Krista L. (Kristalo) reviewed on 2/7/2012 + 70 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

As always, Kristin Hannah's writing and characterization is fabulous in this new novel. If you want to know what serving in Iraq is like, this book will teach you. It is not a book to read in public, as you'll find yourself crying over and over again. That being said, I couldn't finish it. It was, in a word, Depressing. Even before the war, you have a wife with a terrible past. She has a "happy go lucky" attitude now, but it just seems fake. You have a husband who hates his life and his marriage, and who doesn't even support his military wife. Their teenage daughter is moody, mean, and just lost. Even the cute little 4 yr old cries too much and goes "invisible" when she's sad. Which is often. The only positive character is the mother in law, but even she has her demons. The reader is dealing with all of this negativity, and then the wife goes off to war. Now it gets really depressing. While I appreciate Hannah realistically describing war, it's not a book to read to escape. Couldn't there be just one bright spot in this book? I read about half of it, and then skipped to the end. It was too much of a downer for me.

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