The Great Alone // book review

I had somewhere between five and ten people tell me I’d love this book before I even started reading it, and so picking it up to begin with, it already had a lot of expectations placed on it. It started off really well, and within the first couple of chapters, I could tell I was already very invested in what was to come, though admittedly, somewhere in the middle, it became a little bland. I’ll compare it to “Where The Crawdads Sing” — great book, just like this one, great story, just like this one… but in some ways, overly detailed, to a point where you just want to say GET ON WITH IT.

Kristin Hannah has an IMPECCABLE writing style, like, I love it so freakin much. It isn’t complicated, it’s straight forward, it’s well told, it sucks ya right in. However, there were for sure some sections of this book where the details of the scenery specifically, just became a little overly detailed. I’m sure when you write a book about Alaska and all its vast wildness — you really feel the need to set the stage for your reader, but for me personally, I could have done without as many details on that. As per usual, I just want to know about the characters and what their stories are!

Overall, this book was fantastic. Really brings to light what life in a physically and mentally abusive home can look like, and why it sometimes takes those victims so very long to make bold moves. The human connection is one of my favorite things to read about, and you’ll get amazing human connection stories between not just two main characters in this book, but several others too, so many, and I loved every second of that. There were some plot twists, some I didn’t see coming — but one I kinda did, and I was so glad, you’ll know when ya get there, trust me!

I ultimately loved this book very much, and hiiiighly recommend it!!
4.5 STARS