I’m a fan of Kristin Hannah, and Home Front didn’t disappoint. I liked the book cover featuring a helicopter, but more importantly, I loved reading about Jolene Zarkades, a Black Hawk helicopter pilot in the National Guard flying in Iraq.
I love historical fiction because I learn a lot about the environment and experience new cultures through a character’s eyes. Sitting inside the helicopter with Jolene, I witnessed the horrors of wartime firsthand and how they affect the psyche of soldiers and often manifest as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. This psychological response to trauma can affect anyone and frequently targets soldiers after highly stressful events, like recovering the remains of fellow soldiers and casualties from the field and “bringing them home.”
Throughout the novel, I grew weary of Jolene’s daughter, Betsie, and her non-stop disrespectful and sassy outbursts. Yet I also experienced a tremendous compassion for a teenager who lost her mother’s presence to war and lived with a workaholic father, Michael, who avoided problems at home that he didn’t know how to fix.
Interestingly, one of my favorite characters was the psychiatrist of a client Michael represented. Not only did this mental health professional help Jolene’s husband navigate the emotional struggles within his own family, but they also equipped him to represent his client before jurors in a more compassionate and meaningful way.
If you like historical fiction and character transformation, Home Front by Kristin Hannah may be an excellent choice. Other insightful novels include Hannah’s The Women, The Nightingale, The Great Alone, The Four Winds, and Between Sisters.
