HOLY COW!!! This book is LONG af, but i finished it in less than two days! I'd sort of stopped reading Kristin Hannah because it got to the point where i was certain her entire goal was to make us cry. Id found myself willingly not attaching to any characters so because i knew someone we loved would inevitably die at the end. I may have teared up a little, but i wasn't sobbing out loud like before lol.

We follow Frankie as she heads into the Vietnam War as a nurse where she witnessed some utterly horrible injuries, and as she came home to an America that was not only against the war, but also against those who served.

It's a love story and a friendship story. We all need an Ethel and Barb in our lives!

Kristin Hannah is an amazing author who always takes on subject matter that causes the reader to become totally enveloped in her descriptive text.
The Vietnam War is the setting for her latest. Frankie McGrath, a child of wealthy, conservative parents in California joins the Army Nurse Corps following in her brother's footsteps to defend their country against Communism. What sets this book apart from many others in this genre is the terrific writing. The expressive portrayal of the geography of the country made you imagine the horror and tragedy of a land far away where the enemy was difficult to discern.
What was even more fascinating was the graphic depiction of Frankie and fellow participants in the Vietnam War upon their return to the United States. The prose brings home the lack of appreciation and abhorrence of fellow Americans.
The only drawback was, perhaps, the unbelievable maneuvering of Frankies' romances which seemed a bit too contrived.
Fascinating all in all!

A very thoughtful and truthful book about women in Vietnam. This book will have you feeling all types of emotions. This book was so powerful and made you feel as if you were right in the war zone. A wonderful must read for 2024. The book also deals with many issues that even today we are facing as a nation.

A few years ago, I visited Northern Vietnam, where I went to a Vietnamese History Museum, which had a section on the Vietnam War (or the American war, as it’s called there). I visited the Hanoi Hilton and learned about the horrific conditions our soldiers were subjected to. I got back home and wanted to learn more about the war, but couldn’t find many legitimate sources. Under the “official” definition of historical fiction, the event must have been at least 50 years old, which means we’re right on the cusp of the Vietnam War being part of that genre. I hope The Women is just the first of many, that will hopefully bring these stories to the light.

At many times I disliked Frankie, but reflecting back, I realized that her struggle was real. I spoke to older friends who confirmed that returning soldiers really were treated with the same disdain that Frankie experienced at the airport. Her inability to receive help is no surprise as our soldiers are still treated this way when coming home from our modern wars, but it was still interesting to watch her struggle. I had a feeling about one of the male characters, that ended up being right, but ended up being more of a surprise than I had anticipated. I do like that Frankie ended up finding a way to live with the terror that she experienced. I highly recommend this read even if only to learn more about the war.

First I would like to thank NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me the ARC of this book.
I am a huge Kristin Hannah fan! I have read almost all of her books. The detail she puts in her writing is always so satisfying. You truly feel like you know her characters personally by the time you finish the story.
The Women is no different. Kristin Hannah’s attention to detail in this story was amazing!
I loved every minute of this story! It is truly unlike any other book I have read! I also learned a great deal about the Vietnam War that I never really knew before. We all have heard of this war but have never really learned about it. In school it was quickly glazed over but we never fully dove into it. I always knew the vets that returned home were never treated very well and seeing how many of them were left homeless and uncared for is alarming! But to know how many women that were there and came back were treated this badly, never taken seriously about their troubles, and definitely not given any help is absolutely disgusting! My heart broke for Frankie in this story and for all of the women just like her! I am very glad we take mental health care much more seriously these days but we still have a long way to go to make it even better! Thank you, Kristin Hannah for writing this story and bringing awareness to these amazing and brave women!

Wow. This book came out less than two months ago and already 155,000 ratings. Kristin Hannah books kind of intimidate me because they are long, hard reads. But I do think she creates great characters that you feel like you know and you want to check on them later and see how they are doing. I usually have to remind myself that they aren’t real people. I read this on flights yesterday and I sat by someone who had recently finished it. She thought it was predictable and I do agree with that.

The first half of the story mostly takes place in Vietnam. It follows Frances “Frankie” McGrath as she goes to Vietnam to be a nurse. She wants to be part of the war effort so her dad will see her as a hero, after she hears one of her brother’s friends say women can be heroes too. She wants to be more than a wife or even a night nurse. She signs up for the army to go immediately and about the same time realizes what is really happening in Vietnam.

The second half of the book is her story after she gets back and deals with the PTSD from her experience, as well as the shame people direct on her from her service. She is treated as anything other than a hero.

THE WOMEN by Kristin Hannah has secured itself among my top books of the year. I just KNOW it! Woweeewoweewow.

