I am determined to read every sentence that Kristin Hannah ever writes. From the first few sentences of The Great Alone, she had me completely hooked and I've since read six of her books in four months time. Each one is a brilliant, raw, empathetic picture of resilience. Her books span generations and flawlessly depict the nuances in relationships between couples, families, and friends.
Because I've gotten a lot of requests lately for good books, I decided to keep a running tally as I go. Here are the first six:
#6 Fly Away
This is the sequel to Firefly Lane and I didn't know it existed until a recent trip to B&N. I was really excited about it because of how much I enjoyed Firefly Lane and the story of Tully and Kate The book was really good, but this was a case where my expectations were a little too big. Firefly Lane ends in a tough (and emotional) spot and Kristin could have taken the story in a million different directions. I think I expected a beautiful book that wrapped all of the learnings for the main characters from book one into Instagram-able lessons that lead to a picture perfect ending. But that is not real life and that is not Kristin's style. This book took me places I didn't expect to go and had me rooting for the main characters in ways that came out more like "please just make better choices", but ultimately it was an honest depiction of love, lose, grief and healing. I'm very excited to see how the Netflix series covers the rest of the story!
#5 Between Sisters
For me personally, this is the book that was most relatable. I have a sister and, just like Meghann and Claire, there are times when we are conquering the world together, there are times when we were battling dragons together, and there are also times when we were fighting each other. I thought Kristin captured the relationship well and I loved watching the sisters come to understand why they were so different and then learn how to support and love each other better through that. Love, learning, regret, restoration.
#4 The Four Winds
Resilience in the form of a mother. I loved reading about the strength that Elsa found when she needed to support and care for her family through the Dust Bowl. Throughout the story, you watch her grow from a timid child to a new wife and mother, to a tough survivor, to a strong fighter. She starts out caring about herself and by the end of the book she is advocating and changing the country. A really powerful story that taught me about love and motherhood as well as opened a lens for me to look at the history of this country in a way that I haven't before. I left this book with an emboldened belief that everyone has a story and that every story is important.
#3 Firefly Lane
If you have a friend that you've known most of your life or if you wish you did, this is a must read! It's a story of a friendship that endures through the ups and downs of life but never flickers out. There are great, exciting life events and there are also huge fights that would end most relationships, but Tully and Kate get through them all. The stories are cute, relatable and fun. I also love the way that Kristin weaved popular music from the time into the different decades covered in this book. It's also set in and around Seattle, which is one of my favorite cities and it was fun to hear about the city throughout different time periods too. Parts of the book are very light hearted, but the book also covers deep issues like illness, sexual abuse, death, and drug addiction. This is also a new series on Netflix and I thought it was really well done - the story isn't exactly like the book, but was still a thoroughly entertaining watch!
#2 The Nightingale
Hello. This story was wild. It is a glimpse into the amazing stories of women and their roles during World War Two. You follow two sisters with entirely different personalities and styles, but both make an incredible impact in their own way. The entire book is struggle and survival through things I cannot fathom, but there is also joy, and friendship, and creativity and love. If you have ever wondered how far a human can be pushed and what it looks like to keep putting one foot in front of the other even when it seems hopeless, this is the book for you. It reinforces the fact that women have always been powerhouses, even though we don't always hear their stories. Side note: This is being made into a movie and I cannot wait!
#1 The Great Alone
It will be hard to knock this one out of the number one spot for me. It's the first one I read, I loved it immediately, it made me want to travel to Alaska, and it also had me thinking of quitting my job and living off the land (for only a few seconds because we all know I'm too high maintenance for that, but still). It's an addictive story of a girl and her family who homestead in Alaska. It has twists and turns, gorgeous imagery, a great love story, disappointment and tragedy, and grand adventure. I wrote an entire post on this one if you are interested, but honestly, just buy it.
Surprises & Disclaimers
Surprises #1: I don't tend to read historical fiction. I'm not sure why, it just hasn't been my genre of choice. However, with The Nightingale and The Four Winds, I found myself thinking... if history was taught in stories like this, I actually might remember it. I loved them.
Disclaimer #1: I am clearly not a history buff. I cannot tell you that these books are historically accurate. Maybe they are, maybe they aren't, either way the stories are great.
Surprise #2: I'm not a crier. At all. But these books capture emotion so well that I think each one had me crying at different points.
Disclaimer #2: If you want an easy breezy beach read, these might not be for you. For me, they were stay up until 3am books, because you can't put the book down or turn the tears off.
Have you read any of these - would love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
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