I was hesitant going into this book because I did not enjoy The Great Alone, also by Kristin Hannah, but I adored every second of this. I wound up sobbing by the end because it was so emotional and touching. The story of this family was just lovely.

There still felt like there was a slight pacing problem. Some major character development happened so fast, almost like these major problems were too easily solved. Their mother starts opening up to them with what seems like very little prompting, which doesn't make sense when they've been trying for 40 years to bond with her. I don't know if I would have noticed this as much if I hadn't read The Great Alone first where this problem was so much more apparent, but for all that this book is 400 pages long, I think it needed a little bit more time.

Just in general I'm not a huge fan of the story within a story trope. Hannah does it well here, but for me it was always something that was going to bring this book down. I find that it creates distance and disconnects me from the secondary story which generally disconnects me from the book as a whole.

The only real critique I have (because the other two are very small things and I was still considering between four and five stars) is that I don't like the ending. For me this was a book that went on just a little bit too long. It felt too neat at the end, almost like it cheapened the book slightly by working too hard to give it a happy ending. It's nice when things work out, but this book didn't need that. It was a predictable plot twist and the whole time I kept hoping it wasn't going to happen because it was too easy for such a difficult story. It wasn't terrible by any means and definitely didn't ruin the book, but it was weakest part of the book for me. I left off feeling kind of meh, which was disappointing after a book that was so wonderful.

But all that being said, I adored this book. For a good portion of the time I was reading it, I was legitimately thinking about giving it a full five stars. Even for four stars, it could still make my favorites list at the end of the year. Every good thing people have said about Kristin Hannah, I felt in this book. I didn't get it after The Great Alone, but I do now. Perhaps that one was a fluke because this was stunning.

I loved Nina and Meredith's characters. They were so well crafted as people and so interesting. I was really interested in them as people and where their stories would go. I think we lost a little of them later on in the book as it focused more and more on their mother's story, but I really loved it.

And I was entirely absorbed by Anya's story. I wanted to know who she was and what happened, how she became so distant from her own children. She had an absolutely heart-wrenching story and I was sucked in from the beginning.

Hannah's story telling is what really stands out here. Her writing didn't get in the way and didn't offer too much on its own, but the story was everything. I couldn't wait for answers and closure and to watch this family grow closer together. There's so much pain in this book and it was all dealt with wonderfully. I felt all the pain and connected with all the characters, and above all else, that's what I want. This had me sobbing by the end and even then I didn't want to put it down.

I highly recommend this book if you're interested in an emotional family story about mothers and daughters that will break your heart. I'll be picking up more of Hannah's work, and I'm so excited to do so. I get the hype now.