In 1974, Ernt Allbright returned home after several years as a POW in Vietnam. His ordeal had transformed him; he was no longer a warm and loving husband and father. Instead, he was violent, unpredictable, and abusive; subjecting his wife Cora to beatings and terrifying his daughter Leni. Ernt was convinced the world was about to end, and when he received a letter offering him a homestead in Kenaq, Alaska, the family packed up what they had, climbed in a VW bus, and headed off to Alaska.

They were unprepared for the isolation of the homestead, and for the primitive cabin, complete with an outhouse, and yet Leni fell in love with the wild beauty of the scenery and the friendliness of the people. Though she and Cora endured the verbal and physical abuse centering from Ernt’s increasing instability, Leni learned to survive, and even thrive, in the Alaskan wilderness.

Kristin Hannah does a wonderful job of conveying the beauty and the danger the Allbright family faced; both from the scenery and setting, and from Ernt’s inner demons. There was an underlying theme of fear was constantly emphasized, ranging from the fear of the wild animals, the wilderness, their lack of preparation, and in Cora’s relationship with Ernt. I liked Leni’s adaptability and her strength and courage in facing the unknown and untested, after being uprooted yet again by her unstable father. Leni and I are the same age, and I enjoyed the trip back in time with a young woman in a completely different environment than I was used to.

I loved this book. Such heartbreak about a family twisted by domestic violence. I cried many times for the women in this book. Yet, I raised my fist for solidarity at the many women in the book. I thought that is was beautifully written and had a well thought out plot! Loved it!

This is my second book from Kristin Hannah and you can't imagine my excitement about it!I was so intrigued and excited to start it!I love the writing and the story was beautiful! The characters rocked this story, I fall in love with them!The story is slow in some parts but overall many things happening to keep your interest!Secrets, love, death, loss and joy is some of the things you'll meet in this story!I have so many feelings with The Great Alone, it's a story I would definitely re read!The setting was perfect that I felt like I was a part of the story!

If you love Kristin Hannah's writing then you are going to love this one!Captivating,emotional and beautiful story!

The Allbright family moves to Alaska in 1974 after inheriting some land. They have no idea what to expect and arrive woefully unprepared for the harsh winters. Through neighborly help and lessons, they adapt and make it through to become true Alaskans. But, there is something wrong with the father, a Vietnam veteran.

The Great Alone of the title refers to the long Alaska winters and how alone you can feel in the many hours of darkness at the top of the world. It comes from a poem by Robert Service. The story is told through the eyes of Leni, the couple’s 13-year-old daughter. Her parents, Ernt and Cora, were struggling to make ends meet in Seattle. Then, Ernt found out that a war buddy, Bo Harlan, had left him some land in Alaska. Since they would own their own place for the first time, they decided to move. They packed up and drove their old VW bus all the way to Alaska. Ernt has experienced PTSD symptoms since the war and he has horrible nightmares and does not deal with bad weather very well. As their first winter looms, the reader begins to wonder whether Ernt will be able to hold it together in the cold, dark, and harsh lengthy winter.

The novel was very enjoyable, but some parts can be upsetting. The setting is just fantastic. It doesn’t get much better than wild Alaska. The author’s descriptions of the land are detailed and make you feel like you are there. Her love of this place shines through in all the descriptive passages. Not only the land, but the people are unique as well. In Alaska, you can be who you want to be. If a man wants to marry a goose, as one character does, no one will question it. People are unique and they leave each other alone to be themselves in Alaska. Everyone helps each other to survive. It’s not a place that just anyone can survive though. Many never make it through their first winter. Thus, the big question is whether Ernt will either step up or fail miserably at this new life. How will he handle the stress of this new situation? There is the main conflict of the story.

This is part adventure and part love story and part human interest. Leni finds a friend in the only boy her age at the small school, but her father has issues with the boy’s father. The characterizations in the novel are detailed and give us plenty of insight into what motivates each character. Leni loves her parents, but wants to also have a best friend. Her mother, Cora, wants to keep the peace in her relationship and seems to really love her husband, despite his flaws. Ernt is a hard character to read. His motivations are not easy to understand and he is very conflicted. His inner demons begin to come out more and more as the story goes along.

The narrative moves along well, with no slow or boring parts. Dialog is also indicative of each character. For example, Bo’s father talks in a different dialect or accent than the others. The reader gains insight into what it takes to survive in an environment such as this. It was probably quite different in 1974 than it is today, but it’s still a very tough environment and it’s not for everyone. How these characters each handle the stresses makes for plenty of conflicts that need to be resolved. The novel is also an exploration of PTSD and its horrific effects on family life, especially in an era before it was recognized as such and treatments were available as there are nowadays. Family violence is also explored here. It’s a detailed look at what can trigger someone to go over the edge.

This novel is complex and deals with several issues. It is set in a wonderful place and the author did a great job with all aspects of the story. I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about survival in Alaska, or just enjoys a good story. I guarantee this one will make you cry, shout for joy, and sometimes laugh. It is an excellent novel.

Thank you so much to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the eARC of this book! I had the wonderful opportunity to visit Alaska a couple of years ago, and immediately fell in love. I loved how Hannah was able to bring me right back throughout this book. I love books that really pull you into the setting, and this book really masterfully transports the reader to Alaska in the 1970s. The story of the Allbright family, the father suffering from PTSD, the mother who will do anything for him, and Leni, their daughter - coming of age in the wilds of Alaska, was hard one to read because they go through so much. It's a powerful story about the human spirit, and what we will do for those we love.

~~Reviewed by Shelly~~

Wow! What a thriller! Leni grows up in a totally dysfunctional family. She sees her dad beat her mom but she won’t leave. Dysfunction galore abounds. The family has relocated to a small town in Alaska. Toss in months of darkness and you know evil is going to rise. Leni finds unlikely friends in the cute boy from school, and friends throughout town. They protect Leni and have her and her mom’s back as a “mystery” unfolds. This is a thought-provoking story. How could this have been prevented? Why did no one do anything? Will Leni and her love survive? Will her mom survive? Will they stay in Alaska? You have to read it to get the answers. I do believe you will be surprised.

I wanted to see what all of the buzz was about, and now I know. Kristin Hannah has a fresh, authentic voice that transports her readers to a completely different time and place. The Great Alone, set in Alaska in 1974, made a believer of me. Thanks go to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC, which I received in exchange for this honest review.

Leni Allbright is our protagonist, and she and her mother are inseparable during the early years of her childhood. But when her father, a man she doesn’t know, is released from the POW camp and then sent home, he is volatile, not the man Cora remembers. He has trouble keeping a job; he wakes up screaming in the middle of the night. He’s paranoid and sometimes delusional, too.

He likes firearms.

Then word comes that a friend, a soldier he served with, has died and left him a plot of land in Alaska. They’ll be away from the stimulation of the city, which seems to trigger Ernt’s anxiety and panic attacks. Cora tells Leni it’s perfect, because once Ernt is happy, everybody can be happy. And so, clueless hippies that they are, they head north in a VW van with little more than the shirts on their backs and of course, Ernt’s weapon collection.

Imagine their surprise upon discovering their new home is at the end of a long unpaved driveway and isn’t really in habitable condition. However, Mad Earl, the father of the deceased soldier that left the place to Ernt, introduces him around, and their new Alaskan friends teach them the ropes. Cora and Leni are accustomed to a passive role, but Ginny “the generator” and Large Marge assure them that if they don’t learn to pull their own weight, they will die before the end of the first winter. Soon Cora and Leni know how to fell trees, use tools, and kill their own meat.

Ernt wants his wife and daughter to be survivors; he wants them to be ready when “the shit hits the fan.” He wakes them from a sound sleep at odd intervals and forces them, bleary eyed and bewildered, to assemble and load weapons in the dark. He assures them that it’s possible the enemy may attack in the small hours; it’s an old ruse. But over time it becomes clear that the most dangerous person they will ever encounter is Ernt.

Hannah is a feminist badass and an evocative, memorable writer. One of the finest things about this story is the recognition that domestic abuse often arrives hand-in-glove with some other challenge that muddies the water. Ernt is abusive, but he can’t help himself; something happened to his mind when he was a POW. Then of course, there’s addiction and straight-up mental illness. Who could just leave a guy that has been through so much and that loves them so hard?

Ernt says he is sorry, and it won’t happen again. Like so many abusers, he says it every damn time. But even when it has become crystal clear to Leni that she and her mother must put their own safety first, Cora won’t leave, and Leni won’t leave her mother.

By the halfway point, it becomes clear that someone is going to die; the three of them cannot continue together indefinitely through the dark Alaskan winters, and yet there they are, and he’s getting worse, not better. But then Large Marge injects new life into their domestic situation with an ingenious plan. It doesn’t last forever, but it buys them some time.

My only disappointment is with the ending. In many ways it is cleverly turned, but it’s a letdown to see such a magnificent young woman warrior take such a well-worn, traditional path. It’s a small quibble though, and it shouldn’t keep you from grabbing the nearest copy of this excellent novel at whatever price you have to pay to get it. It’s for sale now, and I recommend it to you.

Hannah Kristin doesn't meed my help to sell a book. Despite some suspension of disbelief, I enjoyed the story, and the rustic setting.

This is by far one of the most beautiful novels I have ever read. I sat down to start before one of my book groups had a Q&A with the author and ended up finishing the novel because I had to know that Cora was OK, that Leni survived. That Ernt was cured or got what he needed. I loved the setting of Alaska. I was completely transported. Loved this novel.

Leni Albright is a thirteen year old living in the midst of her parents’ volatile and toxic relationship. I felt such sympathy for what Leni had to endure in this environment. Her father Ernt came home from the Vietnam war with a damaged mind, a violent temper and a growing doomsday mentality. Her mother Cora is spending her post-war reunion with Ernt as a prisoner in her own home, alternating between loving moments and as Earl’s punching bag when his temper flares. Ernt’s violence is most pronounced in darkness, so the family’s hope for a ‘new start’ moving to a small outpost in Alaska where daylight is short was not going to happen. After a brief respite, Leni and Cora once again become the objects of Ernt’s psychotic mood disorder and abuse.

This story is one of resilience and survival amidst tragic circumstances not only within the family, but also the broader circle of neighbors in the small Alaskan town . There is a strong cast of supporting characters such as sensible and caring Large Marge and the Walkers who are a godsend to Leni and Cora. I couldn’t stop reading and ran through a gamut of feelings - hope, disappointment, anger. I was so angered by something that happened to one of the characters that squashed the happy ending I was longing for. This particular life-changing event and subsequent related storyline seemed completely unnecessary and I felt cheated so this is where it lost a star for me. But kudos to Hannah for getting me so invested in this character that it brought on such strong emotion.

This book just crawled under my skin and made a home there. It offered so much to me and touched so many cords in my body. The description of living in remote Alaska was so evocative and realistic that I realized I would have been out of there so fast that it would make your head spin. I was invested in the story.

The book starts in 1974 and I was 21 then so the times were quite familiar to me. Leni is 13 and struggling to fit in somewhere, anywhere. Her parents moved a lot because of her dad's temper and drinking. He was a POW in Vietnam and had many unresolved issues. America did such a terrible job of taking care of the vets that we should still hold our heads in shame. There was little if any medical care and what there was difficult to access. Benefits were almost impossible to get and the public would call the vets names and be generally abusive to them It was sad. I know of what I speak as my husband was 100% service connected disabled and it only took us 12 years to get full benefits.

Her father's friend from the service leaves him a homestead in Northern Alaska after he dies. Her father seizes on the opportunity and the family is on the road again. They think this may be the salvation for them but there was never a family less prepared. Life in rural Alaska is hard. There are only four short months to prepare for the hard winter. In winter there are only 5-6 hours of daylight and this is enough to drive many people crazy. I know it would me. The 18-20 hours of daylight in the summer are filled with hard work of trying to survive the winter. There is no electricity, running water, or indoor bathrooms. If you go to the outhouse you have to take a gun in case you run into a bear.

Her father is full of demons and liquor. He regularly beats her mom and then cried for forgiveness. There is something wrong with her mom not only because she accepts the beatings but seems to get something out of it. There is wild lovemaking after the fights and Cora, Leni's mom, ties her daughter into the cycle. She reminds Leni over and over again that if she had know her dad before Vietnam she would forgive him. Leni stays home a lot hoping to be a deterrent to the beatings. She becomes a buffer and a peace maker between her parents. She has no life of her own except for books.

This book deals with a lot of issues and really involved me in the story. I could barely put it down. This is what I learned. I am not a survivalist. I don't want to live off the grid. I want comforts. I do not want to be beat. I want America to take care of its veterans. I want adults to take care of their children instead of the other way around.

If you are looking for a book that really immerses you in the story, this is a great one.

Holy Hannah, you guys. I don't even know how to start this review. My feelings about this book are all over the place but I think maybe the important thing to take away from this review is: this book made me feel.

That said, it didn't always make me feel the way I wanted to feel. It wasn't a happy book. I felt angry and depressed for a good portion of it - but I felt those things sort of...viscerally. Like I couldn't shake this book off when I put it down. The emotions in this book became my emotions and for better or for worse, that's a pretty amazing feat.

It's also worth noting that as angry and frustrated as I got with this story, I never wanted to walk away from it. It's incredibly compelling. I had to know what happened next and then I had to know how it ended. Ms. Hannah is a talented writer and a wonderful storyteller. This particular story wreckedmy heart, over and over again. But in the end it felt completely worth every emotional punch Ms. Hannah delivered. It was brutal. It was beautiful. It was hopeless. It was redemptive. It's not a simple story and did not inspire simple reactions from me.

Despite not being able to walk away from the story, it did drag a bit for me in the middle. It got a little repetitive at times and - this may have been intentional to build that feeling of frustration and unease - but after a while I did find myself skimming to move the story ahead and find out what happened next.

Over all - this was kind of a wild ride. I adored the ending. After the beating my emotions took, the ending felt like a sweet reward and I turned the final pages with dripping eyes and a giant smile. However, my emotional experience during this book makes it nearly impossible to assign a star rating. My feelings are literally all over the place. It's five stars for storytelling and the fact that I couldn't put it down. It's 1 star for the fact that I legit hated this story sometimes. Like blood pressure boiling, red in the face, hated (but I understand those feelings just prove that I was invested, and that - as I said in the beginning - this book made me feel and that, in it's own right, is a remarkable thing). It's 5 stars for the completely rewarding if somewhat bittersweet ending.

My feelings are as complicated as the characters and storylines in this book - which I guess, after I unravel my own hang-ups and biases, means that you should absolutely read this one.

I received an advanced reader copy thanks for NetGalley for honest review.
This story follows the Allbright family, focusing mostly on Leni, the only daughter of Vietnam vet and POW; Ernt and hippie mom Cora. Cora and Ernt fell desperately in love and ran away together against Cora's parents wishes. They found themselves pregnant and soon after Ernt was sent to war where he was captured as a POW. Like most soliders, Ernt comes home deeply disturbed and has violent outbursts and easily angered, even to the point of hitting Cora. After losing yet another job and increasingly feeling stressed and at rope's end, Ernt receives a letter from a family member of fellow POW who died in the war. He offers the Allbright family his land in Alaska. Ernt immediately jumps on the chance to get away from it all and have a fresh start away from people and city struggles. So without any experience living off the land, Ernt, Cora and Leni sell everything and move up to Alaska.
Leni, who this book's point of view is based on, finds herself in yet another new place and new school. This story follows Leni and her changing view of her parents relationship as she grows from awkward teen to young adult. Against all expectations, Alaska becomes home to Leni,
I loved this story, the pacing was great and the writing was so vivid I felt like I was with the Allbright family in Alaska, The book sheds light on domestic violence, survival, young love, community and family. It was a wonderful book and appreciate being able to have read it.

I finished this book last week and while I typically try to write my reviews right away, I struggled with my feelings about this one so I've put it off for a week and I'm glad I did. If I would've wrote it immediately I might have focused too much on my feelings about the ending; however, with a little time and perspective I think I have a clearer understanding of why I feel so torn about parts of this book.

Enough vagueness, let me be more specific. The blurb, which I heavily edited from Goodreads (this is really all you need to know), gives you the bare bones of the story. What Hannah so brilliantly manages to do is to take that set up and place the reader right there in the Alaskan setting with the Allbright family. I'm not exaggerating when I say I was mesmerized by the Alaskan setting and the way the author was able to place me there....I literally couldn't turn the pages fast enough. I felt the cold, I saw the beauty. I'm not sure that's ever happened to me before, where a setting has so completely captured my attention and made me feel the suspense and drama of the surroundings that are at once beautiful yet deadly.

Then we have the Allbright family and really I don't know where to start with them. The level of dysfunction and domestic violence prevalent in their family dynamics was heartbreaking, yet infuriating, because as a reader it's very hard to read about the details of the abuse that Ernt (a former POW) inflicted on Cora and then having a child, Leni, be witness to it and becoming the caretaker of her mom while trying desperately to not rock the boat with her dad...her life was truly "walking on egg shells" on a daily basis.  Add to that Leni's struggles with her new life in the harsh Alaskan setting and here was a character I was rooting for and as a result I could. not. put. this. book. down! Was the domestic abuse over the top as many reviewers have discussed? In my opinion, no. Yes, it was very difficult to read but as someone who worked in social work, foster care to be exact, the domestic abuse cycle and trauma to Leni and Cora was (unfortunately) realistic to me.

In terms of another major aspect of this novel that I loved were the supporting characters. Hannah has crafted a small group of townspeople who inhabit the little Alaskan village and my absolute favorite was Large Marge. Seriously, I would've taken so many more chapters about Large Marge verses some of the extended storyline chapters toward the end. Hannah's ability to craft secondary characters with intricate subplots is just superb.

This, however, brings me to my critique which honestly I feel torn writing about because overall I was captivated by this story.  In fact, I read the first 70% of this like a madwoman and then literally there was a shift, slight but there, in which the narrative began to feel bogged down with descriptive details in what felt like a much slower pace. Add to this some questionable character motivations and actions, one which felt like a glaring misstep that was put in to force the plot and you have my reasons for feeling so conflicted. I do question whether my expectations were too high, am I being too picky? Perhaps. I just read (and loved) The Nightingale in November so it was fresh in my memory, but unquestionably this is a completely different book, wonderful in it's own right which needs and deserves no comparison to any other.

{My Thoughts}
What Worked For Me
The 70’s Done Right – Kristin Hannah’s setting of her story in the 1970’s could not have been done better. From the everyday to the horrific, The Great Alone was steeped in the culture of the decade. Musical references, including “Midnight at the Oasis, Come On Get Happy, and Bad, Bad Leroy Brown,” kept the reader firmly in the 70’s. Concerns around the Patty Hearst kidnapping, plane hijackings, and the series of murders going on in the Seattle area (later found to be Ted Bundy) gave the story weight. And then there was the Vietnam War and the politics surrounding it. That war, so divisive for our country, Ernt Allbright experienced as a POW. Returning home, he was a changed man, afflicted with what we now know to be PTSD, a diagnosis that didn’t exist in the 70’s.

Alaska In All Its Glory – Alaska, herself, was definitely one of the main characters in The Great Alone, and perhaps the one I enjoyed getting to know the most. Hannah clearly has a love for the forty-ninth state and has spent quite a lot of time there. Her words brought the state’s wild beauty to life at the same time they highlighted the unforgiving nature of a land of such extremes. In the very remote community where the Allbright family landed life was dependent on being prepared at all times, but never more so than for each coming winter. The gorgeous and brief Alaskan summers were nothing but work: growing food, preserving food, hunting food, dehydrating food, storing food. All in preparation for the long, dark, long, dark winters to come. In this startling backdrop, Hannah populated The Great Alone with a cast of supporting characters as varied, rugged, and resilient as the state itself.

A Tough Theme – When Ernt Allbright returned from Vietnam, he was a changed man. He was depressed. He couldn’t keep a job. He trusted almost no one.

