Another book club book - I have only read one other Hannah book, and NO, it was not THAT one. I read Firefly Lane years ago, also for book club, so I guess it was high time to read another!!
Alaska. That is who I thought the main character would be here. Set in the tundra, in a tiny community of tough, rough, dig down deep characters, this is the story of wilderness and cold. Of survival where humans probably should not survive. Of bears and salmon and canning your vegetables for the winter because you ain't leaving your house/cabin for 4 months - not to mention, there's only a few hours of daylight - grey daylight.
Sounds fun, right?
Add in an abusive husband with paranoid tendencies and undiagnosed PTSD from the war, a young girl trapped and in love, and a wife torn between her deep love for the man her husband used to be and her desire to help her daughter live a better life, and now you see my dilemma - there are several main characters here, and they are all trying to survive the best way they know how. They've moved several times at Dad's whim, but this time really seems like it might be The One. They take to Alaska and it's toughness, and 13 year old Leni falls in love - with Alaska and with Matthew, the only other teenager around. But as her father's paranoia builds, and as his hate for Matthew's successful father increases, Leni realizes she is a prisoner in her own house. While the neighbors, including Large Marge from the local store where Leni works (loved her!!!!), try to help out, Leni realizes it is up to her to make a change. And when change comes, everyone and everything is affected way more than she bargained for.
A few holes in the second half of the story, but I was hooked and invested and really enjoyed the writing. So much so that I found myself accidentally promising my book club that I will finally read THAT Kristin Hannah book. Sigh. Stay tuned......
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