2024 the best kristin hannah books review

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(as of Nov 18, 2024 04:05:16 UTC - Details)

"Kristin Hannah’s potent storytelling skills are brilliantly served by narrator Julia Whelan, whose limber, low-pitched voice moves nimbly from person to person, capturing personality and mood, her empathy palpable."—The Washington Post

From the celebrated author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds comes Kristin Hannah's The Women—at once an intimate portrait of coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided.

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she 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. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.

But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.

The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.

Reviewer: MV
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Thrilling, captivating, heartbreaking
Review: I read this book in 3 days. I can hardly remember reading anything so quickly. The story and characters are so well described that you feel like you’re there with them in every minute. Part One feels like watching a war movie, gruesome and terrifying but honest and sacred.Part two was a little more difficult to read as I felt like it became a bit of a soap opera. You can’t possibly imagine more drama but then it comes. Somehow I guessed the ending, which I’ve never been able to do but it was still beautiful and so well written that I didn’t care. I’d definitely recommend! I just got back into reading again this year and I’m so glad I found Kristin Hannah’s books!

Reviewer: Jenny Wright
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: A Riveting tender heartwrenching Hopeful Must Read
Review: I could not put this book down . It was constantly in my thoughts, immersing me into the lives of American combat nurses’ doctors and soldiers selflessly serving in the jungles of Southeast Asia during a volatile era. The writing is vivid and brings the conflicting complex emotions surrounding the Viet Nam war into sharp relief. The characters are convincing and diverse. The book is well researched and bone chilling in its harrowing depiction of the trauma nurses suffered during war as well as the shame and humiliation they faced once they returned home---trauma compounding trauma.I agree with other readers that even if you are not a reader of historical fiction, this is a well-crafted compelling masterpiece that will draw you into unparalleled depths and breadths of compassion and understanding about these women and the vital role, they played saving and comforting military men serving in Viet Nam. ‘The ending was an outstanding stroke of hope and brilliance.. “The Women” is the best of the many notable books I’ve read this year. It left me with a burning urge to discuss with others who also loved this book.

Reviewer: Mom of 3 Boys and a Lil Lass
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: An engaging, haunting, worthwhile read
Review: 471 pages, two days... tehnically three, since it's now 12:39am on the third day.I didn't plan to read this book in so few days, but I couldn't put it down. It's an excellent, albeit difficult, read. The horrors of the Vietnam War, both in-country and back home upon the soldiers' return are disturbing. Kristin Hannah doesn't gloss over the violence, the injuries, the death, the lies, the nightmares - the ugly of the Vietnam War and the US's part in it are right there in black and white, but so is the comradery, the support, and an unexpected beauty.To say I enjoyed this book would seem odd. Enjoy isn't the right word. I am glad I read it. It is well-written; the characters come alive and the story is engaging, but also haunting, heart-breaking, and mind-numbing. It was definitely a worthwhile read, one that will likely stay with me far into the future.