“Her father looked up, just enough to make eye contact. He looked ruined, tired, but present; in his eyes, she saw more love and more sadness than should exist in one human being. Something was tearing him up inside even now. It was the other man, the bad man, who lived inside of him and tried to break out in the darkness.”

And, Ernt was violent. I’m not giving much away to say that his violence spilled over to his family, and especially his wife who continued to love Ernt. While this was difficult to read, it also felt historically accurate on significant levels. First, with no PTSD counseling or support, men returning from war often have been abusive to their families. Further, such abuse has often been excused. Second, The Great Alone takes place before there was much know about battered-woman’s syndrome, and prior to such a thing as the battered woman’s defense. While I’d have liked Cora to feel she had other options, I also see that it wouldn’t have felt that way to her. I thought Hannah’s handling of this tough subject was real.

A Daughter’s Awakening – Ultimately The Great Alone was Leni’s story, as she learned to navigate the truth and beauty of Alaska while simultaneously navigating the wilds of her own parent’s marriage. I liked that Leni had to open her eyes to the true nature of both her parents’ deep flaws. I just wish she had done so a little more quickly.

What Didn’t
The Resolution – Related to my last section of what worked, I’d have liked to see Leni facing reality a little more quickly and for her to have been more decisive in her choices. For me, this is where The Great Alone began to break down. I don’t want to give too much away, but I think that in the last 20% of the book Hannah had far too many unlikely scenarios and too many plot elements that just didn’t add up. I found myself confounded by actions from Leni and others that seemed out of character and felt forced.

A Neat and Tidy Ending – The kiss of death for me, especially in a heavy story such as this.

{The Final Assessment}
The Great Alone is a difficult book for me to assess. Had I done so at the 80% mark, I’d most likely have given it a very high rating, but the last part of the book cast a dark shadow over the rest. I grew more and more disappointed the closer I drew to the end of The Great Alone. Sadly, the disappointment must carry equal weight with all that was right in this one. Grade: B-

Note: I received a copy of this book from the publisher (via NetGalley) in exchange for my honest review.

My Rating: 5 stars

Set in Alaska in the 1970s, this wonderfully atmospheric story is about the Allbright family -- Ernt and Cora, and their teenage daughter Leni – and the struggles they endure both as a family and as individuals trying to survive in a harsh, unfamiliar environment for which they were totally unprepared. A POW from the Vietnam War, Ernt returned after the war a changed man – suffering from PTSD, Ernt has a volatile temper and is unable to hold down a job. When he inherits a piece of land from his late wartime buddy Bo Harlan, Ernt makes the impulsive decision to move his family out to the Alaskan wilderness, thinking that this will be the perfect place for them to rebuild their lives. Thirteen years old when her family moves to Alaska, Leni has always lived under the shadow of her parents’ stormy relationship – she was never able to make any friends due to her family moving non-stop (she’d gone to 5 different schools in 4 years) and feeling constantly lonely, Leni sought refuge in her love of reading and books that helped her escape the realities of her difficult life. Leni always did as she was told and went along with whatever decision her parents made – whether good or bad -- partially because it made her life easier due to her dad’s volatile behavior, but mostly because she loved her mother, who was her anchor, someone whom she felt a fierce need to protect. In the rough wilderness of Alaska, a place of unbridled beauty yet also potential danger at every turn, the Allbrights are welcomed into the tightly-knit community and soon adapt to life in their remote little cabin, despite the harsh environment -- it seemed that finally, they found the answer to their prayers. But as the dark winters and unpredictability of the weather cause Ernt’s PTSD to worsen, Leni and her mother soon find themselves in a situation where the biggest threat to their lives wasn’t from external factors, but rather the one person whom they were supposed to love the most.

