Wait,” Leni said. Even for Dad, this was big. “Alaska? You want to move again? We just moved here.” As readers, we all connect with books/characters/writing for a variety of reasons and it just so happens, this one didn’t land among my favorites. Whether you’re a diehard Kristin Hannah fan, like I consider myself to be, or new to her work, I urge you to give this a chance. You never know, this might be your new favorite. I also feel compelled to mention, of her books, I adored these in particular: Home Front, Night Road, Winter Garden and The Nightingale. While daunting at first, Alaska provides a good, new step once the family settles. However, when winter arrives, Ernt’s moods darken. What do you think it was about the winter that seemed to set him off? Was it simply inevitable wherever he lived? Newell, RJ (March 27, 2018). " "Out in the Middle of Nowhere": A Conversation with Kristin Hannah". Los Angeles Review of Books . Retrieved March 13, 2021.

Then Dad got drafted and went off to Vietnam and got shot down and captured. Without him, Mama fell apart; that was when Leni first understood her mother’s fragility. They drifted for a while, she and Mama, moved from job to job and town to town until they finally found a home in a commune in Oregon. There, they tended beehives and made lavender sachets to sell at the farmers’ market and protested the war. Mama changed her personality just enough to fit in.

Book Summary

All this time, Dad had taught Leni how dangerous the outside world was. The truth was that the biggest danger of all was in her own home.

Cora tells Leni to stay away from Matthew until they both start college in the fall. But they can’t. How did this set up the tragedy that would unfold?

Large Marge tells Cora and Leni that “in Alaska, everyone is either running to something or running away from something.” Do you think this is particularly true to wild places like Alaska? Or has is always been true of the American pioneer? How would you compare and contrast the homesteaders in Alaska to the pioneers in early America, who came west in covered wagons? How are the modern Alaska homesteaders different? How are they the same? What do you think draws people to the wild, unpredictable and remote corners of Alaska? I’m so glad you found your way here. The Nightingale is a book that really means a lot to me. To be completely honest with you, I Hello and welcome! Hoover is one of the freshest voices in new-adult fiction, and her latest resonates with true emotion, unforgettable characters and just the right amount of sexual tension.

Her new novel, The Women, about a young woman coming of age during the turbulent 1960's in America, who joins the Army Nurse Corps and serves in Vietnam will be published February 6th, 2024. Ok. I truly hated this formulaic flat stereotypes-everyone book. I LOVED The Nightingale. Made everyone I know read it. I thought The Nightingale hung the moon and stars. I was excited beyond words for the release of The Great Alone.Henley, Tara (February 16, 2018). "Kristin Hannah's book The Great Alone explores living off-grid in Alaska". Toronto Star . Retrieved March 21, 2021.