Elsa takes her 2 children and flees Texas during the 1930s to find a better life in California. She tries to find work and eventually does, as a cotton picker. But the conditions are not good for her and her children until they meet a man with a plan...

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read the arc of this book.
The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah is a novel not to be missed. If you have read “The Nightingale” by Ms Hannah you will appreciate what a remarkable author she is.
“The Four Winds” is set during the Great Depression in the Dust bowl state of Texas. It tells of the courage of Elsa and how she became a warrior. Her love for her children never wavers nor her desire to make a home for them.
It is hard to imagine the way the migrants were treated. Ms Hannah makes you feel the pain, both physically and emotionally, that they are going through.
Please read this book.

I love K. Hannah, and was anxiously awaiting her new novel "The Four Winds". Set in the 1930's during the American "Dust Bowl", it is a fitting tribute to the struggles of the American sprit both then and now. It centers on Elsa, a lonely and unloved Texas panhandle girl, who finds a place with an Italian family, the Martinellis as the Dust Bowl comes to Texas to claim their farm, and the choices she will make as a wife and mother and the journey she must endure. It would not be a K. Hannah book if the road was not long, hard and painful, and heart-wrenching and the reader was not crying at some point. I knew little about this actual point in history before reading this book, so afterwards, I availed myself of the internet to read more about it and what caused it and how it ended. I highly recommend this novel, and think it ranks among her best work. Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley for the ARC.

I received a copy of this book free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

This is going to be the book of 2021. Once again Kristin Hannah knocks it out of the park.

When Elsa is growing up, her family told her she couldn't do anything and she was sickly from an illness as a child. She believed she was ugly and not worthy. When her family disowns her, she lives with her new husband Rafe and his parents. on their family farm. Fast forward and the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl years hit and Elsa is forced to choose between staying in Texas where the weather and storms could kill her kids or take a chance on a better life and move to California.

Once in California, she discovers that they don't want her there either. She is force to live in a migrant camp where dysentery and the elements make life a struggle while picking cotton on a farm. Her daughter, now 14, is rebellious and wants a better life and just like any teenager, argues and disobeys Elsa.

Things come to a head when Elsa and the other migrant workers begin to fight back for better pay against the wealthy land owners. She learns that she is a bad ass and stronger than she ever realized. I don't want to give too much away but the ending was just WOW!

Kristin Hannah's books always destroy me. It takes me a few days to recover from the emotional upheaval she puts us through. In The Four Winds, Esla, the main character, is tortured but in a compelling, women's historical fiction kind of way. (Much like the sisters in The Nightengale). The story is about the great migration during the Depression and the Dust Bowl and the desperate, desperate conditions the misnamed "Okies" lived in once they arrived in California.

But the real story, the REAL story, is about mothers and daughters and the tragic and glorious relationships between them.

And I think too, the real story is about the strength of women. "Women are the weaker sex" was made up by men because they are, deep down, terrified by the strength they see in women.

Just what you would expect from Kristen Hannah, an unforgettable tale that will stay with you long after you put it down.

Elsa grew up being ignored and unloved by her well to do family. When she escapes for a night and thinks she's fond love she ends up pregnant. Her family disowns her and leaves her at the doorstep of the Martinellis.

It's there that she discovers love of a family, despite the distance of her husband. Then the dust bowl starts and devestates everything around her.

In the Texas panhandle in 1934, severe drought plagues the land. With crops failing, dust storms whip up, leaving the farmers fighting for survival. In the perilous times of the Great Depression, Elsa Martinelli must decide whether to stay and fight for her land or head west to California which offers her family a better life.

With her characteristically gorgeous storytelling, Hannah's The Four Winds is an updated Grapes of Wrath. You'll find yourself caught up in the disastrous calamity of the Dust Bowl and emotionally caught up in Elsa's impossible decision. Kristin Hannah's fans will not be disappointed with her newest release.

Hope is a coin I carry: ...

The land we loved turned on us, broke us all ...

I enjoy Kristin Hannah's writing. I was excited to receive an ARC, I will recommend this book upon release.

Another page-turner by Kristin Hannah. I read this book in one day because I just couldn't put it down. Set in the 1930s, this is the story of Elsa, from a well-to-do family in a Texas town. After a life-changing decision, Elsa finds herself living with a farming family and learning to love the land and work hard. She's also learning a lot about family and hard work. But, when the drought comes and decides to overstay its welcome, she chooses to take her family and go make a living in California, where she finds a new battle to fight. I found this story so interesting because my grandfather and his family were migrant workers due to the drought and the came from the dust bowl area. I highly recommend this book.

I received a copy of this book free from the publisher.

