This book is like no other history fiction book I read this year. It was gripping, and I was immediately immersed in Frankie’s world. The first part was about her time in Vietnam, and the second part was about the aftermath of the war and the struggles she went through. The writing was so descriptive that it was easy to imagine the horror Frankie had seen as an Army nurse in Vietnam. My heart went out to Frankie for the entire book. She was a tough, resilient, courageous woman and a true badass. The ending left me wanting a tissue with a few tears in my eyes.

Also, I applaud Kristen Hannah for the intensive research on the Vietnam War for this book. Not only did she feel obligated to tell about the heroic women of the war, but she spent years making sure she did the story justice. She also wanted to educate readers about the war and what veterans go through after coming home. I highly recommend reading for the upcoming year!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my copy of the book.

An extraordinary story that needs to be told. The women who went to war in Vietnam fought a battle much different than the men. They suffered and were just as traumatized. Just like the men, upon their return they were shunned. Here is a great story that every woman should read.

The Women by Kristin Hannah unfolds a poignant narrative set against the turbulent backdrop of the 1960s in America. The story revolves around Frankie McGrath, a nursing student who, inspired by changing times and familial ties, joins the Army Nurse Corps during the Vietnam War. This novel brings to light the often overlooked sacrifices and courage of women who found themselves on the front lines, both in war and a politically fractured nation. A profoundly emotional and richly drawn narrative, this story stands as a testament to the heroism of women in an era where their contributions were too frequently forgotten. The audiobook version of this book is equally fantastic, featuring an outstanding narrator.

I saw the audio book available, and wanted that version beings that it was available so I will give full review for that. Thank you.

Frankie McGrath is a young woman, living on Coronado Island in California in the late 1960s, during the years of the Vietnam War. In The Women, Kristin Hannah examines the experience of being a woman serving in the Army Nurse Corps in Vietnam during the war, and the treatment the received as returning veterans, often overlooked and denigrated and told "there were no women in Vietnam". Frankie is our main protagonist, a recently graduated nurse, eagerly joining the ANC to be closer to her brother who has enlisted with the Navy.

Frankie's time in Vietnam is violent and frantic, but she also bonds with those she works alongside, making lifelong friends in her fellow nurses. Upon her return to the United States after serving for 2 years, Frankie struggles to find her place in the world as she is looked down upon by the citizens of the US, with the popularity of the war on the decline, but she is also not recognized as a peer of the other returning veterans and struggles with her own mental health as a result.

While this book felt somewhat formulaic and predictable, I think reading it and understanding that women are just as lucky to experience PTSD and the resulting addiction and emotional disorders as men who have served is important. It highlights how underserved women were upon returning from the war, left to fumble their own way to recovery. The writing is well done, both descriptive and informative and certainly presents a timeframe that is not as commonly written about in Historical Fiction.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

Frankie impulsively joins the Army as a nurse to follow her brother to Vietnam. She is unprepared for the chaos and destruction of war, as well as the trauma of coming home after.

Another wonderful Kristin Hannah read. She always hits it out of the park and I just know I’m in for a ride. I loved how she took the female nurse perspective for Vietnam. It was truly a perspective I’ve never read before and important to learn about, as they were overshadowed by politics and misogyny. It was such an interesting time with political turmoil and counter culture change in the air. I loved every moment of this book; including the war time and Frankie’s homecoming.

“There was no winning in war. Not this war, anyway. There was just pain and death and destruction; good men coming home either broken beyond repair or in body bags, and bombs dropping on civilians, and a generation of children being orphaned.”

The Women comes out 2/6.

I haven’t read many books set during the Vietnam War and I felt that this novel was very well researched. I found particularly poignant the contrasts between the protests in the US and what it is was really like to serve in Vietnam. Of course, the real strength of the story is about how it’s told from the perspective of “the women”. Kristin Hannah did a masterful job in giving us enough details to really feel like we were there, without becoming too over-sensational. I think it was also a good representation of PTSD in all its forms. We really feel the full gamut of emotions through the main character, Frankie. I was pleased with the satisfying ending, solidifying why Kristin Hannah is one of my favorite authors.
#NetGalley #KristinHannah #StMartinsPress

3.5

I have thoroughly loved previous works by Kristin Hannah before (The Four Winds and The Great Alone) so was very excited to read The Women. However, it took me about 100 pages to truly get into the story, and even then, I remained lukewarm toward the characters throughout the book. While the historical setting was interesting (I know very little about the Vietnam war), I found the characterization to be too predictable. Many readers will love The Women and the unique story it shares, I however, would have preferred things to be a bit grittier and less formulaic.

