Kristin Hannah
Fiction
Very few authors can make me cry. Which is weird because I tear up quite easily during movies and TV shows. But it takes a lot to make me cry when I’m reading. Kristin Hannah, however, gets the tears flowing every time I pick up one of her books.
I actually wasn’t even going to read this one, I’m ashamed to admit. Much as I love her (she’s one of my favorite authors), when I read a description of the book and saw that it was about a woman who has to leave her husband and kids because she’s been deployed to Iraq, I decided I would skip this one. As I’ve mentioned several times, I’m not big into war books. So I stupidly did not put Home Front on my list of must reads. Well, luckily fate stepped in, and I saw a copy sitting on the shelf when I was at the library, decided since she’s such a great author I might as well read it, and slipped it in my bag. And I’m so glad I did.
Home Front is the story of Jolene. She’s married to Michael, they have two girls, and she flies helicopters for the National Guard. While she loves her husband, they’ve been drifting apart for awhile, and a few days before she’s deployed, he tells her he doesn’t love her anymore. Ouch. Her daughters are devastated she has to leave and Michael is angry and bitter that she’s abandoning them and making him Mr. Mom (he’s a busy lawyer). Things are tense between everyone as they all struggle with their new roles. But then Jolene's copter gets shot down. Badly injured, she's sent to a hospital to recover. And when she’s finally able to come home, Michael and the girls must grapple with her new attitude and adjust to having Jolene back in their lives.
Kristin Hannah is just phenomenal, what else can I say? She pulls you into her stories with wonderful dialogue, complex characters, and great plot twists. I had to stop and take big, gulping breaths at several points so I wouldn’t break down into a hysterical weeping fit. I just cannot say enough good things about her and this book.
Everyone should read this.
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