I loved this book. I won’t get into it much, but it’s about army nurses in the Vietnam War. Mostly following Frankie, who leaves her comfortable home on Coronado Island to be closer to her brother. I mean, how bad could the war be? The news says the US is winning. 🙄

Obviously this book made me feel mostly heartache, anger, and rage. Kristin Hannah sure knows how to make me feel feelings. I wanted to punch a certain JERK in the face. A couple times really. Oh my goodness, and the way veterans were treated (ESPECIALLY the women) made me so angry. As always, the historical accuracy was on point.

Thank you @stmartinspress for this gifted book and tote bag! Also, thank you everyone who checked up on me asking if I was ok after reading chapter 28. Thanks to @netgalley for allowing me the option to read it early!

Have you read any Kristin Hannah, and if so what’s your favorite KH book?

🖤🖤🖤

This was actually the first time I've read a book by this author and I was really disappointed after hearing all the hype about her work. As a veteran myself, I appreciated the author's choice of subject material and I did think the depth of research behind the story was palpable. But the pacing is awful in my opinion and especially given the horrific loss and trauma Frankie experiences, the emotional quality of moment after moment that the reader just blows through as the plot hurtles forward falls completely flat. Massive loss happens on one page and then on the next page the story moves on without conveying any of the depth of emotion that could have been present. Her editor should have pushed her on that. I am grateful to the author for introducing me to a few historic names of women from the era about whom I've gone on to read some very compelling nonfiction biographies.

I can honestly say that I would never have read a book about the war in Viet Nam if had not been written by one of my favorite authors. Along comes Kristin Hannah, who writes a book from the woman’s perspective of an Army Nurse who served two years in Viet Nam, and the combination of Hannah and the MC reeled me in.

War is scary and, like all wars, the war in Viet Nam was terrifying, mystifying, and traumatic for most of the U.S. Citizens who lived through it - both in the field and on returning home. Many of the descriptions are grisly and heartbreaking. Hannah succeeds in immersing the reader in a period of lost innocence, the slippery slope where blind patriotism was replaced by skepticism and the knowledge that a country’s elected officials often fail to meet the expectations of the those who elected them, the standards of honesty and transparency. The country took the lives, the limbs, the mental and physical health, and the respect of those who served. The travesty is displayed in all its “glory” in the atmospheric pages of this book.

I have rewritten and rewritten this review and realized I could never do justice to Hannah’s tour de force of a novel. Perhaps because I remember the period so intimately, the trauma of which many veterans are still living through today. I felt like I was reliving the period. The descriptions were spot on: the hair, the clothes, the music, the demonstrations, the venues….Oddly enough, I think the only thing she didn’t mention was the shuddering over of the draft lottery, and how many people scrambled out of the country to avoid (if not dodge) the draft?

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for affording me the privilege of reading this novel, in exchange for my honest review. I think everyone should read this book. Hannah presents an accurate description of the mood in the U.S. during the Viet Nam War, and complexity of many of the core issues, in a less than flattering period of U.S. history.

I was born in 1975, the end of war. Wow. I have learned so much and now want to learn more.
Heartbreaking, raw, emotional, inspiring, incredible. Kristin Hannah has written another 5-star read. This is the first historical fiction book I have ever read about the Vietnam war and it was so incredibly done. She really showed so many different characters and perspectives while also giving us a main character that I absolutely loved.
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Thank you to NetGalley & St. Martin's Press for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review!

In this emotional historical fiction, Hannah has transported readers to the frontlines of the Vietnam War. After Frankie makes a rash decision to enlist as a war nurse to make her family proud, she finds herself completely unprepared for what awaits her in Vietnam.

Hannah gives us a searing tale of life as a nurse during and after the war, as Frankie learns how to nurse, bonds with her fellow medical staff, and even falls in love during wartime.

The book's second half explores what it was like to return home to a country divided over whether the war should even be fought. It was shocking to see how people treated returning vets, and how they refused to acknowledge that women were in ‘nam.

Hannah’s portrayal of PTSD had me gasping and feeling deeply for the characters within the story - particularly Frankie. This fast-paced story had my heart thumping throughout. It did get quite heavy at times and I had to have a lighter book on hand for breaks. Once again, Hannah has delivered a five-star book. #gifted by Macmillan Audio / Macmillan/ Netgalley

You can pretty much always rely on Kristin Hannah for an engaging, multifaceted look at a point of time in history. This book is set during the Vietnam War, and centers around young, idealistic nurse, Frankie, who volunteers for service in Vietnam to care for wounded soldiers and make her father proud. The reality of the war becomes clear immediately upon arrival, and upends everything she thought she knew about the world and her place in it. After her tour of duty, she returns home a changed person, to a changed country, neither for the better, and finds that she’s still at war with herself.
Enjoyed this a lot.
Thanks to #netgalley and #stmartinspress for this #arc of #thewomen by #kristinhannah in exchange for an honest review.

