Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - The Great Alone

🌬️Kristin Hannah's first book brought me to tears. This one was no different. There is so mucy heartbreak and tragedy; just when you think the plot is nearing happiness and peace, it drags you back, to torment you all over again. There is a mix of lovable and unlovable characters, which drive the elements of suspense and uncertainty throughout the plot.

🌬️This book has two love stories — one of two hopeful teenagers who desired a peaceful and happy life together; and one of a mother who has made many mistakes and loves her husband irrevocably and her daughter who wonders why. These two narratives are strongly laced —revolving around the complexities and toxicity of certain families, caused by circumstance, hardship and poor life altering decisions.

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randeerebecca's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

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mdburdine's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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jenneyrebecca's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

It’s hard to rate the pace of the book because it starts slow and then accelerated rapidly About halfway through.

Two faults: 1. the beginning feels hollow and cliche - a coming of age story about a gangly redhead whose always the new kid at school. (But this quickly evaporates into a compelling and beautiful family drama.) 2. There are a few plot points that feel like they happen only because the author needs them to do something (create tension, let time pass).

(like the move to Seattle and finding the newspaper clipping that prevents them from going home to Alaska, or Mama catching Leni calling Matthew and forbidding her from doing it, which keeps them in Seattle and ignorant of whether he’s recovered, and then when she returns, everyone almost says whether Matthew is conscious but still I hung in every word. Also what about the poor Seattle grandparents? We just leave them behind grieving the loss of their daughter while their granddaughter and great grandson immediately move away forever!

It has been a long time since I stayed up all night reading a book. I could NOT put it down. It absolutely hooked me with its themes of domestic abuse, mother-daughter trauma bonding, horrifying discoveries about one’s own parents … and with such a satisfying ending. There are people who would fault the book for not being dark enough, for plot points that aren’t cruel enough. Not me.

And the imagery was great! I have never been to Alaska but I felt I could imagine the town and the people vividly. Two of the heart-rending quotes that stopped and caught me will tell you precisely the core of what this book is about:

“You could always tell when Dad was gone. Everything was easier and more relaxed in his absence.”

“The baby’s minuscule fingers closed around hers. A searing, cleansing, enveloping love blew her heart into a million tiny pieces and reshaped it.”

They seem simple but went to the heart of what hooked me about this book - the felt sense of being in a household with an abusive man

(especially as the realization of it is a huge part of the first half of the book)

and the many mothers in the story learning and sharing what motherhood means.

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