I recently finished The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah and Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult and my two-word takeaway for both: POWERFUL & MOVING.
Let’s be real, anything Hannah and Picoult write will be powerful & moving, but these two novels are really something special. I highly encourage you to add them to your summer list.
Two Excellent Books to Read This Summer
The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah
It’s 1974. Ernt Albright, a Vietnam POW who returned as an angry and volatile man, has lost yet another job. Ernt wants change, Ernt needs a break. On impulse, Ernt decides to move his wife and thirteen year old daughter from Seattle to a remote town in Alaska. At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. But soon 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.
This is my second Kristin Hannah novel, my first being The Nightingale. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect as the plot is drastically different. The common theme I found within both books — strong as hell women who fight for what’s right. It was beautiful. The Great Alone is a chilling story about love, resilience, and the fight for survival. Trigger Warning: the first half of the book you’re reading all about domestic violence at it’s most intense and finest, but it pulls through in the end! All the tears. I gave the book 4 stars on Goodreads.
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult
Ruth Jefferson has been a labor and delivery nurse for over 20 years at a hospital in New Haven. During a shift, Ruth begins a routine exam on a newborn baby, only to be reassigned a few minutes later. It turns out the parents are white supremacists and don’t want Ruth, who is African American, to touch their child. The hospital complies with their request, but the next day, the baby goes into cardiac distress while Ruth is alone in the nursery. Does she obey orders or does she intervene?
Gah! I really loved this story, each and every character in it (Picoult has a fabulous way of making even the villains into real human beings), and the hard topics this book not only touches, but full on tackles: race, privilege, prejudice, justice, and compassion. Small Great Things was an excellent and moving book. I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads.
Have an excellent weekend and I’ll see you back here next week!