After reading The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah, I knew I had to get my hands on another one of her books. There have been few books that moved my emotions so much and I wondered if all her works were like this, or if The Nightingale was just a special one.
Luckily, my husband knows me well and bought me The Great Alone for Christmas. I finished it a few weeks ago, and I’m still thinking about it! In true Kristen Hannah form, it shook my emotions so much. My husband found me crying multiple times while reading this book.
I had absolute no idea what I was getting into. I hadn’t read anything about the book or the plot. I didn’t have a clue what to expect.
At the beginning, I was not convinced it was going to be a tear-jerking, gut-wrenching, emotional roller coaster that The Nightingale was. The setting starts in the 1970s, and through the eyes of a 13 year old girl, Leni. I was surprised at what seemed to be a totally different type of storytelling and storyline. When Leni’s family decides to pack up and move to Alaska in hope of a new start and a life of self-sufficiency, she had me hooked. I’ve always dreamed of living a self-sufficient life, although never in Alaska.
I thought I was going to enjoy this book solely from reading about their new self-sufficient life. Little did I know that I would end of loving this book for all of the different human emotions and relationships that are portrayed in this book.
I’ve always loved books that portray wonderful, romantic, steadfast love. This book does that perfectly. But this book also made me ponder and understand other types of love better. Like the love between a mother and a daughter. The love between a person and their homeland, and also other types of love that can be complicated and confusing and incomprehensible. Like love that still persists even in abusive situations.
I’ve thankfully never personally been involved in an abusive relationship and I think reading this book really helped open my eyes to why people stay in those relationships.
This book is a beautiful balance of adventure and emotion. Kristen Hannah is so good at stirring your heart with just a few lines and The Great Alone is no exception!
Have you read The Great Alone? I would love to hear what you thought of it!
