I was looking forward to this book since I have enjoyed Kristin Hannah’s other books, and it was set in the amazing PNW during the time I grew up. I loved the evocative details of the harsh, beautiful and unforgiving Alaska wilderness. Hannah is as always a wonderful writer and breathes life into her characters and story. Unfortunately I was unable to fully engage with the characters and story. At times the characters were one dimensional and seemed to have lost all rational and logical thinking. So many dark things happened to the wife and daughter that it was hard to read without feeling tragedy was around every corner. I will remain a big fan of Hannah, but this has been my least favorite of her offerings.

Just finished this book. It was so good I didn't want it to end. Interesting learning about life in Alaska as well as abuse victims and how their relationships with others are affected.

Once again Kristin Hannah has proven she is an incredible storyteller. With her vivid descriptions, you almost feel as if you are right there with the characters in the wilds of Alaska. As expected, this was an emotional roller coaster as readers get to know the Allbright family and their very difficult homelife. Ever since Ernt returned from Vietnam, the Allbright's life has been in turmoil. Suffering from PTSD before there was even a PTSD diagnosis, Ernt has struggled to find his place both in society and with his family. When an opportunity to homestead in Alaska comes up, Ernt sees that as the solution to all of the family's problems. However, while in many ways moving to Alaska helped, it also made things much worse. Filled with a cast of wonderful characters, Kristin Hannah has written a gripping novel that was difficult to put down even though at times I had to put it down if only to reach for some tissues.

Coming on the heels of her magnificent novel, The Nightingale, there were great expectations for this
new book by Kristin Hannah. It does not disappoint. The story of a deeply dysfunctional, but intertwined,
family struggling with domestic violence, PTSD, and the challenges of forging a life in the wilds of Alaska
grips the reader at page 1 and doesn't let go.

Hannah's grasp of her subject matter is impressive - the role the abused victim plays in domestic
violence, and why it is so difficult to leave is eye-opening, as is the effect it has on others in the family. In
this case, the victim Cora fell hard for Ernt when they were teenagers, becoming parents early and living
what they thought was a charmed life...until Viet Nam and years as a POW took it all away. Their
struggle to raise their daughter Leni takes them to Alaska, where one of Ernt's fellow POWs left him a
piece of land.

It is here where Hannah's research really shines through. Her descriptions of the hardscrabble life of
loners, adventurers, and back-to- landers in 1970s Alaska is rich and deep, and serves as a cautionary tale
to those with a romantic view of a life in the wilds.

Told from the perspective of the daughter Leni, The Great Alone offers insight into the trauma sustained
by children raised with domestic violence, but also their resilience and the great impact that trust,
courage, and love can have.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the Advance Copy.

I received this book in exchange for an honest review which follows.

This is a coming of age story that deals with domestic abuse and also the wilds of living in Alaska.
The character development is well done as you get inside the heads of each of the main characters. I learned a lot about the settling of Alaska, how rugged life was there, and how each small community supported their members. It was interesting as I've visited some of the towns in the story. However, the story is challenging to read given the domestic abuse scenes and is a bit of saga.

I'm still reeling from this one. Kristin Hannah's novels reach deep into your soul. In The Great Alone, 13-year-old Lenora (Leni) and her parents, Cora and Ernt, have moved repeatedly following her father's release as a POW in Viet Nam. After a fellow soldier leaves land and a homestead in Alaska to him, Ernt believes he will "get better" in the freedom of the remote land.
 
The Great Alone takes the reader on an emotional roller coaster as Ernt's PTSD comes and goes, getting worse and worse. This achingly beautiful yet frightening story explores the lack of mental health that was available to our returning warriors and their families. It is a commentary on how our court system treats abused women who strike back. It reminds parents of young love, and that, to be too strict can often backfire. It is also a travelogue for the fierce beauty that is Alaska.
 
Kristin Hannah clearly loves Alaska, for she describes the land, the brilliant colors, the Northern Lights, the water in a hauntingly beautiful language. The descriptions were intriguing and appealing, yet there was a bit too much of it. Still, this story and these characters will stay with me for a very long time. I loved this book.

Look for me online as The Grumpy Book Reviewer.

Sometimes walking on eggshells isn’t enough to avoid trouble. Not when a moody family member is racked with nightmares and paranoia resulting from years as a POW in Vietnam. The Allbright family knows this firsthand, as husband and father Ernt battles these demons since his return from the war. Drinking only makes it worse. With her husband unable to hold down a steady job, his wife Cora works as a waitress in Seattle to help make ends meet. Suddenly one day, it seems that their ship has come in. A letter arrives to inform them that one of Ernt’s service buddies left him his property in his will. In Alaska.

In The Great Alone, Kristin Hannah strikingly captures the events of the seventies: the war, the protests, disappearances of college women in Seattle, and the energy crisis. She portrays the mood, the attitudes, and the culture of those times. Alaska was an untamed wilderness, a refuge for those who needed a place to hide or for those who wanted to make a fresh start. Ernt Allbright sees it as his big chance to live a new life. He promises that things will be different – better. And for a while, they are. It is summer in the land of the midnight sun. There is so much to do, and these “cheechakos “ have much to learn. There are vegetables to grow and store, fish to catch and smoke, animals to hunt. There is no electricity, no indoor plumbing. Today we would call it “living off the grid”. The work is hard, but is beautiful, breathtaking country, and for once, Ernt seems happy. This makes Cora happy and thirteen-year-old daughter Leni cautiously optimistic too.

Leni goes to a one-room school, where for once, she is easily accepted as the new kid. She makes friends with Matthew, a boy her age. Cora finds a friend in Large Marge, a former attorney who now runs the general store and provides any kind of help the family needs. Ernt finds a like-minded comrade in Mad Earl, the father of his friend who bequeathed the homestead to him. He’s an anti-government type who gives Ernt an excuse to drink and get riled up and rant about the war and all the injustices in the country. Then there’s Tom Walker, a relatively well-to-do fellow whose forbearers founded the township. Ernt instantly becomes jealous and distrustful.

Throughout the first summer, everyone harps about preparing for winter. Leni and her mother cast wary glances at one another. Winters in Alaska are long – and dark. Darkness spells danger. Ernt does not handle darkeness well. It brings out the beast in the worst way. Even when they tiptoe around him and do everything they can to avoid upsetting him, the slightest look or wrong word or inflection can trigger a rage that provokes a beating. Cora always says it must be her fault, that she must have done something to set him off. Leni is stuck in the middle. She tells her mother they have to leave him, but Cora says she can’t stop loving him. He’s sorry, he says. It won’t happen again, he promises. Over and over.

The Great Alone. That’s what people call winter. That’s what Leni feels in her family. She and Mama say they are like two peas in a pod. Leni can’t leave her mother. Mama can’t leave Dad. So she is stuck. As Leni becomes closer to Matthew – Tom Walker’s son – she can’t explain to him about her dad. So she seeks solace in books. She read once that there are a thousand ways to die in Alaska, which includes bears and wolves, falling through the ice, and succumbing to other natural disasters. I wonder if that includes dying inside. Cora Allbright – what an ironic name! The brightness has been gone from this marriage, yet she clings to this ghost of a man whom she loved before the war. Leni – so brilliant, curious, and loving – does she have a future away from this volatile, toxic home life?

The domestic violence in this novel is unpleasant and wearing, to say the least. I know there are many readers who will, understandably, choose to forego reading this book because of that. Ms. Hannah does not sugar coat it or excuse it, even though Cora tries to. It takes Leni, the teenager so affected by the discord, to have a hand in being the proverbial straw that breaks the camel’s back. I found myself cringing and gritting my teeth through many scenes. While the story focuses on Leni and her family, there are other strong, likable characters in this saga. Matthew Walker has more than his share of terrible struggles, and he proves himself worthy. Big-hearted Large Marge and Tom Walker are sturdy, faithful friends. For those who love adventures, this book has lovely descriptions as well as danger. I found myself experiencing a wide range of emotions – anger, of course, but humor, awe, sorrow, surprise, and joy.

