Name: momo-reads's review of The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
Item: The Great Alone
Rating: 1
Author: momo-reads

Kristin Hannah

From the worldwide number one bestselling author of The Nightingale comes Kristin Hannah’s latest bestseller. The Great Alone is a daring, beautiful, stay-up-all-night story about love and loss. GOODREADS HISTORICAL NOVEL OF THE YEAR 2018 'A rich, compelling novel of love, sacrifice and survival, as epic as the Alaskan landscape it so vividly describes' Kate Morton ‘A woman has to be tough as steel up here. You can’t count on anyone to save you and your children. You have to be willing to save yourselves.’ Thirteen-year-old Leni is coming of age in a tumultuous time. Caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, she dares to hope that Alaska will lead to a better future for her family, and a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if means following him into the unknown. As Leni grows up in the shadow of her parents’ increasingly volatile marriage, she meets Matthew. And Matthew – thoughtful, kind, brave – makes her believe in the possibility of a better life . . . With her trademark combination of elegant prose and deeply drawn characters, Kristin Hannah celebrates the remarkable and enduring strength of women. ‘A masterclass’ Sunday Times bestselling author Karen Swan ‘Rapturous’ New York Times ‘Epic’ Washington Post

A Compelling Story of Love, Heartbreak and Survival, From the Multi-million Copy Bestselling Author of The Nightingale

The Great Alone

Zachary Roberts

That evening, after dinner, Leni sat on her twin bed, reading. The Stand by Stephen King. In the past week, she'd read three books by him and discovered a new passion. Goodbye science fiction and fantasy, hello horror. 

Justine Bohn

Mommy loves him more than the moon and the starts like she loves me 

Mariah crawford

Did adults just look at the world and see what they wanted to see, think what they wanted to think? Did evidence and experience mean nothing?

He stopped scentences halfway through all the time, as if he was afraid of giving voice to scary or depressing thoughts.

The world is run by lunatics. It’s not my America anymore.

You don’t stop loving a person when they’re hurt. You get stronger so they can lean on you.

An empty flagpole pointed accusingly upward, a statement about her father’s hatred of where this country was headed. For a man whom Mama called a patriot, he sure hated his government.

It’s almost like nothing will ever change even after 38 years.

As far as Leni could tell, adults were edgy in general, and no wonder. The war in Vietnam had divided the country. Newspapers blared bad news daily: bombings by Weatherman or the IRA; planes being hijacked; the kidnapping of Patty Heart. The massacre at the Munich Olympics had stunned the whole world, as had the Watergate scandal. And recently, college girls in Washington State had begun to disappear without a trace. It was a dangerous world.

In Kristin Hannah’s The Great Alone, a desperate family seeks a new beginning in the near-isolated wilderness of Alaska only to find that their unpredictable environment is less threatening than the erratic behavior found in human nature. #1 New York Times Instant Bestseller (February 2018) A People “Book of the Week” Buzzfeed’s “Most Anticipated Women’s Fiction Reads of 2018” Seattle Times’s “Books to Look Forward to in 2018” Alaska, 1974. Ernt Allbright came home from the Vietnam War a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes the impulsive decision to move his wife and daughter north where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier. Cora will do anything for the man she loves, even if means following him into the unknown. Thirteen-year-old Leni, caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, has little choice but to go along, daring to hope this new land promises her family a better future. In a wild, remote corner of Alaska, the Allbrights find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit days and the generosity of the locals make up for the newcomers’ lack of preparation and dwindling resources. But as winter approaches and darkness descends, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: they are on their own.

A Novel

kristie alexis

Pierre

momo-reads

I'm glad with how life turned out for Leni and Matthew after all they had to endure growing up. Cora doesn't deserve any of what Ernt did to her physically, emotionally, and mentally. This is such a powerful read, and it really made me feel the emotions the characters were going through. I thought I'd bawl my eyes out at the ending, but it ended up being something hopeful. Everyone deserves a life that's meant to be lived, as long as they're sincere. 

• Sometimes you had to go backward in order to go forward.

• Instinctively, she lifted her camera and minimized her view of the world. It was how she managed her memories, how she processed the world. In pictures. With a camera, she could crop and reframe her life.

• He'd been drowning for all of these years without her, and she was the shore he'd been flailing to find.

• you learn who you are. Not who you dream of being, not who you imagined you were, not who you were raised to be.

Kath

I'm glad with how life turned out for Leni and Matthew after all they had to endure growing up. Cora doesn't deserve any of what Ernt did to her physically, emotionally, and mentally. This is such a powerful read, and it really made me feel the emotions the characters were going through. I thought I'd bawl my eyes out at the ending, but it ended up being something hopeful. Everyone deserves a life that's meant to be lived, as long as they're sincere. 

• Sometimes you had to go backward in order to go forward.
• Instinctively, she lifted her camera and minimized her view of the world. It was how she managed her memories, how she processed the world. In pictures. With a camera, she could crop and reframe her life.
• He'd been drowning for all of these years without her, and she was the shore he'd been flailing to find.
• you learn who you are. Not who you dream of being, not who you imagined you were, not who you were raised to be.

I feel like I lived 3 lifetimes during this book. Made me want to move to Alaska, but also made me want to never go outside again 

Emily Lucie

Wonderful coming of age story. It is very well written and although it’s over 500 pages, it’s not too long. 

Jennifer Palmer

Love this story! It was sad but had a happy ending. I know some might disagree but a book can’t be too perfect…

Leidy Ramirez

Wow. Loved every second. Such interesting and difficult topics to write about but it was executed beautifully. Will definitely be reading more Kristin Hannah 

Paige Paul

I made the mistake of reading this during the work day. I was fighting tears at my desk and facing bright lights trying to make the tears go away quicker. My throat actually hurt from holding in the tears at the end.

What a beautiful and tragic story. Such a unique story as well, and one that will stick with me for a while.

Sarah Campbell

I made the mistake of reading this during the work day. I was fighting tears at my desk and facing bright lights trying to make the tears go away quicker. My throat actually hurt from holding in the tears at the end.
What a beautiful and tragic story. Such a unique story as well, and one that will stick with me for a while.

Absolutely riveting and wonderful and terrifying and wholesome and heart breaking. So well written and so many emotions! I devoured it and cannot wait for my next Kristen Hannah read.

Sarah Wilson

From the beautiful Alaskan landscape to the heart wrenching story that had me in tears, this is a book I won’t be able to forget. 

Angel Zolfiqar

What a wonderful book. This book has you on a constant rollercoaster, after the slow start. I wondered at first what would hook me but once I was hooked I couldn’t stop thinking about the life of Leni and where it would go. What an incredible read

I absolutely devoured this book. Super addictive to read. It also made me put Alaska on my travel bucket list. 

hard to read at times if you grew up with an eggshell parent because some passages feel all to familiar. 

and also I ugly cried, so the book pretty much had it all. 

Hannah L 

I absolutely devoured this book. Super addictive to read. It also made me put Alaska on my travel bucket list. 

hard to read at times if you grew up with an eggshell parent because some passages feel all to familiar. 

and also I ugly cried, so the book pretty much had it all. 

Absolutely amazing but heartbreaking. Truly all the feels with this book and I couldn’t stop reading. 

Amanda 

Kass

I felt this was sooooo repetitive and didn’t build for me.

I had really high hopes and wanted so much but it just didn’t happen for me 

Brittany Peterson

2.5 stars from me.

I felt this was sooooo repetitive and didn’t build for me.

I had really high hopes and wanted so much but it just didn’t happen for me 

This is an excellent book, and the storyline had me hooked right from the beginning. I agree with other reviews that the sections of the book were drawn out and the ending was rushed, but I loved the survival story embedded in a survival story so much that I’m giving it 4.5 stars nonetheless. 

Jen Baron

Well, this one tore my heart out. I cried in the car on the way to a store, much to my horror. It’ll make you want to move to Alaska to experience the beauty. It makes you think about how tough you really are-could you make it? In the end, it reminds you that your parents did they very best they could, and they love you in a way that lasts forever. 

Kristen Savage

Wow. This book was incredible. I was hesitant because of how long of an audiobook it was, but I’m so glad I didn’t let that deter me. I was waiting for every opportunity to turn it back on and be thrown back into Alaska. I learned so much about living in the bush and the struggles that come with it while following the heartbreaking story surround Lenny. One of my top reads of the year. 

Okay, it wasn’t what I thought it would be, but it was beautifully heartbreaking. I love her writing and her storytelling.

Jazz

Soapy but ripped through it. Read for book club

taylor miles hopkins

Such an incredible, heart-wrenching story until the rushed ending 

Shelby Wheeler

Lenora Allbright is 13 when her father convinces her mother, Cora, to forgo their inauspicious existence in Seattle and move to Kaneq, AK. It's 1974, and the former Vietnam POW sees a better future away from the noise and nightmares that plague him. Having been left a homestead by a buddy who died in the war, Ernt is secure in his beliefs, but never was a family less prepared for the reality of Alaska, the long, cold winters and isolation. Locals want to help out, especially classmate Matthew Walker, who likes everything about Leni. Yet the harsh conditions bring out the worst in Ernt, whose paranoia takes over their lives and exacerbates what Leni sees as the toxic relationship between her parents. The Allbrights are as green as greenhorns can be, and even first love must endure unimaginable hardship and tragedy as the wilderness tries to claim more victims.

abby .˚｡⋆ ༊ .˚｡⋆

absolutely wrecked me. This is story of violence and heartbreak. love and strength. Matthew and Leni’s love story was so heartbreaking and heartwarming all at once. Booking a trip to alaska now <3

Isabella 

such an emotionally compelling book. it was beautifully written. i shed a tear

This is my favorite KH book. Heartbreaking, emotional, beautiful, redemptive, I loved it.

Cheri McElroy

This book will rip your heart out in the best way. the story is so heart wrenching and true it is so 100% worth a read. The biggest thing that this book is about is love, in all the forms it can take - good and evil.

Daphne Li-Chen

This book will rip your heart out in the best way. the story is so heart wrenching and true it is so 100% worth a read. The biggest thing that this book is about is love, in all the forms it can take - good and evil.

read it! it’s 100% worth a read. 

I should have followed my first instinct and quit 1/3 of the way through.  Terrible things happen to everyone in the book all the way through.  No redemption for anyone.

momo-reads &
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Reviews

Highlights

Join the club

momo-reads &The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

Reviews

Highlights

Join the club

momo-reads &
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah