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A review by downtown_kb
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
adventurous
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? It's complicated
5.0
"She knew the difference between fact and fiction, but she couldn’t abandon her love stories. They made her feel as if women could be in control of their destinies. Even in a cruel, dark world that tested women to the very limits of their endurance, the heroines of these novels could prevail and find true love."
It's the 1970's, Leni is 13, and her family decides to move to rural Alaska for a new start.
I've been sleeping under a rock and I'm glad I gave Kristin Hannah a shot with this book because I'm now going to have to go through her backlog. This is a coming of age story, a bit of a family saga, and a romance.
This was beautifully written not just with the descriptions of life in Alaska but also with how KH captures the very complex and dark side of this family's love. It deals very heavily with domestic violence/abuse and so be warned if this is a hard topic for you to read. There is also suspense elements and other tragedies, great story pacing, and side characters. I had a hard time putting this down. And as heavy and hopeless as this story gets it also gives you an almost borderline sappy happily ever after once the reader gets to the end (the hits just keep on coming so when they stop it feels unreal).
This reminded me of Where The Crawdad's Sing with it's sense of place and the depth of emotion the author paint in the simple day to day life of Leni.
Highly recommend and if you like audio, it is read by Julia Whelan.
It's the 1970's, Leni is 13, and her family decides to move to rural Alaska for a new start.
I've been sleeping under a rock and I'm glad I gave Kristin Hannah a shot with this book because I'm now going to have to go through her backlog. This is a coming of age story, a bit of a family saga, and a romance.
This was beautifully written not just with the descriptions of life in Alaska but also with how KH captures the very complex and dark side of this family's love. It deals very heavily with domestic violence/abuse and so be warned if this is a hard topic for you to read. There is also suspense elements and other tragedies, great story pacing, and side characters. I had a hard time putting this down. And as heavy and hopeless as this story gets it also gives you an almost borderline sappy happily ever after once the reader gets to the end (the hits just keep on coming so when they stop it feels unreal).
This reminded me of Where The Crawdad's Sing with it's sense of place and the depth of emotion the author paint in the simple day to day life of Leni.
Highly recommend and if you like audio, it is read by Julia Whelan.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Gaslighting
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Sexual content