7 Of The Best Books Like The Great Alone By Kristin Hannah

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“A girl was like a kite; without her mother’s strong, steady hold on the string, she might just float away, be lost somewhere among the clouds.”

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If you’ve just finished The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah, you’re probably still in awe over its beautifully atmospheric setting, emotional intensity, and powerful story of resilience. Whether it was the beauty of the Alaskan wilderness, the complex family dynamics, or the strength of its female lead that pulled you in, you’re not alone in craving more books like The Great Alone. Kristin Hannah has a gift for weaving deep emotion, survival, and love into her stories, and these similar reads all carry the same spirit. Whether you’re searching for more heart-wrenching family sagas, tales of survival in harsh environments, or historical fiction with women at the centre, join us at What We Reading for these incredible Kristin Hannah readalikes that will linger with you long after the final page. 

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 The Great Alone Summary 

In The Great Alone, Kristin Hannah delivers a gripping and emotionally charged story set against a backdrop of the unforgiving wilderness of 1970s Alaska. The novel follows thirteen-year-old Leni Allbright, a girl caught between her parents’ turbulent relationship and the harsh realities of their new life off-grid. Her father, Ernt, a former POW haunted by the Vietnam War, impulsively moves the family to the Last Frontier in the hopes of a fresh start. 

To begin with, the isolated community offers a sense of freedom and resilience. But, as winter sets in and the darkness deepens, Ernt’s mental state deteriorates, turning their remote cabin into a place of danger rather than a refuge. As Leni comes of age in a world defined by both breathtaking beauty and violent unpredictability, she must learn how to survive not only the wilderness but also the emotional storms brewing at home. The Great Alone is a powerful depiction of love, trauma, survival, and the enduring strength of the human spirit. 

The Snow Child – Eowyn Ivey 

First up on our list of books like The Great Alone is Eowyn Ivey’s The Snow Child. Jack and Mabel are a childless couple breaking apart under the weight of working a farm and the loneliness and despair that comes with life in Alaska in 1920. In a moment of levity during the season’s first snowfall, they build a child out of snow together. The next morning, the snow child is gone, but they glimpse a young, blonde-haired girl running through the trees. 

This little girl, who calls herself Faina, appears to be a child of the woods. She hunts with a red fox at her side, skims lightly across the snow, and somehow manages to survive in the Alaskan wilderness. As Jack and Mabel struggle to understand this child who might as well have come from the pages of a fairytale, they come to love her as their own daughter. But, in this beautiful, violent place, things are rarely ever as they appear, and what they soon learn about Faina will change them all forever. 

Once There Were Wolves – Charlotte McConaghy 

Inti Flynn arrives in Scotland with her twin sister, Aggie, to lead a team of biologists on their mission to reintroduce fourteen grey wolves into the remote Highlands. Not only does she hope to heal the dying landscape, but also her sister, who has been rocked by the secrets that drove them initially out of Alaska. Inti isn’t the same woman she once was, either. She, too, has been changed by the harm she’s witnessed, inflicted by humans on both the wild and one another. 

As the wolves surprise everyone by thriving in their new environment, Inti starts to let her guard down, even opening herself up again to the idea of love. But, when a farmer is found dead, Inti knows where the town will lay the blame. But if the wolves didn’t kill the man, who did? Propulsive and spell-binding, Once There Were Wolves is a book similar to The Great Alone about a woman desperate to save the creatures she loves – if she isn’t consumed by a wild that was once her refuge in the process. 

Beartown – Fredrik Backman 

People say that Beartown is finished. A tiny community nestled deep in the forests, it is slowly losing ground to the ever-encroaching trees around it. Yet, down by the lake stands an old ice rink, built generations ago by the working men who founded the town. And that ice rink is the sole reason why the local inhabitants always believe tomorrow will be better than today. Their junior ice hockey team is about to compete in the national semi-finals. All the hopes and dreams of the settlement now rest on the shoulders of a handful of teenage boys. 

Being responsible for the hopes of a whole town is a heavy burden, and the semi-final match proves to be the catalyst for a violent act that leaves a young girl traumatised and a town in turmoil. Accusations are made, sending a shockwave through the town that reverberates across every local. Fredrik Backman welcomes readers to Beartown, exploring the hopes that bring a community together, the secrets that tear it apart, and the courage it takes to go against the grain in a way that any fan of The Great Alone is sure to love. 

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Check Out These Winter-Themed Books To Curl Up With

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Winter Garden – Kristin Hannah

If you loved The Great Alone, why not try another one of the best Kristin Hannah books, Winter Garden? Meredith and Nina Whitson are about as different as the two siblings can be. But when their beloved father falls ill, the pair soon find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who, even now, offers no comfort to her daughters. As children, the only connection between them was a Russian fairytale that Anya used to tell the girls at night. 

Now, on his deathbed, their father promises that the fairytale will be told one final time, all the way to the end. Thus begins an unexpected journey into the truth of Anya’s life in war-torn Leningrad over fifty years ago. Flipping from the past and present, Meredith and Nina will finally discover the harrowing story of their mother’s life, and discover a secret so terrible and terrifying that it will rock the foundations of their family and change who they believe they are forever. 

This Tender Land – William Kent Krueger 

This Tender Land is a sweeping, heartfelt coming-of-age novel set during the Great Depression. It orbits around four orphans – Odie O’Banion, his brother Albert, their mute friend Mouse, and a spirited girl named Emmy – who escape the abusive Lincoln Indian Training School in Minnesota after a tragic event forces them to flee. 

The story unfolds as an epic American odyssey down the Mississippi River. Along the way, the children encounter a series of unforgettable characters: travelling faith healers, displaced families, wanderers, and outlaws – all grappling with their own struggles in a broken country. Blending historical fiction with emotional depth, This Tender Land is a powerful depiction of friendship, survival, and the resilience of the human spirit, perfect for any readers looking for what to read after The Great Alone. 

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Check Out These Historical Reads With Love Stories

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We Are Not Ourselves – Matthew Thomas 

Born in 1941, Eileen Tumulty was raised by her Irish immigrant parents in Woodside, Queens, in an apartment where the mood swings between hilarity and heartbreak. When Eileen meets Ed Leary, a scientist unlike any other man she has known, she believes she has found the perfect partner to deliver her the cosmopolitan life she has always dreamed of. But after they marry, Eileen soon learns that Ed’s aspirations for the American Dream are not as lofty as her own. 

Through the saga of the Learys, Matthew Thomas chronicles the story of the American Century, particularly the promise of economic prosperity and domestic bliss that captured the hearts of the post-WWII world. The result is a book like The Great Alone that is a riveting and affecting work. We Are Not Ourselves reminds us that life is more than a tally of victories and defeats, that we live to love and be loved, and that we should tell each other so before the moment slips away. 

The Last Romantics – Tara Conklin 

Another one of the best books like The Great Alone, Tara Conklin’s The Last Romantics, is a deeply moving family saga that explores love, loss, and the complicated bonds between siblings. The novel opens in the near future, with renowned poet Fiona Skinner reflecting on the defining story of her life: the lives of her three siblings – Renee, Caroline, and Joe – and the pivotal moment that changed everything. 

After their father’s sudden death, the Skinner children are left to raise themselves during what they dub the Pause, a period where their mother retreats into grief. As they grow up, each sibling takes a different path, carrying the scars of their shared past. But when tragedy strikes again years on, they’re forced to confront long-held secrets, personal failures, and the strength of their enduring connection.