The Great Alone: Kristin Hannah: A Story of Love, Heartbreak and Survival, From the Bestselling Author of The Nightingale

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We have 7 read-alikes for The Great Alone, but non-members are limited to two results. To see the complete list of this book's read-alikes, you need to be a member. A girl was like a kite; without her mother's strong, steady hold on the string, she might just flat away, be lost somewhere among the clouds." It isn’t much. Forty acres with a cabin that needs fixing. But a hardworking man can live off the land up here, away from the crazies and the hippies and the mess in the Lower Forty-eight. The exploration of themes such as love, sacrifice, resilience, and the lengths one would go to protect those they care about resonated deeply with me. The author's nuanced portrayal of complex relationships, the dynamics of small communities, and the fragility of the human psyche added layers of depth to the story, making it all the more compelling.

At first I thought it started slow and I was having trouble connecting to it. But, about 1/3 of the way through the intensity and the story really ramped up. From then on out it is a rollercoaster suspense-thriller-tear jerker that warms the heart and will terrify you with the possibilities of the human condition. Ron Rash is renowned for his writing about Appalachia, but his latest book, The Caretaker, begins ...

I could probably go on and on forever, but I'll just say I loved almost all of it. I loved how, like in The Nightingale, Hannah shows the importance and the strength of the relationships between female characters. I loved the Alaskan setting and the multiple tales of survival against the odds. And I loved how everything had something of a fairy tale quality to it, dark places and broken dreams included. This state, this place, is like no other. It is beauty and horror; savior and destroyer. Here, where survival is a choice that must be made over and over, in the wildest place in America, on the edge of civilization, where water in all its forms can kill you, you learn who you are........You learn what you will do to survive. That lesson, that revelation, as my mother once told me about love, is Alaska's great and terrible gift. Those who come for beauty alone, or for some imaginary life, or those who seek safety, will fail. In the vast expanse of this unpredictable wilderness, you will either become your best self and flourish, or you will run away, screaming, from the dark and the cold and the hardship. There is no middle ground, no safe place; not here, in the Great Alone."

Which would you rather do? Die by freezing, starving or being mauled to death by “Alaska” or die at the hands of your abusive, PTSD addled father? This book completely stole my heart. Maybe it's just more fresh in my mind, but I'm pretty sure I enjoyed The Great Alone even more than Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale. In fact, it was verging on a five-star read for me until the final few chapters-- which I felt were too rushed and more sentimental than I personally like. But I still highly recommend it. Her ability to describe the beauty of the harsh Alaskan country is perhaps the book's best feature. There are, however, aspects of the novel that don't live up to the quality of the author's writing in my opinion. I also found the plot somewhat uneven, at times being overly predictable and at others taking improbably twists that challenge credulity. The author starts to develop plotlines but later they're mysteriously dropped. Although I found The Great Alone to be a mixed bag, I imagine Hannah's fans will be able to overlook the book's flaws and enjoy both the beauty of her prose and the romance at the core of the story... continued The physical descriptions throughout the novel are ethereal...you can touch and feel and see what the author paints for you. From the ​prizewinning, debut fiction author: an exhilarating virtuosic story collection about women navigating the wilds of male-dominated Alaskan society.

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Leni frowned. Were they communists now? She was pretty sure her dad hated the commies as much as he hated the Man and hippies.