What are you reading this summer?
If you haven’t read The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah, then I’m here to convince you to add it to your reading list. In fact, I’m such a big fan of Kristin Hannah that I’m partnering with St. Martin’s Press to give away a copy of her latest novel and prize package.* (Be sure to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway at the end of this post or leave a comment to enter.)
“The Great Alone” by Kristin Hannah is a New York Times bestseller.
A Gripping Novel With Pioneering Spirit
Set in the wilderness of Alaska during the 1970s, The Great Alone tells the story of a family in crisis, a family desperate for a new beginning, and a family with a pioneering spirit. As I read this gripping novel, at times I felt like I was struggling for survival along with the Albright family — Ernt, a Vietnam vet with PTSD; his wife Cora, who loves her husband despite his abusive behavior and illness; and their coming of age daughter, Leni, who is 13 years old when we meet her. There’s also Matthew, Leni’s love interest; Large Marge, Mad Earl, and other locals who support the family.
Note: If you cannot view the video above, click here.
I knew I would be drawn into this story since it is written by the same author as The Nightingale, one of my favorite books of recent years. Ooh, ooh, ooh, if you’ve never read The Nightingale about two sisters during the French Resistance in WWII, I highly recommend this book too. Yes, yes, yes! Hannah has a way of bringing life to her characters and making you want to root for them, stay by their side, and help them succeed.
I was captivated by “The Great Alone” and read it in four days.
Living Off The Grid
“Coming up with the idea is the hardest,” says Hannah about her writing. “In this book it was Alaska. A lot of people in Alaska are running to something or from something.” Hannah uses personal experience from her own family history to craft the story. Her dad was an adventurer and in 1968 loaded the kids in a VW bus and they drove through six states, ending up in the Pacific Northwest, where they settled. Her mom and dad eventually opened an adventure lodge in Alaska and to this day it is part of the family business.
Alaska with its frigid climate and dark winters is a dramatic backdrop for the struggling Albrights. They basically live off the grid for most of the year. It’s amazing to learn how people survive or don’t survive winters in Alaska.
Despite its winters, Alaska is beautiful in the spring and summer. I traveled to Alaska in my 20s for work and hope I will get a chance to go back one day. Ooh, ooh, ooh, maybe now that I’m in my 60s it’s time to take an Alaskan cruise!
Enter The Giveaway For The Great Alone Prize Package
After giving you a preview of The Great Alone, I hope you’ll want to enter the giveaway with St. Martin’s Press. It includes a hard copy of the book, cozy socks for you to wear while reading, and a Tea Forte Tea Collection. The Giveaway is open to US addresses only. Enter via the Rafflecopter Giveaway below or leave a comment and LMK what you’re reading this summer or tell me if you are a Kristin Hannah fan and which of her books you like best — she has written 22.
The Giveaway prize package.
Happy summer reading!
Judi
*Disclosure: St. Martin’s Press is partnering with me for a giveaway. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.
I love a good mystery or romance book, they always make such great summer reads~
This is part romance, but more just a good drama. I think you’ll enjoy it.
Reader M said: “Just finished Down the River Unto the Sea by Walter Mosley. Now I am reading Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential. I always wanted to travel with him.”
the nightingale
Oooohhh, thanks for the recommendation, Judy! I am almost done with the book I’m reading now (by Murakami, one of my faves) so it’ll be good to have a next one! I’ve always been fascinated with Alaska and would like to see it one day. The Northern Lights is on my bucket list and Alaska would be a great place for it (closer than Iceland for sure!). Anyway, thanks again!
Joy, I’ve never read Murakami. Will have to check him out. Alaska is on my bucket list too, only this time for a vacation, not work.
I would love to read this latest book by one of my favorite authors. Thanks for sharing and hosting the giveaway.
Thank you for featuring a Tea Forte gift box in your giveaway! What a perfect accompaniment!
I agree. A soothing cup of tea is nice when reading a novel.
I love reading YA in summer.
I’ve read some YA too. I want to read the new Evan Hansen book from the show.
I am reading classics this summer. I just finished Murder on the Orient Express. Catch 22 is next.
Good for you Audrey. It’s always nice to go back to the old books. They are so well written.
I like reading contemporary romance books.
My favorite too. Love romance.
I love to read and I love to listen to books on audible….makes cleaning my closet and walking the dog so much more fun!
Last great read: AMERICANAH by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Last great listen: Spoonbenders: A Novel by: Daryl Gregory , narrated by: Ari Fliakos
Thanks for sharing Karla! I’ll have to check out those books.
I was sent an email that I had won this giveaway. I di respond.
Audrey, LMK if you received the giveaway. It was sent out last week.
I typically enjoy this author’s books, but this book was a complete disappointment. The author places the characters in a setting typical of a thousand miles north–not on the Kenai Peninsula, where I have roamed in just a sweatshirt in February. It is always difficult to read a fiction book set in a non-fiction location of which you are very familiar, but I have to wonder if she has taken the same license in her other book locations. It was like reading about a rain forest set in a desert for this former Alaskan.
Gloria, I agree that this book was not as good as the previous ones, but I did like it.