I learned so much from reading Diane Hanks' The Woman With a Purple Heart. It is an excellent story about Lieutenant Annie Fox, an Army nurse stationed at Hickam Field, next to Pearl Harbor. After the attacks of December, 1941 Annie helped not only save many military members but she also was a advocate for the Japanese American people that made their homes in Hawaii at the time.

This was a wonderful historical fiction novel filled with rich character development and an intriguing plot. It also gave an interesting perspective on one aspect of the Pearl Harbor attack that few people truly know about. Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebook Landmark for the opportunity to read this novel.

This was such an interesting book! I learned a lot and clearly there was lots of research put into writing this. I will need to be sure to keep an eye out for other books by this author.

THE WOMAN WITH A PURPLE HEART by Diane Hanks is an enlightening, engaging, and heartbreaking historical fiction based on just a moment in a truly heroic career Army nurse’s service on one of the most infamous days in American history. This is a story of an inspiring woman that I was unable to put down.

Lt. Annie Fox served her country in the battle hospitals of WWI, was transferred to the Philippines and now in November of 1941, she is transferred to Hickam Hospital on the Army/Air Force Base near Honolulu and Pearl Harbor. Rather than being excited, she senses this is the Army’s way of moving her into retirement, but she is determined to do her duty and train her new group of nurses to the best of her ability.

As she walks to the hospital to work on the morning of December 7th, enemy fighter planes bring unbelievable death and destruction. As Annie does everything she can to support her young nurses and solve problems in unique ways to just survive the day and then the week, but her love of country is put to the test with the prejudice and injustice she witnesses in the aftermath.

I always love learning about new people and/or new things when I pick up historical fiction books and I learned so many new bits of information in this captivating story. Not only did this book enlighten me about Hickam Base, but the racial tensions that were already evident before the attack on the Hawaiian Islands during this time. The author brings Annie to life, and I felt real empathy for her as an older, single woman in that period and in the Armed Forces. I am so glad that Annie’s heroism, ingenuity, and bravery were recognized and rewarded in her lifetime, and I hope with this historical fiction book she can go on inspiring many more woman and girls who discover her story.

I highly recommend this wonderful historical fiction book!

Angie Fox is a splendid heroine. I so enjoyed learning of this woman’s role in history. Rich in historical detail, this story will captivate the reader.
Many thanks to SOURCEBOOKS Landmark and to Netgalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

The Woman with a Purple Heart by Diane Hanks is based on the true story of Lieutenant Annie Fox, the chief nurse at Hickam Field near Pearl Harbor. Fox is the first woman ever to earn a Purple Heart and Hanks does a phenomenal job detailing terrible days in US History while providing an account that sticks close to known history while offering fabulous character development and detailed background of the historical and political situation. There is an insightful emphasis on the role of women and nurses during WWII. This is a fantastic book for lovers of historical fiction !

This was a fantastic read.

Everything from the characters, to the setting, to the writing style and the descriptions was enjoyable.

I thoroughly enjoyed how the author was able to weave together multiple characters, storylines, fact and fiction. It is very impressive how the author was able to do so. There were multiple emotions felt throughout this, which ordinarily would’ve been very frustrating since there was so much happening all the time, but in regards to this book it was amazing.

I would absolutely recommend this to anyone who is interested in learning about history but hesitant to pick up historical nonfictions and autobiographies about such horrific events/times in history.

What I really want to share with you Is The Women With a Purple Heart by Diane Hanks and how it is an incredible read! It's Based on the real life of Lieutenant Annie Fox, Chief Nurse of Hickam Hospital, stationed right next to Pearl Harbor during a horrifying time in History, so you can imagine this is not a light read, but it is so so so good!! It gives you that "Flight girls" vibe which I'll always be grateful to that book because it got me back into reading! And there's never as many books about Pearl Harbor during world War II as other WW2 books so it's always interesting to me and clearly this author did so much research and I always get excited when I learn new things, and I certainly did with this book.

Parts of the blurb: The Woman with a Purple Heart is an inspiring WWII novel of heroic leadership, courage, and friendship that also exposes a shocking and shameful side of history. Under Annie's leadership and working together in unexpected ways, they make it through that horrific day, when one of the Japanese American nurses and Annie's friend, Kay, is arrested as a suspected subversive. As Hickam tries to recover, Annie works to find her friend and return Kay to her family. But Annie's love for her country is put to the test. How can she reconcile the American bravery and resilience she saw on December 7 with the prejudice and injustice she witnesses just a few months later?

