Paige's Reviews > The Women

The Women by Kristin Hannah
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it was amazing
bookshelves: historical-fiction, 5-stars, sad-girl-books

“The women had a story to tell, even if the world wasn't quite yet ready to hear it, and their story began with three simple words. We were there.”


I'm running out of words to describe my love for Kristin Hannah, I'm completely enamoured with her writing. This book was phenomenal and a must read — even if you're not a historical fiction lover, do yourself a favour and pick one of her books up in your lifetime and you won't regret it. Each story transports you through a passage of time and makes you introspect. This book captured my attention from the very first page and I devoured all 470 pages in a day.

╰⪼ The Women is set during the Vietnam war, but most importantly, the aftermath of the war was depicted as you experience the horrendous way women and veterans were treated when they returned home from war. This is a story of resilience and the unmeasurable power of friendship. I loved that this story not only touched on the impact to the American soldiers but also the Vietnamese villages, women and children who also suffered so greatly.

— I'm completely blown away by the FMC, Frankie. Frankie is a young combat nurse, who volunteered in the Vietnam war to be with her brother, help people and make her family proud. I have so much respect for her and what she went though. Her story covers grief, mental health, addiction, alcoholism, love, loss and utter devastation. How she managed to get by in the face of adversity is beyond my comprehension because I wouldn't have the strength. Kristin Hannah's dedication to telling women's stories, otherewise referred to as the lost stories, is unmatched. The amount of research and level of detail in her stories make you feel like you're experiencing all the tragedy along with these characters, but she somehow leaves a glimmer of hope for the future. She matches the destruction with equally beautiful moments. Frankie's story deserved to be heard because there are many Frankie's in the world who could do with some compassion.

— Towards the end of this story I was so angry and I've felt that way ever since I finished it. Frankie deserved so much better and while I wish her ending played out differently, It ended the way it should have. Her whole life and personality were centred around a series of events, but she managed to push through and find herself after being torn apart from the inside.

— Having read 4 of her books now, I did guess the reveal in the last chapter but the earlier revelations were a shock to me. While this story might feel like a continuous stream of trauma - it is unfortunately a very real reality. I'm glad she left the door open for hope in the ending but mostly, I'm glad Frankie became her own hero.

This is a truly inspiring read. I recommend also reading the The Great Alone either before or after this one for an enhanced experience.

My KH rankings

➸ The Great Alone - 5 stars
➸ The Women - 5 stars
➸ The Nightingale - 4.5 stars
➸ The Four Winds - 4.25 stars
➸ Homefront - 4 stars

Quotes:

“Women can be heroes.”

“Words were creators of worlds; you had to be careful with them.”

“In this crazy, chaotic, divided world that was run by men, you could count on the women.”

“Nurses back in the world are second-class citizens. And, big surprise—they’re mostly women. Men keep us in boxes, make us wear starched virgin white, and tell us that docs are gods. And the worst part is, we believe them.”

“This war has … stretched the generation gap so wide that it threatens to pull the country apart.”

“We love you, and if we don’t say it often enough, it is because we grew up in families where there was no such vocabulary.”


———

Post read: she delivered once again 😭

⎯⎯ ୨ Pre-review: ୧ ⎯⎯

Kristin, come break my heart again. I want to feel something 🤭
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Reading Progress

December 18, 2023 – Shelved
December 18, 2023 – Shelved as: to-read
April 12, 2024 – Shelved as: historical-fiction
June 22, 2024 – Started Reading
June 23, 2024 –
page 368
77.97% "do you ever just want to throw a book across the room when a big plot twist happens 😭…"
June 23, 2024 – Finished Reading
November 22, 2024 – Shelved as: 5-stars
November 22, 2024 – Shelved as: sad-girl-books

Comments Showing 1-49 of 49 (49 new)

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Tiffany My favorite author!


message 2: by SK (new)

SK Have a good time bb 🩷


britt ⋆୨୧˚ (slump ☹️) happy????? reading!!! Kristin truly scares me 🫶🏼


message 4: by len ❀ (new)

len ❀ enjoy!! 🖤 i’ve heard mixed reviews for this.


message 5: by Sabrina (new) - added it

Sabrina The best form of sobbing, hope this helps 💗


Lindsey♡ (Semi-Hiatus) I absolutly loved this one! I hope you do too! Happy reading beautiful!💖