Reviewer: Lynn Young
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Brave Women
Review: America has always portrayed itself as a country of advanced thinking, but the truth under its boasting is that , for the most part, if women were a reason to be proud, America ignored them. Hannah reveals this "critical gender theory" in her book about a nurse serving in Vietnam. Her main character is Frankie McGrath , a young woman who becomes an Army nurse in Vietnam. She believes she should serve her country in some way after her brother is killed in the war shortly after he enlists. She is hoping her mother and most importantly, her father will be proud of her. She gets the exact opposite reaction. They expected her to get married and have children. Her father has a "hero's wall" of family members who served in past wars. She can only be on that wall after she gets married, and the picture is her wedding picture, and it will be the only picture of her. The wall is symbolic of what society deemed was heroic and only men could be heroic in that way. There was only room for a woman if she married, became a housewife, and had children. While this choice is perfectly acceptable, it should not be perfectly binding as the only way for a woman to show her worth. Frankie is sure she belongs on that wall as a nurse who serves in the Army. Her parents disagree and tell their friends , when Frankie goes off to the war, thst she is studying abroad. But it isn't just her family whose narrow vision of Frankie affects her life. The Army itself has allowed societal rules to dictate how women are treated. Getting to Vietnam is no picnic for Frankie. While her fellow travelers are all men dressed in comfortable fatigues, she must travel in her blouse, tight green jacket, narrow, skirt, nylons held up by a regulation girdle (despite panty hose being available) , and heels. The life of a nurse in a war zone is dangerous, frightening, and traumatic. The war makes less and less sense to Frankie as she stuffs vital organs back into shredded chests and abdominal cavities, and helps doctors amputate more than one limb per patient. Frankie comes to realize with growing horror what is really going on in Vietnam, that America was losing that war, but didn't mind sacrificing more and more young men so that the government could save face. It is a rude awakening for her. When she returns home after two tours of duty, she is treated with disrespect by the public, the VA, and her parents. The country had been told that no women went to Vietnam, so Frankie could not have been there even though she so obviously was. That has always been the problem with woman who don't follow the rules society dictates. If they insist on showing how wrong headed that thinking is, society will just have to minimize them if not ignore them. Suffering from what is now recognized as PTSD, Frankie hits rock bottom before she is able, with the help of her nurse friends who also served, to find a way to survive. The Vietnam protests by the veterans themselves as well as everyone else who raised their voices, finally ended the war. Eventually, the government admitted that over 6,000 nurses,most of them women, served in Vietnam. Hannah's story is thoroughly researched. Her depiction of war torn Vietnam is riveting. One turns the pages to end the war as soon as possible. Frankie's struggles with the war and at home are realistic, heartbreaking, and deeply troubling, but they don't destroy her. She survived Vietnam, and she survives coming back home.

Reviewer: Jojo4
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: An exceptional look at a time most tried to forget. Especially the women.
Review: Hanna does an extraordinary job taking us into a time of drastic change and turmoil in America. Frankie's journey from her idealic country club childhood to being "in country" in Viet Nam is well told, believable and eye-opening at so many points. The pictures Hanna creates of friendship, heartache, unimaginable horror an joy are so well developed and intertwined. Thank you for remembering the lost women, the nurses who definitely fought in Viet name.

Reviewer: Suzanne Attig
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title: Overflowing with Emotion
Review: This is a touching, honest, intense, and brutal examination of a life forged in the crucible of the war in Vietnam. It’s centered around Frankie McGrath, a young, idealistic woman who becomes a battle-tested and hardened nurse. The majority of the book covers her return to the US with at first undiagnosed PTSD and later how she copes with it. It includes family dynamics and all the life and love she shared with her two best friends from the war and the men who had an impact on her. The Women is an unforgettable book and an incredible read.

Reviewer: Jessica
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Omg, Kristin Hannah is the best historical fiction author! This book had me hooked since the beginning and had me sobbing! It was heartbreaking and inspiring at the same time. I loved this book

Reviewer: Dolly and me
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Vietnam was a war that happened but didn't loom large in our mind. We forgot the ladies that went to war and were reviled for it. This is a beautifully written novel. It illustrates the terrible and horrific loss of life and at the same time shows patriotism, courage and friendship. A really worthwhile read.

Reviewer: Helena Gurjão Pinheiro do Val
Rating: 4.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: I admit I'm not an emotional reader. It takes a lot me make me shed tears while reading, but the ending of this book was surprisinly emotional for me. I love reading historical novels, but I knew little about the Vietnam War and its outcomes to the soldiers and nurses who ventured in there in service. A really good book that like many other that I've been reading, show the forgotten role of women in wars that marked a whole generation.

Reviewer: Noralk27
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Excellent, as usual from Kristin Hannah

Reviewer: Dr Birgit Nagel
Rating: 5.0 out of 5 stars
Title:
Review: Sehr wertvolles Buch, spannende und erhellende Geschichte. Sehr tiefgründige Charaktere. Beleuchtet eine Thematik, über die selten zu lesen ist und die vermeintlich unpopulär ist