I had to warm up to Frankie who I found a bit naive, unlikeable, irritating and very, very privileged. The first part is a really heavy hitter with all the horrors of war and their descriptions, and it didn’t really pick up for me until about the 42% mark, but then I was hooked, with the second part of the novel flying by quickly. I also loved the frequently mentioned “music soundtrack”, and how well the time periods of the 60’s & 70’s were captured. Some of the events in the second part did perhaps feel a bit cliche or predictable, but overall this was a worthwhile and immersive read that I would recommend to readers who like historical fiction or war stories.

4.5 stars rounded up for a book that breaks your heart.. It is a book of historical fiction, starting in 1966 and ending in 1982. This book tells the story of Frances "Frankie" McGrath, a Catholic school graduate who becomes a nurse. She idolizes her older brother, Finley. He is a Naval Academy graduate and assigned to Vietnam. She joins the Army to be with her brother. He is killed before she gets to Vietnam.
She undergoes a baptism of fire, working to save lives while the base is being attacked with rockets and mortars. She falls in love and has her heart broken. Her idealism is damaged. But her courage is inspiring.
One quote: "Her pockets bulged with cigarettes and lighters.(She always kept them on hand to give to her boys. That was how she thought of the casualties now: As her boys). In her breast pocket she had a small flashlight and bandage scissors. A length of stretchy tubing hung simply from one epaulet, just in case she needed to draw blood on the fly. A Kelly clamp hung from one belt loop."
I read this book in one day.. My wife says 5 stars.
For anyone interested, there is a monument to these nurses in Washington, DC.
Thanks to St.Martin's Press for sending me this eARC through NetGalley.
#KristinHannah #NetGalley

Kristin Hannah’s latest novel ‘The Women’ exposes a hidden part of the Vietnam War: that of the 11,000 female nurses who worked in combat zones.

Following Frankie McGrath from her dysfunctional home in the U.S. directly into the heart of the Vietnam War, I honestly didn’t learn much new information. The war scenes were brutal and graphic and impossibly painful to read. The arrival back to a vitriolic American public was disappointing to live through, just as expected. The misogyny around every corner was never surprising but always a let down.

But Hannah weaves the thread of female friendship and support through the entire tale, and for me, that - and Frankie’s utter resilience- is what carries this novel from interesting into wholly memorable.

When discussing her latest novel ‘The Women’ in a TODAY.com article, Kristin Hannah said, “What I’ve learned is what I should have known, and what I should have been taught: Women are incredibly resilient, courageous and daring.” THIS is at the heart of a war novel written by a woman, about women, and for women.

Thank you to Kristin Hannah, NetGalley, and the publisher for this arc.

Julia Whelan delivers an impeccable performance on Hannah's new historical fiction novel, offering an earnest portrayal of the lives of nurses who served in the Vietnam War but seemingly were forgotten.

This novel celebrates nurses and their service during the Vietnam War, a detail that few Americans think about, showcasing the sacrifices made and the disbelief in their journey when returning home. It delivers on the book's goals while encompassing a signature soapier spin perfect for fans of her earlier work on Firefly Lane.

There were many elements of surprise that made me glad that I read this. I had yet to learn that nurses could not take advantage of the VA benefits when returning home from their service. I appreciated the accurate portrayal of PTSD on returning and the haunting nature of caring for patients in this environment. I found it enlightening how women were demoted to the roles of candy stripers upon their return home despite their expertise in serving on the frontlines.

Shifting POVS from these nurses or adding a Vietnamese perspective would have enhanced this story in many ways for the reader.

I loved every second of this book! I have been a lover of Kristin Hannah's novels for many years and I believe this is my favorite.

This is a story about Frankie. A nurse who enlisted in the army to help in the Vietnam War. The best and the worst time of her life.

Many thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Almost a 5 star read for me. Missed for me with one plot point that felt like a soap opera. Other than that this book was amazing particularly the first half where the book immerses you into the evacuation hospitals of Vietnam. What an incredible sacrifice our men and women made to fight an unpopular war. Vietnam ended about the same time I was born yet I know very little. I am grateful to have read this to give me a glimpse of a war I know nothing about. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book

Another amazing book from Kristin Hannah. I loved everything about this. I learned so much, there was a lot I didn’t know about Vietnam, especially to do with america - whether from my own ignorance or perhaps because we tend to learn about history from our own country’s point of view, at least at school. I read another historical fiction book recently – about a different war – and the research was well done and the quality of the writing was there, but the plot wasn’t strong and I didn’t love any of the characters. I’m not meaning to bad talk that book, but it just made this one stand out even more to me – Kristin Hannah blends everything so well, you learn, you love, you laugh, you cry. Heavy and sad, with a mix of lightness and happiness. Narration was perfectly done as always. Highly recommend.

Kristin Hannah does it again with another strong female character story, this time set in the late 60's and the Vietnam War. This author does an amazing job creating characters that we root for and cry for. Her character, Frankie, faces so much adversity in such a short time and it is heartbreaking but she is surrounded by her friends. I felt there was so much growth of the charcters throughout the story.