I give The Woman with the Purple Heart by Diane Hanks ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.⭐️

I didn't love this one but I also didn't hate this one. However I'm not sure how I feel about this one.

I was drawn to this book right away! The cover and title alone had me intrigued to find out more.
I was pleasantly surprised to find that this book contained a story about the invasion on Pearl Harbour, something that I have not read much about up until this point,
I must admit that about halfway through I did put this book down for a spell. It was moving rather slowly and not holding my interest. I did however pick it back up when I started thinking about the story line again and I am glad I did. This story portrayed resilience of people being able to band together as one. Annie Fox was the glue that helped them keep on keeping on, If you are looking for a strong female character and a large amount of courage this is your read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for the advanced copy..

I've read a lot of WWII fiction and kind of got burnt out on the European perspective. This one is loosely based on a true story and is set in Hawaii right as Pearl Harbor is bombed and the Japanese internment camps are getting set up in the US.

Annie is a nurse who gets stationed in Honolulu right before the bombing catches the US off guard. Amidst the horror and destruction, Annie calls upon the volunteers at the Japanese American Community Center to help at the army hospital. But there are those who have grave reservations of Japanese Americans helping after the bombing. When one of the volunteers, Kay, is detained by the government and sent away, Annie works tirelessly to prove to the government that Kay is an amazing nurse and mother with no ill will to the US. At the same time, the Japanese American community in Honolulu is reluctant to trust that Annie (or the US) has their best interests at heart.

I appreciated this novel that was set in Hawaii during WWII. I am glad to hear that there are stories of Americans who understood the unfairness of how the Japanese were treated during the war, I still felt that there was a bit of white savior complex going on in this book and therefore was able to relate to the distrust that the Japanese Americans felt towards the Americans at that time.

Thank you to Netgalley and Sourcebooks for a complimentary digital review copy of this novel.

This is a beautiful story. Classes example of what beautiful books can be written in the historical fiction genre. Love the main character. She is inspiring and beautiful and brave. I would definitely recommend this.

Ⓑⓞⓞⓚ Ⓡⓔⓥⓘⓔⓦ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

💜𝕋𝕙𝕖 𝕎𝕠𝕞𝕒𝕟 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕒 ℙ𝕦𝕣𝕡𝕝𝕖 ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕥
💜𝗗𝗶𝗮𝗻𝗲 𝗛𝗮𝗻𝗸𝘀
💜WWll Historical Fiction
💜352 pages
💜Sʜᴏᴿᴛ Sʏɴᴏᴘsɪs
💜This is the story of an army nurse named Annie Fox who served at Hickman Field in Honolulu during WWll.
💜Mʸ Tᴴᴼᵁᴳᴴᵀs
💜This is yet another aspect of WWll that I knew nothing about. We see the atrocities of war through Annie’s eyes. She stands up for what is right and doesn’t let go easily.
💜Though Annie worked with and became friends with several Japanese Americans, she couldn’t protect them after the Japanese bombing of the area.
💜I didn’t know that the Japanese Americans were forced into camps where they lived for years.
💜Annie was quite accomplished, especially for a woman during that time period. She was a real woman and nurse who this story is based on.The story leads to her Purple Heart, which goes right to the book's title.
💜I enjoyed Annie’s story, though I now want to learn more about some of the events that weren’t written about in detail. That is the sign of a good book, making me want more. If you like reading about WWll, don’t overlook The Woman with a Purple Heart.
💕Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing this ebook for me to read and review.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an advance e-reader copy of The Woman with a Purple Heart by Diane Hanks in exchange for an honest review.

The Woman with a Purple Heart by Diane Hanks is based on the true story of Lieutenant Annie Fox, the chief nurse at Hickam Field near Pearl Harbor. Fox is the first woman ever to earn a Purple Heart and Hanks does a phenomenal job detailing one of the worst days in US History while providing in depth character development and deep background of the historical, political, and the role of women and nurses during the time. I loved the narrative detailing the situation on the ground, and in the hospital, providing meticulous research. As a nurse and an AAPI woman, I am so proud to have read this book.

