Home Front
A Novel
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4.3 • 2.3K Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
"Home Front is Hannah's crowning achievement."—The Huffington Post
In this powerhouse of a novel, Kristin Hannah explores the intimate landscape of a troubled marriage with this provocative and timely portrait of a husband and wife, in love and at war.
All marriages have a breaking point. All families have wounds. All wars have a cost. . . .
Like many couples, Michael and Jolene Zarkades have to face the pressures of everyday life—children, careers, bills, chores—even as their twelve-year marriage is falling apart. Then a deployment sends Jolene deep into harm's way and leaves defense attorney Michael at home, unaccustomed to being a single parent to their two girls. As a mother, it agonizes Jolene to leave her family, but as a solider, she has always understood the true meaning of duty. In her letters home, she paints a rose-colored version of her life on the front lines, shielding her family from the truth. But war will change Jolene in ways that none of them could have foreseen. When tragedy strikes, Michael must face his darkest fear and fight a battle of his own—for everything that matters to his family.
At once a profoundly honest look at modern marriage and a dramatic exploration of the toll war takes on an ordinary American family, Home Front is a story of love, loss, heroism, honor, and ultimately, hope.
"Hannah has written a remarkable tale of duty, love, strength, and hope that is at times poignant and always thoroughly captivating and relevant." —Library Journal (starred review)
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
In Kristin Hannah’s powerful romantic drama, a military mom discovers how strong her marriage really is when it’s pushed to the brink of destruction. Strong-willed Jolene Larsen worked hard to rebuild her life after the deaths of her alcoholic parents, proudly enlisting in the army and marrying Michael, the man of her dreams. But 12 years later, Jolene’s called up for active duty in Iraq just as her marriage seems to be falling apart. Jolene’s predicament is heart-wrenching—her husband and daughters need her, but so does her country—but a devastating tragedy helps her discover how to put her splintered life back together. Hannah is sensitive and realistic in her depiction of a military family’s unique struggles, from the difficulties of deployment to the agony of PTSD. We laughed and cried right along with Jolene through all of her battles—both at home and abroad.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Jolene Zarkades has dedicated her life to two things: her family and her career as a helicopter pilot in the National Guard. Her 12-year marriage to Michael, however, is crumbling. A defense attorney, Michael has thrown himself into his work to cope with the death of his father and his feelings of distance from Jolene. After he misses their daughter's track meet, Michael and Jolene get into a fight that results in him declaring that he doesn't love her anymore. The next day, Jolene finds out that her unit is being deployed to Iraq; Michael is furious that she is leaving him to juggle single parenthood and his practice, and they part on bad terms. Her letters home to their daughters exclude the harsh truths of war, but while she's away, Michael starts to come to terms with how much he has taken for granted. Jolene's tour of duty is cut short when her helicopter goes down, killing a young man, severely injuring Jolene, and leaving her best friend Tami in a coma. When Jolene returns home, she must cope with her own anger, guilt, fear, and frustration. Michael begins to understand her situation as he defends a Marine whose PTSD made him kill his wife. Slowly, Jolene heals, beginning the process of coming to terms with her life. By reversing traditional expectations, Hannah (Night Road) calls attention to the modern female soldier and offers a compassionate, poignant look at the impact of war on family. 400,000 first printing.
Customer Reviews
Grab the Kleenex
Grab your Kleenex & be prepared to shed a few tears. After reading some unfavorable reviews I was leery to read the book but once again I was not disappointed. Kristin delivered another story with characters that come to life & will have you rooting for them for the very beginning. This was a hard book to put down & left me wanting to hug my dearest friends. Great book!!
Cliche
I really wanted to like this book as much as I loved Hannah's NIGHT ROAD from last year. Unfortunately, the characters, with the exception were flat and predictable. Jolene, what you'd find in almost every story about a soldier, reluctant to leave her family, resolved to follow through with her commitment, brave in the face of battle. When she is wounded, she is first self-pitying, because she has to be, right? Then she bucks up, as you know she will, because that's how all soldiers are written.
The children are also cookie cutter, although the 4-year-old is way too old for playing patty-cake as a favorite game. The 12-year-old is caught up being shunned by the mean girls, as she treats her former friend as badly as she is being treated.
There was a lot of potential with this story, but it felt flat, unlike most of Hannah's other books, which I enjoy.
Great book!
I really enjoyed this book. It dealt a lot with war, marriage and the renewing process of forgiveness. Typically, Hannah isn't my favorite author, but this book is well worth your time and money. What I didn't appreciate was the first reviewer spoiling the plot. I pay good money for these ebooks, only to have it spoiled by a disgruntled reader. Read this book and fall in love with the family and especially Michael.