The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah 5 Stars

Ladyreading365

Oct 13, 20213 min read

Publication date 6/2/18 435 pages

Guess what I have just this second finished listening to the audio book. I had ran out of audio books to review on Netgalley so I switched over to my trusted free libraries app Borrowbox for this book. I am sure glad I did as this book was amazing. I don't know if your like me but I always love doing reading challenges that is mainly why I created my own. I also do both the 52 book challenge and the pop-sugar challenge of Facebook. This book was picked for the prompt read a Kristin Hannah book as part of the 52 book challenge. I didn't even read the synopsis it was there so I picked it I often like just choosing random books You never know what to expect and this is one heck of a story.

Synopsis

Alaska, 1974.

Unpredictable. Unforgiving. Untamed.

For a family in crisis, the ultimate test of survival.

Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.

Thirteen-year-old Leni, a girl coming of age in a tumultuous time, caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, dares to hope that a new land will lead to a better future for her family. She is desperate for a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if it means following him into the unknown.

At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. In a wild, remote corner of the state, they 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 Allbrights’ lack of preparation and dwindling resources.

But as winter approaches and darkness descends on Alaska, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture. 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. In the wild, there is no one to save them but themselves.

In this unforgettable portrait of human frailty and resilience, Kristin Hannah reveals the indomitable character of the modern American pioneer and the spirit of a vanishing Alaska―a place of incomparable beauty and danger. The Great Alone is a daring, beautiful, stay-up-all-night story about love and loss, the fight for survival, and the wildness that lives in both man and nature.

My Review

Firstly I just want to point out just how much I love Alaska, I have never been there but everything about it just made me want to go there. Also because I didn't read the synopsis I had no Idea what this book was about. I didn't even like the cover much. I loved the title so it called out to me read me. Wow this book so jam packed with action and drama. I listened to the audio book and the narrator was just brilliant adding to my love of this book. The characters were so amazing and it just absorbed them in and I couldn't stop listening until it was over. I woke up each morning excited for the next installment of this story. I loved that the characters were so warming, you just felt like you were there with them. The characters you hated, you hated them with a passion. This book made me feel so happy and so shocked, it is so well written. I just can't wait to read more by this author as it was my first book I have read by her. I do own one of her books and hope to get round to reading it very soon.