I think Kristin Hannah's writing is just not my fave. The pacing of this one felt off to me, and there was just too much going on, like Hannah was trying to say too much and was a little too on-the-nose. Still, I was super interested in the plot, and the setting is well-researched. I learned a lot about women who served in the Vietnam War, which is something I've heard next to nothing about before.

DNF at 25% | Unfortunately, I found this new Kristin Hannah installment to be incredibly difficult to get into and follow. Even a quarter through the book, I felt that all the characters were incredibly flat and didn't have enough foundation for me to actually care about their development. The stakes of the setting (a warzone!) were also not very high, which ultimately caused me to lose interest and put the book down.

When someone tells me they want to start reading historical fiction, I always direct them to two authors: Kate Quinn and Kristin Hannah. For historical fiction, Kristin Hannah is easily one of the most talented authors of the genre for this generation. I can always count on her novels to be hard-hitting, beautifully written, and impactful. Her books are powerful and timeless. The Women by Kristin Hannah is a novel that will live in my mind for a long time. It is an enjoyable but also heartbreaking read, one which brings light to a time of American history that has long been in the dark.

Frankie McGrath’s father has a “heroes wall” in his office. Photographs and news clippings of men who have served in the armed forces to protect the United States and all it stands for. She wants to make a difference, too, to earn her father’s favor, so she joins the Army Nurse Corps. Shortly after, she’s in Vietnam, hoping to meet up with her brother who is already in-country. From the moment she steps onto sweltering Vietnam soil, Frankie faces the horrors of war. Home is far, far away. With the help of her friends, she fights through each day to keep her boys alive.

But The Women by Kristin Hannah does not end in Vietnam. She returns to a United States filled with citizens who hate the Vietnam War and the troops that fought in it. The novel is deep. It features PTSD, alcoholism, and drug abuse. Additionally, Hannah shines a spotlight on how veterans—nurses included—could not get help. How so many believed there were no women in Vietnam. How the POWs returned with applause and parades while others spat upon and swore at veterans coming home.

I have been to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. On multiple occasions. It is a dark, granite wall with names carved into it. When you stare at the surface, your own face reflects at you. Over 58,000 names cover the stone. Even at night, you can see your face, eerie in the glow from the pavement below. From above, wall looks like an unhealed scar, forever imprinted into the ground. Nearby stands the Vietnam Women’s Memorial, which depicts three nurses cradling and treating a wounded soldier.

While reading The Women by Kristin Hannah, the memorials filled my mind’s eye. Because this novel hurts. For me, “happiness” is no requirement for a good novel. The Women broke my heart because of its realism. Frankie’s story is not inimitable. So many hurt—in the past and now—just as she did. So many go unrecognized. So many need help but do not access it, for whatever reason. And so many come home to sneers instead of thanks. To empty tarmacs instead of smiling and hopeful faces.

These nurses are no longer missing or forgotten. They are the women, and we owe them our sincerest thanks. The Women by Kristin Hannah is a novel I will read repeatedly—not only because of her astonishing storytelling but also to remind me of all I must be grateful for.

I spent a lot of time wishing Frankie could catch a break, it was almost too much trauma. Overall though I enjoyed this and the ending had me in tears

This is one of the best books I have ever read. I seem to read a lot of books about wars and usually it’s about WWII. So when I saw the title, and then the description of this book on NetGalley, I wasn’t sure that I would even like it. It’s hard for me to read books about a time that I have lived through. I am not sure why but it just is. But this story captured my heart almost immediately. I felt drawn to Frankie, Ethel and Barb. They are the main characters in the story. Frances McGrath, better known as Frankie, is the main character. She is a registered nurse and kind of as a whim, decides to join the Army and serve in the Viet Nam war. I want Frankie to be my best friend. I want to be friends with Ethel and Barb. I want to serve with them and have the memories that they have. It was a hard time for our country during that war. We were losing soldiers every day and we had people protesting the war. It seemed everyone was taking a side and felt very strongly that the others were wrong- in some cases dead wrong. The author captures all of that raw feeling. I didn’t want the story to end. The book was very well written and the characters were realistic. I am sure that some form of them actually did serve their country. This is truly a very good book. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy for my honest review.