Wow! What an incredible story of a woman who withstood much and received little recognition. This is a book I will never forget!

One of the things I love about historical fiction reads is that you always learn something new and in The Woman with a Purple Heart we about nurse Annie Fox and others at Hickman Hospital during the attacks on Pearl Harbor. This is certainly an inspiring story and the connections Annie made with others at the community center helped save many lives. The aftermath of the attacks were hard to read about because of the uncertainty and unfairness inflicted on those and what they went through.

This is a definite read for fans of historical fiction especially those who are burned out on reading stories taking place over in Europe.



Thank you @bookmarked and @netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an advance e-reader copy of The Woman with a Purple Heart by Diane Hanks in exchange for an honest review.

Based on the true story of Lieutenant Annie Fox, the chief nurse at Hickam Field near Pearl Harbor on Pearl Harbor Day and the first woman ever to earn a Purple Heart, this novel does an excellent job detailing one of the worst days in US History while providing outstanding character development and deep background of the various communities living on Oahu including members of the military, Hawaiian, Japanese American and more. In addition to the meticulous narrative detailing the situation on the ground, in the water, in the hospital and more, the novel explores the deep distrust and racism that ultimately led to Executive Order 9066 resulting in the deportation thousands of citizens of Japanese descent to internment camps far from home.

After learning recently that my own uncle served on Oahu and was injured on Pearl Harbor Day, I was even more taken with the bravery and commitment of the nurses, doctors, and volunteers that kept the hospital going under extraordinarily difficult conditions.

Four stars.

I am always interested in books based on true stories. The story of Annie Fox, not to mention many other women, is one that I found interesting and inspiring.

Army nurse Annie Fox is transferred to Hickham Field in November 1941. Little does the world know that Hickham field will have a front row seat to the devastation that is about to hit Pearl Habor.

Annie's good friend, Kay, is an American-born Japanese nurse who is vilified and held under suspicion of treason.

This is a story of patriotism, friendship, and sacrifice. Annie Fox was the first woman in Army history to receive a purple star.


3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I received this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A gorgeous piece of historical fiction based in WWII but this time in America at the start of the war at that dreadful attack at Pearl Harbor. Lt. Annie Fox was the head nurse on duty that day and this story shares what it may have looked like during the immediate aftermath but also beyond. Fox rallies her nurses, scrounges up extra supplies in the most unique of circumstances and tries to bring the community together during an unimaginable time. This story also takes a look at the Japanese internment camps which is a heartbreaking, and often overlooked, piece of American History. This story is very well written, and makes the reader feel compelled to keep reading because they are so invested. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this read.

Diane Hanks’s well-researched novel brings readers to 1941 Hawai’i, where tensions between white Americans and Japanese Americans are only growing as World War II amps up around the currently neutral United States. Hanks brings readers to the attack on Pearl Harbor and the immediate aftermath as experienced by Anne Fox, the Chief Nurse at the army Hickham Hospital. The novel also follows Kay, a local Japanese American community leader and mother of two children who meets Anne when she decides to volunteer at the local community center. With the Pearl Harbor attack, however, Kay faces her own challenges as the FBI learns that her husband has returned to Japan and enlisted in the Japanese army. The dual narratives of the novel and the unique perspectives of Anne and Kay allow readers to explore the complex culture and social dynamics of World War II Hawai’i and the effects of Pearl Harbor on the Hawaiian Japanese American population. Hanks handles the multiple levels of tension in The Woman with a Purple Heart incredibly well, and she also draws in a wide cast of characters, many of them strong women who stepped up after the attacks, to add to the stories of Kay and Anne.

The Woman with a Purple Heart is based on a real person, Lieutenant Annie Fox of the Army Nurse Corps. Annie was a Canadian born hero who joined the U.S. Army and was in Honolulu during the bombing of Pearl Harbor.

This book was a mixed bag for me. First, Hawaii is such an interesting place in history in 1941, and to learn about one of the heroes of Pearl Harbor was well worth my time. While the subject matter was intriguing, the narrative style was notably dry and clinical, lacking the emotional depth one might expect from such a compelling setting and characters.

If you enjoy reading historical fiction based on a real life character give this book a try.