This was the first book by Kristin Hannah that I’ve read and it definitely won’t be the last. I actually have a few of Hannah’s previous books on my shelf but I decided to read this one first due to getting approved for an ARC and wanting to meet publication timeline. Despite not having read her other works (yet), I still went into this one with high expectations due to everything I had heard about her other books and I have to say that I absolutely was not disappointed! There were so many things I loved about this book – the writing, the story, the characters (Large Marge was definitely my favorite character!)…it was one of those books that I couldn’t put down the minute I started reading it (one of the longest books I’ve read so far this year but took me one of the shortest times to read). Hannah did a great job capturing the Alaska setting and the homestead way of life and even though I’ve never been to Alaska, I feel as though I already traveled there through the pages of this book. In fact, I would even say that Alaska was more than just a setting for the story, it was actually a character itself! While on the surface, this appeared to be a coming-of-age story about Leni having to deal with everything going on around her and how those experiences shaped her into the woman she eventually became, it was actually so much more than that. Some of the themes explored include loneliness, belonging, survival (both in terms of physical landscape and also challenges within the family), spousal abuse, the long-lasting impact of war (the PTSD angle), societal constraints (i.e. the laws at the time not supporting battered women), love, loss, the intricacies of human relationships and emotions, etc. – all were woven into the story so seamlessly and effortlessly. I was definitely impressed by the amount of ground Hannah was able to cover and yet still have such a compelling story with characters I couldn’t help being drawn to.

For me, what sets this book apart (hence the 5 star rating) was the way the story spoke to me on a personal level more than any other book has so far. I was all over the place emotionally while reading this book, so much so that I had to wait a little bit to gather my thoughts before writing this review. As I watched the story unfold, especially the parts of the story told from Leni’s perspective, I couldn’t help thinking back to my own childhood and my family’s “experience” with abuse. I saw so much of my own past teenage self in Leni – not having many friends since childhood and the loneliness that resulted (though in my case I found solace in both books and television), having a strong bond with my mother throughout childhood and constantly feeling the need to protect her when things went bad, the feelings of resentment, anger, sadness, helplessness, fear – the tremendous fear – and constantly having to “walk on eggshells” not knowing whether “this will be the moment,” the dreams of leaving everything behind and living my own life yet second-guessing due to not knowing what might happen to those I loved. In the story, Ernt had the “excuse” of PTSD, of the horrors of war and being captured as a POW, the damage all of that did to him mentally, to “justify” his horrific and unforgivable actions, but in my family’s case, there was no “excuse” aside from the lethal combination of gambling addiction and alcohol, exacerbated by a culture where saving face always mattered more than individual well-being and vocalizing abuse was akin to bringing shame upon the family – a cardinal sin. As I paralleled some (not all) of Leni’s story to my own while I was reading, my emotions ran the roller coaster of being saddened by what Leni and her mom had to endure, to being angry, oh so angry, both at Ernt (who deserves no forgiveness) but also at Cora for repeatedly accepting the abuse and refusing all offers of help (and also forcing Leni to “go along with it as though nothing happened”). At the same time, I also rejoiced at the few stolen moments of happiness, whether it was for Leni or Cora, that were interspersed throughout the story. I also loved the entire community that surrounded Leni with so much support, especially Large Marge (wish I had someone like that in my life), the Walker family (especially Matthew) and all the strong women, many of whom were survivors of some type of hardship themselves. The ending made me cry (though I got teary-eyed during other segments as well), not necessarily with the way things happened, but the HOPE of it. I read some reviews that felt the ending was too contrived, predictable, perhaps not even completely realistic, but in my eyes, it was a perfect – albeit bittersweet – ending. Perhaps coming from a broken family myself and understanding first-hand the repercussions of abuse as well as the long-lasting impact it can still have on those who survive, part of me desperately wanted to see Leni have a happy ending to her story.

This was a powerful, emotional read for me, one that I won’t soon forget. Highly recommended for sure!

Received ARC from St. Martin’s Press via NetGalley

4.5 stars The author is a skillful storyteller, and this novel was fantastic! I loved every minute of it, and despite it being a fairly long novel my attention never wavered.

It’s the early 70’s and we follow the Albright family to Alaska. Ernt, the dad, is a Vietnam vet, a former POW who suffers from the effects of PTSD. He drinks. He can’t hold a job. He has a hair-trigger temper. The move to AK promises to be a fresh start for him, his wife Cora, and daughter Leni.