Very few authors write historical fiction as well as Kristin Hannah. In The Women she takes on a part of history that hasn't been explored much in women's fiction. She writes an enthralling story with beautifully developed characters. I highly recommend this book!

This was an excellent read and it really struck a nerve. This was my era and my generation.

My husband was active duty army at that time, and since he wasn't drafted he felt it was his duty
to volunteer to go to Vietnam, but the request was denied.

I also had a BFF who tried to join the Air Force, but was rejected. Much to her dismay.

This affected many of my friends and they were devestated, what was good for the men wasn't necessarily good for the women. For instance take the Citadel here in Charleston, women weren't allowed to attend, it was only for men, and it was not a privately funded school, it was also supported by our tax dollars.

I visited the Vietnam memorial in DC the day President Reagan was there, and saw many of my school friends names listed on the wall, which was a painful experience.

I also met Vince, who made all of the "artificial eyes" for wounded soldiers coming back from Vietnam.

It was a sad time for both men and women and will never be forgetten.

This past week at the DMV they also have a license plate for Disable Female Veterans, along with the regular Disabled plate.

I feel Frankie McGrath did the right thing by being in the Army Nurse Corps.

This was an excellent peek into the past.

Thank you Kristin Hannah!
Thank you Netgalley for giving me the chance voice my opinion.

Thank you to nNetGalley, St. Martin’s Press and Kristin Hannah for this arc for free in exchange for an honest review.

This novel is about the women who went to Vietnam in different roles to help the troops, it was written very well ; I really felt frankie’s fear, love and her heartbreak while reading this. Kristin Hannah did such a great job by showing the way that vets (nurses and troops) struggled with PTSD, addiction, thoughts of suicide, depression and betrayal when coming home from vietnam war. I highly recommend putting this in your tbr, the book releases February 6th, 2024.

This book is going to end up on so many Best Books of 2024 lists (I am calling it now). I am a loyal reader of Kristin Hannah, and this is hands down my favorite she has written in the past few years. This book was one emotional ride to sum it up in one simple sentence. I am writing this review immediately after finishing the book and am left with a total book hangover.

The Women was a moving, engrossing story about Frankie who enlists in the Vietnam War as a nurse and follows her during and after the war. All throughout the book I was sucked into Frankie’s feelings, stresses, setbacks, and victories. I appreciated that this book didn’t stop following Frankie’s life once the war ended and carried on with her life after the war. It felt so raw and real the entire way through. Trust me when I saw my review does not even come close to doing this phenomenal book justice.

Kristin Hannah did a great job of shining light on these forgotten women of the Vietnam War and made me really appreciate their sacrifices. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Kristin Hannah, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced reader’s copy.

You know a book has you when you are up at 1 a.m. and only put it down because you can't keep your eyes open any longer. Kristin Hannah is turning into one of my favorite authors. Love her historical fiction and The Women is on the top of my list, right up there with The Nightingale. This story is about the women who went to Vietnam, in different roles, to help the troops and it is a story I never new much about. This book opened my eyes. There was even a little about the island, Kauai, that I grew up on. The descriptions were on point, took me back home and I could see it playing out in my head. I am telling everyone about this book! This book will stay with me for a long time. Have tissues at the ready. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

I felt like I was back in the 1960s when young men and women served our country in Vietnam. This book centers on the women who served there, how they survived, won and lost relationships, the role of women vs men, and their suffering when they returned home. Kristin Hannah homes in on the life of a young woman, Frankie, who volunteered to join the Army Nurse Corps. So much loss and devastation, but also such strong bonds formed to lift each other up. This is another superbly written and emotional novel by Kristin Hannah. It’s a must read.

About the only thing good that comes from being awake when I shouldn't be... I read on my Kindle.

The other night, I finished The Women by Kristin J. Hannah. I've been thinking about it, and the Vietnam War, since. This war was obviously before me, but so many people in my life lived during this time. It's just not talked about. And maybe now... maybe I understand a little bit more about why we don't. And now, it's hooked me into research, learning as much as I can about a time I know nothing about, but we should! Wow! That's always the sign of a fantastic book!

The Women releases February 6, and you definitely want to add it to your TBR!