The Great Alone begins in 1974 when Leni is 13. It spans twelve years, through 1986. Leni grows from childhood through adolescence to womanhood during that time. Kristin Hannah has created a remarkable work of fiction that felt real. It’s a coming-of-age story, a survival story, and a tribute to the power of community and friendship and love. Love is never perfect; it can be challenging and harsh. It can be breathtakingly beautiful and enduring. Love between parent and offspring, between young lovers, and love humans have for nature all dominate the daily lives of folks in Kristin Hannah’s Alaskan wilderness in The Great Alone. As 2017 draws to a close, I am thinking that perhaps I saved the best book for last. This one certainly makes my top three.

My thanks to NetGalley, St.Martin's Press, and the author for an ARC of this wonderful book. My opinions are my own.

5 stars

This novel didn’t resonate for me. I was intrigued by the setting and had heard great things about the author’s previous novel, The Hummingbird. However, I felt that the pace dragged for me and the barrage of terrible events in the lives of the primary characters was over the top. Ultimately, I would not recommend this book.

I enjoyed every single page of this book. Wonderfully written, great storyline, am sad to see it end!

This isn't coming out till Feb but I just finished an arc of it and I can't even express how much I loved it. This is the book about Alaska in the 70's that I never knew I needed to read. Dealing with the after effects of a POW situation after the Vietnam War a family heads to the wilds of Alaska to find a new start as the father faces the demons in his mind. Full of beautiful description and heartbreaking moments this story of love and strength was just wonderful. So many layers to this story it was impossible to put down.

I received this book free of charge from NetGalley for my honest review.

Leni is a 13 year old girl who moves to the wilderness of Alaska in the mid 1970's with her family. Her dad was a POW in the Vietnam war and suffers from PTSD. He inherited some land in Alaska from a war buddy, who didn't make it home. Leni and her family are very unprepared to live in the harsh wilderness of Alaska but thanks to some caring neighbors they learn their way. Len's father, Ernt, is abusive to her mother, Cora. She forges a strong friendship with Matthew and is devastated when his mother dies and he goes to live with relatives in Fairbanks. When they are finally reunited several years later, they realize that they are in love. Ernt disapproves of this and things change forever one night.

This book left me with so many emotions. Sadness for Cora, who wouldn't/couldn't leave an abusive relationship. Heartbreak, when Leni and Matthew are torn apart. Hopeful when they are reunited. Such a roller coaster of emotions.

This may be one of my top 5 books of 2017.

This was a phenomenal read, and the characters will stay with me for a very long time. I cried myself through many chapters, and found myself wanting to grab Cora by the shoulders and tell her to RUN! I have read and loved many of Kristin Hannah's novels, but this one is by far my favorite. Highly recommend!

I had high hopes for this book. I recently read Diann Lake's book about her time in the Manson family, as well as the new unauthorized biography about Stevie Nicks, and have been in a 70's groove. I enjoyed how the book started out, telling the story of the main characters' father who waas a Viet Nam vet and distrusted the American government.
The first third of the book was great, and the description of Wild Alaska was wonderful, but then the story started to drag. As if to make up for that, so much was crammed into the last few chapters of the book to wrap things up. Doing so made the ending feel very trite.
I was disappointed the story didn't get the ending that I think it deserved, it could have been a great ending.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for providing an advanced copy for me to review.

This is by far one of the best books of 2017! This is the story of the Allbright family. In the 1970's they decide to escape to the Alaskan Frontier. The father (Ernt) is a Vietnam POW that comes home from the war broken. His wife (Cora) and daughter (Leni) follow him to this wild frontier to try to become whole again.

So much happens to this family and you just wonder how it is all going to turn out. Will they make it in this harsh land? Will they ever find peace and happiness?

I highly recommend this to everyone! Preorder this book today, you will not be disappointed. My thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for this advanced readers copy!

She never disappoints!! Another amazing read by an amazing author.