Alaska is a primitive place, “The Great Alone”, and the family is woefully unprepared. They arrive to find their cabin lacking modern conveniences, winter is fast approaching, and they lack the skills and knowledge to prepare for the long winter season.

The author does a great job capturing the brutal conditions. It’s an unforgiving place, where even a simple mistake can cost you your life. Alaska is a character in the story and I particularly enjoyed this aspect of the novel. The beauty, isolation, and grandeur is captured perfectly, but family relationships and dynamics are the main focus of this novel.

Luckily for the Albrights, they get help and friendship from a cast of colorful characters that inhabit the town: Large Marge, Mad Earl, Mr. Walker, and others. Everyone there used to be something or someone else: a cop, a Pan Am captain, a university professor, a prosecutor… "Everyone up here had two stories: the life before and the life now." "Any life that could be imagined could be lived up here." There are varying reasons why someone would choose to live off the grid in an area with its own set of rules.  

The brutal winter isn’t the only darkness this family faces. A tragedy occurs which changes all of their lives. The last half of the book deals with the aftermath. The author doesn’t sugar coat any of it, and the issues this family and community faced would be challenging under the best of conditions. Not everyone within these pages is a sympathetic character, and more than once I would have liked to have reached through the pages to shake some sense into a couple of them. They may be frustrating but they are, sadly, probably accurately drawn. (I’m being deliberately vague so as to not post spoilers.)

This is a long book, covering decades, so there are necessary large jumps in time. There are tragedies, secrets, love, death, loss, joy…it’s a book with a lot of heart even if some things were a bit predictable, with a little too much drama thrown in at the end. It didn’t stop me from loving the book.

The ultimate message is the truism often repeated: “no matter where you go, there you are”. You can’t escape yourself, and your demons will follow you wherever you go. Love isn’t always an easy path, whether it’s parental or romantic love, and life doesn’t always turn out the way we expect.

Trigger Warning: domestic abuse

*Thank you to Netgalley, St Martin’s Press, and Kristin Hannah for providing me with a copy of the book for review.

I always enjoy Kristin Hannah's books and this was no exception. When I read the summary, I wasn't sure I would be into this one, but it turned out to be a great story. I'm so glad she chose to tell it from Leni's perspective instead of another character, I think that's what made it so good. These characters are very well developed and I felt like I knew each one and could easily picture them in my head. I was invested in their stories. This is another one of those books that would make a great movie or TV show.

The Great Alone is heartwrenching and gut-wrenching, but also hopeful and beautiful. It is set right after the Vietnam War and is a story about a damaged family seeking happiness, belonging and a new beginning in Alaska, the last great frontier. We learn about Alaska's hardships, but also its stunning beauty; the generosity of its people, as well as the paranoia of those who want to be as far off the grid as possible. It takes a special kind of person to survive an Alaskan winter, and we are told that Cheechakos/newcomers either survive the first winter of darkness or go running in terror back to the "outside." We learn about the often strained relationship between the settled Alaskans and those Cheechakos who arrive basically clueless about so many things, with their own ideas of ways that things should be done and their refusal to ask for any help. I don't think I have ever read about a more damaged person than Ernt Allbright. When a Vietnam buddy who did not survive the war leaves his property in Alaska to Ernt, he sees a new beginning. He immediately loads his wife, Cora, and daughter, Leni, into their VW van and sets off. Unfortunately, his idea of what life should be like there becomes more of a feeding of his PTSD paranoia than a refuge from all of his demons and the effect on his family is devastating.

Kristin Hannah's writing is beautiful and touches on a lot of issues that provoke many different emotions in the reader. It's not an easy read, but one you'll be glad you did. You will also find yourself thinking about this book when you are not reading it.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Kristin Hannah is one of my favorite writers these days, so I was excited to see that she had a new book coming out... and the topic was so interesting to me. I loved reading about life in the remote part of Alaska, and what people had to do to survive. I loved the cast of characters in the town and got frustrated with the parents, of course.

Time jumps always frustrate me and the ones in this book were big but necessary to move the plot along. The twists in this book were frustrating at times, great too. All in all, I didn’t want to put this book down, especially at the end. Would highly recommend.