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okiecozyreader's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.75
Kristin Hannah books kind of intimidate me because they are long, hard reads. But I do think she creates great characters that you feel like you know and you want to check on them later and see how they are doing. I usually have to remind myself that they aren’t real people. I read this on flights yesterday and I sat by someone who had recently finished it. She thought it was predictable and I do agree with that.
The first half of the story mostly takes place in Vietnam. It follows Frances “Frankie” McGrath as she goes to Vietnam to be a nurse. She wants to be part of the war effort so her dad will see her as a hero, after she hears one of her brother’s friends say women can be heroes too. She wants to be more than a wife or even a night nurse. She signs up for the army to go immediately and about the same time realizes what is really happening in Vietnam.
The second half of the book is her story after she gets back and deals with the PTSD from her experience, as well as the shame people direct on her from her service. She is treated as anything other than a hero.
I ended up really glad I read THE WORLD PLAYED CHESS right before this one. It was kind of immersive to get the thoughts of someone serving in the war, and then here seeing a similar experience from the nurses treating the military. I also appreciate having the Vietnamese viewpoint from last year’s DUST CHILD by Dr Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai.
Ch 1
“Why had it never occurred to Frankie that a girl, a woman, could have a place on her father’s office wall for doing something heroic or important, that a woman could invent something or discover something or be a nurse on the battlefield, could literally save lives?”
Ch 30
“Frankie had never known before that words could heal, at least be the beginning of healing.”
Ch 35
“In the center was the picture of Barb, Ethel, and Frankie standing in front of the O Club at the Thirty-Sixth Evac. Across the top of it all, Frankie had painted in bold black script: THE WOMEN.”
“We were the last believers, my generation. We trusted what our parents taught us about right and wrong, good and evil, the American myth of equality and justice and honor.”
The first half of the story mostly takes place in Vietnam. It follows Frances “Frankie” McGrath as she goes to Vietnam to be a nurse. She wants to be part of the war effort so her dad will see her as a hero, after she hears one of her brother’s friends say women can be heroes too. She wants to be more than a wife or even a night nurse. She signs up for the army to go immediately and about the same time realizes what is really happening in Vietnam.
The second half of the book is her story after she gets back and deals with the PTSD from her experience, as well as the shame people direct on her from her service. She is treated as anything other than a hero.
I ended up really glad I read THE WORLD PLAYED CHESS right before this one. It was kind of immersive to get the thoughts of someone serving in the war, and then here seeing a similar experience from the nurses treating the military. I also appreciate having the Vietnamese viewpoint from last year’s DUST CHILD by Dr Nguyễn Phan Quế Mai.
Ch 1
“Why had it never occurred to Frankie that a girl, a woman, could have a place on her father’s office wall for doing something heroic or important, that a woman could invent something or discover something or be a nurse on the battlefield, could literally save lives?”
Ch 30
“Frankie had never known before that words could heal, at least be the beginning of healing.”
Ch 35
“In the center was the picture of Barb, Ethel, and Frankie standing in front of the O Club at the Thirty-Sixth Evac. Across the top of it all, Frankie had painted in bold black script: THE WOMEN.”
“We were the last believers, my generation. We trusted what our parents taught us about right and wrong, good and evil, the American myth of equality and justice and honor.”
Content Warnings
Graphic: War
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Violence, Pregnancy, and Cultural appropriation
maggieparedesauthor's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism