Now Read This: �The Great Alone� By Kristin Hannah

This month I�m recommending Kristin Hannah�s newest novel, �The Great Alone.� The story takes place over 12 years, beginning in 1974. Husband and father Ernt served in Vietnam, was a POW and now, back home, struggles to keep a job. He frequently has bad dreams that lead to a bad temper, which lead to his abuse of his wife.

When Ernt finds out one of his friends he served with has left him some land in a remote village in Alaska, he decides to take his family there for a fresh start. The residents of this village live off the grid. No one has electricity or indoor plumbing. They all spend the short warm months growing and preserving food that will ensure their survival during the long winter months. But the long hours of winter darkness make Ernt crazy.

Initially unhappy to leave their Seattle home, wife Cora and daughter Leni soon fall in love with the wilds of remote Kaneq. They fish, garden and can foods in anticipation of the long winters, and they try to stay out of Ernt�s way when the dark hours lengthen.

Leni attends a one-room school where there is only one other student her age. His name is Matthew, and he becomes her best friend and eventually her first love. Ernt�s irrational hatred of Matthew�s family threatens to keep them apart, and Leni fears her father�s uncontrollable rage could be the death of her and her fragile mother.

Luckily, the small village takes care of its own. It is a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. Cora and Leni only survive with their help.

The book jacket says with this �unforgettable portrait of human frailty and resilience, Kristin Hannah reveals the indomitable character of the modern American pioneer and the spirit of a vanishing Alaska � a place of incomparable beauty and danger.�

I�ve read one of Hannah�s other novels, �The Nightingale,� about the French resistance during World War II; it also has two strong women as the main characters. Both books are well-written. The library owns copies of both these titles in a variety of formats: book, audio CD, e-book and e-audio.

Two of the read-alikes NoveList recommends are �Educated,� by Tara Westover and �The Poisonwood Bible,� by Barbara Kingsolver. �Educated� is a memoir published this year that was recommended to me by another staff member. �The Poisonwood Bible� is one of my favorite books by Barbara Kingsolver. The library owns copies of both these titles in a couple of different formats.

Happy Readings!