Liani ♡ (semi-hiatus) I hope you enjoy it, my lovely❤️❤️


message 8: by carolina (new)

carolina Happy reading bb 🩷


message 9: by Hoda (new) - added it

Hoda Paige 😭😭 you’re obsessed with her at this point 😭😭 happy crying ml🤍🫂


Maeghan 🦋 HIATUS on & off Happy reading/sobbing!! 💗


message 11: by bruna (new)

bruna happy reading bb!! enjoy 💘


Meagan✨ Ahhhhh happy sobbing bestie, I just know you’ll love this one


message 13: by Courtney ✩ (new)

Courtney ✩ (Hiatus) Hope you feel all the feels babes! ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹


message 14: by buket (new)

buket your love for her😭😭 happy reading ml🥰


Brittany ❥ This is my next read! I hope you love it 😊


Paige @tiffany she’s phenomenal. She’s becoming one of mine too!


ella ˚୨୧ ⋆。 (mostly hiatus) happy (?) reading cutie 😘🫂


Paige @sk thanks girl, loving it!


Paige @britt her books kill me but the stories are worth it! She’s such a good storyteller and writer. Thank you 🫶🏼


Paige @len thank you bb, I’m loving it! 💗


message 22: by giulsxx (new)

giulsxx happy reading ml!!💓💓💓


message 23: by kenzy (new)

kenzy happy reading ml 💗


Meagan✨ Yasssss 5 stars 🥹❤️ this is one of favs from her


message 25: by lila ⋆ (new)

lila ⋆ love that for you 🥹🧡 so glad you enjoyed this so much!!


enqi ☾⋆˚*̣̩✩ i have never read a kristin hannah book and your rating convinced me to put her books on my tbr asap!! 💛


Brittany ❥ Love to see the 5 stars 😊


message 28: by SK (new)

SK Ahhh five stars again 😍😍😍Love that for you babe🤍


message 29: by Deepak (new)

Deepak LOVE THAT 😂


Paige Sabrina wrote: "The best form of sobbing, hope this helps 💗"

to surprise of absolutely no one, I loved it 🤣🩵


Paige Lindsey↝❤ wrote: "I absolutly loved this one! I hope you do too! Happy reading beautiful!💖"

this book!! it's so beautiful, I loved it. thank you 💖


message 32: by ali (new)

ali garcia awww so happy u loved this! what a lovely review 💖


message 33: by Lilyya (new)

Lilyya ♡ i have seen a lot of good reviews about this author’s work and i cannot wait to pick one of her books ! beautiful review, love♥️ im so glad you found an author who works perfectly for you!!


Lindsey♡ (Semi-Hiatus) YESSS!!!!✨I am so happy to see that you loved this one💖!


Paige @liani I sure did thanks babe 💗


Paige @carolina thank you ml 💜


Paige @hoda you know it 🤣 you’ll love this one though. let me know when you read it because I’m sure I’ll get angry vn’s popping off because I was enraged 🤭 I loved it though. thank you 💗


Paige @maeghan thank you beautiful, tears were definitely shed 😭💗


Paige @bruna thanks bby, I loved it 🥺💖


message 40: by brooke (hiatus) (new)

brooke (hiatus) gorgeous review bbs, so happy that you loved this one! 🩷


message 41: by Dani (new)

Dani Wow fabulous review!!! Hugs 🫂 !! ✨


message 42: by Esta (new)

Esta So glad you loved this Paige! 💎❤️ exquisite review! Sounds like this author is a big win for you. 🥰


Paige @meagan you were 100% correct lmao - we are obsessed! Ty 💖


Paige @courtney I went through them all with this one! Thanks babe 💜


Paige @buket girl I keep finding more and more of her books it’s going to take me forever to get through them all but it’s so worth it 🥲 can’t wait for you to read some! tysm bb 💗


Paige @heather thank you! I sobbed 😅🩵


ashlee ☾ ⋆˙⟡♡ i'm about to hyper-fixate on you and your reviews babes


Casey Reads 🌺 Beautiful review 🫶🏼


message 49: by Mari (new) - rated it 4 stars

Mari Loved your review!❤️This is definitely a story that won’t be forgotten.


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