The Great Alone was an emotional rollercoaster. A mother-daughter novel and a modern Romeo and Juliet love story wrapped up in a beautifully described setting. Hannah makes Alaska feel like another planet compared to the Lower 48. The portrayals of nature reminded me most of Kim Stanley Robinson in Red Mars, which is one of my favorite books of all time.

There were slower parts, and parts where I was frustrated by how much the protagonist kept losing over and over again. But the volume of tears that I shed by the end proves that it was all worth it in the end.