Kristin Hannah has done it again—another emotionally-packed story of hardship and survival despite overwhelming circumstances—this time in the Alaskan wilderness of the 1970s.

Thirteen-year-old Leni Albright travels to Alaska with her mom and dad for a “fresh start.” A former Vietnam POW, her dad has anger issues and her mom defends him with unyielding love. They are woefully unprepared, but kind townspeople help them out at every turn. Leni becomes friends with Matthew, the only other kid in town her age. But the winter’s increasing darkness brings her father’s problems to the breaking point, and Leni and her mom try their best to keep the family together.

Without giving the story away, there’s not too much I can say other than this one will tug at your heart strings and, for those of you who remember the ‘70s, it will bring back memories of a time when women had to fight for their rights.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of The Great Alone.

Hannah does it again. A riveting story, but not her usual historical mother daughter tale. She covers a sensitive topic but I won’t spoil it.

What a powerful book about survival in Alaska. Ernt Allbright was a View Nam POW who was left some land and a cabin in Alaska by one of his Army friends. Ernt, his wife Cora and their daughter Leni leave Seattle for life in Alaska. The long dark Alaskan nights prove to be toxic for Ernt who suffers flashbacks from Viet Nam and is abusive to his wife and finally to his daughter. Daughter Leni meets a boy in school, Matthew, which blossoms into love. This is such a wonderful book with a lot of twists, a lot of heartbreak, a lot of love and family situations.

I really liked The Nightingale as was very much looking forward to this book. Definitely a fast read that grabbed my attention --and kept it--for the most part.

Often a 3.5 but at some point I got a bit bored. And I found some of the story line too predictable for such an unpredictable cast of characters. And--there were many--in fact, the entire populace of the book!

The setting [based in part on the author's family experiences--adventurers]. As noted: Alaska, 1974. Untamed and unpredictable. A Vietnam vet with PTSD, A wife who loes him too much and suffers physical and mental abuse. A teenage daughter who's caught in between. The cluster of people who escaped to the wilderness in search of a different life.

What worked for me.
The language--some of the very brief phrases/descriptions:
"spatula-shaped Earth shoes"
"blowing into the chapel of his bare hands"
"terrible, toxic knot that was their family"
"watched cancer erase her mother"

The cast of characters--so well drawn. I LOVED LARGE MARGE!! And even though I didnt like Mad Earl--I wasn't supposed to! And I found Leni refreshing. And mostly strong women.

All the information on living and working to survive in Alaska--what one had to do to prepare for the loooong winters. How the community banded together. Going back in time to the "great alone" of Alaska.

What didnt:
being hammered over the head with Ernt's drinking, abuse, and broken promises [and every love-filled reunion between Ernt and his wife, Cora--enough!]
figuring out several plot lines way too early

Nonetheless, I suspect that once you pick up this book you won't want to put it down until it ends and it's all tied together [maybe a bit too neatly].

If you haven’t read Kristin Hannah’s incredible novel, The Nightingale, do so immediately! In fact, here is the link from Amazon so you can get it now. In February, Kristin’s new book will be out and you won’t want to miss The Great Alone. What a talented author to write such varying books, yet still so detailed. Her books are unforgettable.

In The Great Alone, the setting is Alaska, which resonated with me since its one of my favorite places. The book starts in 1974 when young Leni is moved to a desolate, beautiful town in Alaska by her parents. Her father, Ernt, is a struggling Vietnam vet prone to violence and her mother, Cora, is a gentle hippie who is often the recipient of her husband’s anger. Leni quietly watches her parents struggle and fight, only to make up. For a while, things are better in Alaska where Leni’s dad bonds with some of the men and the women are quick to help Leni’s mother.

Soon though, Ernt begins to descend further into crazy conspiracies and mental instabilities, and Cora is unable to help him. With the long, dark days of cold Alaskan winters where the threat of wolves and bears is a daily consideration, the most terrifying threat to Leni and Cora is actually within the walls of their small remote cabin.

The Great Alone is a fantastic coming of age story that had me hooked from page one. You are going to love it!