Published: 2024
Series: N/A
Author: Kristin Hannah
Illustrator: N/A
Genres: Historical Fiction, Book Club, Fiction, War, Adult, Romance, Adult Fiction, Feminism
Audience (Grade Levels): High School (Grades 11-12)
Number of Stars: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Goodreads Link: The Women
Triggers: Violence, racism, alcoholism, war trauma/PTSD, medical trauma
Review By: Gina Iorio
Publisher’s Summary:
“The missing. The forgotten. The brave… The women.
When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these unexpected words, it is a revelation. Raised on idyllic Coronado Island and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing, being a good girl. But in 1965 the world is changing, and she suddenly imagines a different choice for her life. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she impulsively joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.
As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction of war, as well as the unexpected trauma of coming home to a changed and politically divided America. The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on the story of all women who put themselves in harm’s way to help others. Women whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has all too often been forgotten. A novel of searing insight and lyric beauty, The Women is a profoundly emotional, richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose extraordinary idealism and courage under fire define a generation.” (Publisher Synopsis)
Review:
Kristin Hannah’s latest novel, The Women, weaves together the lives of three women against the backdrop of the Vietnam War and its aftermath. The main character, “Frankie” heads off to war, as an inexperienced nurse, to find adventure and purpose. However, nothing is as she imagined, and the green nurse must quickly adapt to a volatile world. With the help of her fellow nurses, doctors and soldiers, she adjusts, but life is difficult.
When Frankie returns home, she struggles to find her place. Nothing is how she imagined. Her family doesn’t know how to interact with her. Society wants nothing to do with her and the veterans she helped deny there were women who were in Vietnam. They claim she could never understand what they went through because she was not one of them. She flounders as a nurse in the states, unable to conform to the strict rules set up by the hospital. Nightmares haunt her sleep, sounds put her on edge, and Frankie spirals out of control. She tries to find help, but there is nowhere to turn. She survived Vietnam, but can she survive the aftermath?
The Women is a well-researched historical novel. Hannah incorporates authentic details, which provide readers with a vivid sense of time and place. I did not know the struggles nurses faced when they returned home. The novel was eye opening and I am thankful to have read it because it educated me.
Hannah’s writing allows readers to connect with the characters and their experiences. She captures human relationships and the impact of wartime on individuals and families. This is a must read.
From the celebrated author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds comes Kristin Hannah’s The Women―at once an intimate portrait of coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided.
Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.
As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is overwhelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets―and becomes one of―the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.
But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.
The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.
Classroom & Curricular Connections:
- Social Studies & United States History: This text is an invaluable historical fiction resource for upper-level high school classrooms exploring the Vietnam War era. It provides critical insight into the political divisions of the 1960s and 1970s, the anti-war movement, and the home front realities for returning service members.
- Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) & Health Education: Excellent for units addressing Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), psychological survival, familial estrangement, and the structural challenges of coping with trauma when dealing with an unsupportive or dismissive social environment.
- Extension Activity / Library Application:
- High School Book Club / Independent Reading: Perfect for pairing with student literature circles exploring twentieth-century historical milestones, women’s history, or the psychological landscape of wartime veterans.
- Primary Source Comparison Project: Have students research real oral histories of the Army Nurse Corps during the Vietnam War and compare the primary source accounts to the fictionalized struggles, microaggressions, and systemic rejection experienced by Frankie upon her return home.
- Diversity & Representation: The novel brings critical, underrepresented representation to the military contributions of women who served in harm’s way during the Vietnam War. It directly addresses the systemic erasure of female veterans’ service and shines an educational light on the unique gendered struggles, historical biases, and erasure they faced within society and traditional veteran spaces.
Readalikes:
- The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
- The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien
