Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

271 reviews

isaznz's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, and Murder

Moderate: Cancer, Cultural appropriation, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Death

alexandriapiette's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

The Great Alone is a love story. Beneath the layers of the hardship of Alaskan winters and the bitterness of an angry man who haunts a home, there is an unfathomable amount of love threaded through these pages and its characters. Lenora “Leni” Allbright, and her mother, Coraline, resonated with me deeply as a survivor of domestic violence.

Beyond this is the love of a girl for her childhood best friend, and later, a rambunctious son.

I felt their journeys captivate me in a way I haven’t felt with a novel in some time. In the second half of the plot, the chaos that unfolds leaves you dizzy and unable to pause a reading session. While the content is certainly heavy and heart-wrenching, it, ultimately, feels important to read, just as Leni describes what matters most to her and devotes her care to it all.

This is my first book by Hannah, and suffice it to say, I’ll be checking out her other works.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse and Death of parent

jennbm's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse

Moderate: Death of parent

Minor: Cancer, Abandonment, and Child abuse

koshe1's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Alcoholism, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Cancer, Gaslighting, and Death of parent

hannah_wilson315's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was an incredible book. I loved learning about Alaska in the 70’s and 80’s. There was so much depth in the book. Romance, friendship, community, education, adventure, family dynamics, young love, mental health, injustice… the list goes on and on. All of these were perfectly told and woven together. I couldn’t recommend this read enough! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Cancer, Blood, Death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Violence, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, and Mental illness

Minor: Pregnancy and Animal death

erinreadsbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This book is heavy. Please read content warnings before beginning this one. 

My experience reading Leni’s journey through adolescence and into adulthood was harrowing, shocking, revolting, and frustrating. I felt all of these things but I did care about all the people in Leni’s life

except for Ernt

, which kept me riveted, hoping for everyone to end up happy. Although I didn’t feel like I truly knew Leni as a person, the one thing I knew for certain was that she valued those she loved. This was her core belief throughout her story and the author does a fantastic job of making you care for those people as well. The amount of time you get to spend seeing Leni’s loved ones through her eyes makes every twist and turn absolutely heart-wrenching and fraught with emotion. This book was never boring and it’s one of those stories that, upon finishing, you will need to lie down and just contemplate for a bit, exhausted but satisfied. 

Read if you like emotional, terrifyingly believable stories about survival and family. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Domestic abuse, Murder, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Gore, and Gun violence

Minor: Death of parent, Vomit, and Cancer

nc_unknown_user's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, War, Murder, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gaslighting, and Domestic abuse

Moderate: Death, Cursing, Death of parent, Gun violence, Cancer, Alcohol, Blood, Car accident, and Gore

Minor: Pregnancy

lindsssreadsss's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse

am4man's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Terminal illness

hinkleh2021's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Cancer