
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation
Minor: Animal death, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Excrement, and Fire/Fire injury
becg's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Grief, Murder, and War
shbrt252'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Genocide, Gun violence, and War
katewhite77'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? It's complicated
5.0
The content is hard to read, but the quality of the writing and the gripping plot made it very hard to put down.
We follow two sisters as they find very different ways to navigate their way through the Nazi occupation of France in World War 2. Vienne is a proud mother, wife, and rule follower living in the Loire Valley. She refuses to believe that there will be a war at all right up until her husband Pierre is called up. Isobelle, meanwhile, is eighteen and has just been chucked out of the latest in a long line of boarding schools and is rebellious to her core. Just as she arrives back in Paris, she is ordered by her troubled and overbearing father straight back out again to join her sister. We also follow a 1990s timeline of an older woman remembering but wishing she didn’t have to.
Like I say, this is not an easy read as it does not shy away from the horrors of war waged far from the front line where women and children endured a different kind of hell. The book captures so well how a child's innocence can be so utterly shattered in a war.
Sadly, this novel is all relevant in 2024. When will the human race learn?
This is easily my book of the year so far, and Kristin Hannah is a new author to me, which is very exciting, and I can't wait to read more. I also recommend this for fans of The Eighth Life by Nino Haratchiwili.
Graphic: Rape, Antisemitism, Cultural appropriation, War, and Deportation
Moderate: Child death, Genocide, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Murder
Minor: Cancer
cmason101'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
uselesspirateraven's review against another edition
- 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? No
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, and War
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Antisemitism, Mass/school shootings, and Murder
Minor: Terminal illness, Medical content, Death of parent, and Abandonment