Home Front

Home Front by Kristin Hannah
Fiction/Literature

Michael and Joleen Zarkades are an average American couple. Michael is a criminal defense lawyer and Joleen is in the National Guard and flies a Black Hawk helicopter. They have two children, Betsy, age 12 and Lulu, age 4. They have been married for twelve years but are now facing a difficult patch in their marriage with the big D (divorce) looming.

Betsy has just entered middle school and is at the, to borrow a term from the book, frenemy stage. Her best friends are friends one day and enemies as cruel as they can be the next day. She is obnoxious to her mother and her father has distanced himself from his family so Betsy is anxious for his attention.

All their lives are changed as Joleen is called up for deployment to Iraq. She is duty-bound to go but what happens to her family and how does she cope worrying about them as they are worrying about her

This book is about duty, honour, love, forgiveness and surmounting the difficulties in one's life. PTSD is the main topic and is well-researched. This book is about American forces but could just as easily be written about our Canada forces in Afghanistan. There is a strong message and one that should be read. Our forces need our consideration and help even when they have returned from these countries. These men and women have given up their lives for us and even though some of us may not understand this level of commitment one has to admire what they go though over there and upon their return.

To say this book is emotional is a vast understatement, I spent the greater part of it in tears. Another winner from this great author

First Line: "The way she saw it, some families were like well-tended parks, with pretty daffodil borders and big, sprawling trees that offered respite from the summer sun."

Video in which Kristin interviewed helicopter pilot and mother, Warrant Officer Teresa Burgess, who was an advisor to Kristin for HOME FRONT

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Rating:
(4.5/5)

Night Road

Night Road by Kristin Hannah
Fiction/Literature

Jude Farraday has raised her two children, twins Mia and Zach, by being very involved in their upbringing. She has been there for every step and has helped plan their every move. The twins are bright, smart and Zach is popular. Mia is a little shyer and but when she enters high school she meets Lexi Baill, a former foster child. They become inseparable and when Lexi and Zach fall in love, everything is perfect.

Senior year at high school the twins are a little more rebellious against their mother. Jude becomes more and more concerned about their well-being. And then the worst possible thing happens and there is an accident. Lexi gets all the blame and faces it with integrity.

Night Road is a novel about profound loss and how it affects each member of the family. It is a story that tells about doing the right thing and the courage that takes. Forgiveness is the hardest thing in the world but love is the most lasting and hope is the most powerful.

This book is an emotional read that I just couldn't put down. Loved it!!

First Line: "She stands at the hairpin turn on Night Road."

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Rating:
(4.5/5)

Winter Garden

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah
Woman's Fiction

Meredith and Nina Whitson are sisters who have grown up with a cold, disapproving mother. Each of them coped in their own way. Meredith did so by having a family, running the family's apple orchard, and becoming a super achiever. Nina coped by becoming a world famous photojournalist taking pictures in grief stricken areas of the world, constantly travelling and running away.

When their beloved father falls ill he extracts a promise from Nina that she will get her mother to tell the Russian fairy tale story that they had loved as children. But he wants Nina to get her mother to tell it through to the ending which the girls have never heard. When he dies the sisters and their mother are pulled in opposite directions, each dealing with the grief in their own way. Meredith throws herself into her work alienating her husband, Nina runs away to Africa and Anya, their mother, sits in her garden even in the winter in her nightgown and looks to be becoming more and more forgetful.

Nina finally turns toward home and starts her mother telling her and the reluctant Meredith the Russian fairy tale. A tale about a young girl and her fairy tale prince and their falling in love in Leningrad. Only it is really their mother's tale about Leningrad and the infamous siege of Leningrad.

This is such a wonderful tale. I especially enjoyed the historical fiction portion about the siege of Leningrad. The ending was such a great surprise and so up-lifting and just plain feel good. Great book!!

First Line: "On the banks of the mighty Columbia River, in this icy season when every breath became visible, the orchard called Belye Nochi was quiet."

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Rating:

(4.0/5)

True Colors

True Colors by Kristin Hannah
Fiction/Literature

The Grey sisters are the best of friends. They are very loving and supportive of each other. After their mother died when they were young, they became very close.

Their father, Henry, is so concerned about appearances he shows little regard for his daughters. He cares about his horse ranch and how he will look to others in the community. He is very critical and constantly disapproving.

Winona, the eldest is an overweight intellect. She has become a lawyer and lives in the nearby town. She actually is scared of horses and cares little about the land. She strives for her father's approval and continually tries to show him how worthy she is. She is in love with her high school chum but realizes she is not the 'ideal' woman.

Aurora, the middle child, has the perfect marriage and the perfect husband. She is the mediator of the family. She is always trying to make everyone happy.

Vivi Ann , the youngest, is the star. She is beautiful and vivacious. She loves the ranch and is a rodeo star. For Vivi Ann everything comes easy.

Winona wants to sell some land to save the ranch. Vivi Ann comes up with a way to finally make some money for the ranch but nobody takes her seriously. Luke, Winona's secret love, returns to town only to fall in love with Vivi Ann and become engaged. How can Winona be anything but jealous? And then Dallas, a native American cowboy enters the picture. The Grey sister's loyalty to each other is severely tested as a crime is committed and who knows who is to blame. Everyone in town is more than willing to take sides.

This story is a deep emotional study of sibling relationships. Have a box of tissues close by when you sit down to read it.

First Line: "Fifteen-year-old Winona Grey stared out at the waterfront ranch that had been in her family for four generations, looking for something that had changed."

True Colors at Chapters
Rating:

(4.0/5)