I loved this book so much! Kristin Hannah is the best and I can't get enough of her strong female lead characters. Elsa was no exception. Probably still prefer Nightingale but this was a wonderful book and taught me so much about the Dust Bowl and "Oakies". The relationship between Elsa and her parents and then Elsa and her own daughter were so well thought out and developed. Wonderful book!!

I am a huge Kristin Hannah fan. I literally gobble up anything she writes. She writes for women and gives them strong female leads. Her research on this book is spot on. Times were terrible, all of this happened to migrant labor and Americans looking for a better life during the Great Depression. Elsa becomes a very strong lead and the story truly centers on three generations of Martinelli women. I also get that juxtaposing these events with our current situation, Hannah is trying to make a statement. Statement heard. History does indeed repeat itself no matter how hard we try to implement change. Not my favorite book of Hannah's, but this is a solid read.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for a DARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. Kristin Hannah won my heart with this original plot and period in history that's often glossed over...the dust bowl and migration to California. These hard times during the depression are a tale for the times, when you think about corporate greed, our environment and what it takes to keep going. One woman finds the strength to get up again and again for her children to have a better life. I grew up in Bakersfield, but I'm ashamed to say "okie" was just a slur I'd heard, but I had little knowledge of the hardships. Her afterword, about coronavirus, tugged at my heartstrings. Highly recommended.

Well-written, of course, but I felt like this book was ill-served by the choice of heroine - Elsa seemed flat and weak to me, and I felt like her growth was missing from the story. I found myself wondering if it would have been better told from another POV.

Another great book by Kristin Hannah, she does not disappoint! I really like the way she weaves the story. There are so many things to like about this book. First of all it is historical, there is family love, travel, family trials and tribulations, sadness and so much more. The characters are perfect to the story. Be sure to get this book. I have already recommender it to my sister who also reallys like Kristin Hannah's books.

Thank you for the free advance copy.

The Four Winds – Kristin Hannah

The year is 1921, and Elsa Wolcott is set to celebrate her 25th birthday. Considered sickly after surviving a childhood illness, she has been neglected by her family as her siblings thrive. Out wandering around town she sees a bolt of beautiful red fabric in a shoppe – impulsively she purchases the material, and creates herself a beautiful dress. Further defying her parents, she dons the dress and heads out for a night of fun – not knowing that decisions she makes this night will change her future forever.

Flash forward to 1934, where Elsa lives with her husband Rafe, his parents and two children on a farm. Residing in the panhandle of Texas, they are barely surviving the Great Depression and a drought that has lasted a couple of years, creating what is known in present day as the Dust Bowl period. As she sees her small town dying before her eyes with crops that can’t grow, and families and farm animals that go hungry, she works twice as hard to keep her small family safe. Her husband, haunted by what his life has become, leaves abruptly one night, taking a train out of town As conditions worsen, and the dust storms wreak havoc, more and more families abandon farms in hopes of work and relief in California, and soon Elsa and her children decide to make the journey as well.

Leaving Rafe’s parents to tend the farm, Elsa takes the family truck, her children, and belongings as they make their way out to California. Arriving to beautiful scenery and the hopes of jobs and financial security, they soon learn that their type – ‘Okies’ - aren’t welcome, and soon Elsa finds herself in the fields picking cotton, and increasingly in debt as she tries to make ends meet. There is unrest in the land as people workers rebel, pitting landowners against their employees, and the words of ‘union’ and ‘strike’ are soon whispered, creating anger and tension amongst the region, with Elsa finding herself in a very difficult position…

As is anything written by Kristin Hannah, the story is beautifully written, yet contained a history lesson and a brief, yet painful glimpse into the lives of Americans in the 1930’s. As Elsa and her family endured, and endured again, I kept waiting for the happy ending – I cannot imagine surviving the things that they did, possessing the sheer force of will that made Elsa’s spirit so indomitable – a trait her children carried as well. But, given the nature of the story and the time period, it was an emotionally draining read when we, as a world, are also faced with such uncertainty in our present, as well.

I received this book as an Advance Reader Copy from St. Martins Press & Netgalley, in exchange for an objective review.

The Four Winds.....what a heart-rending, poignant and inspiring story. Kristin Hannah just has this special way to draw you into her books. The story is filled with the hardships of the Great Depression, the intense Dust Bowl era, poverty and workers rights.
I could not put The Four Winds down. I had to keep reading it until the last page. I am still thinking about the story, the characters, the history and just everything I just read.
This is truly a incredible story of love, perseverance, resilience, faith, love but, most of all, a story of strength.
I will not forget this story anytime soon......
Definitely take time to read this outstanding historical fiction.
My profound thanks to NetGalley, St.Martins Press and, author Kristin Hannah, for the privilege to read The Four Winds. This is my true and honest review.

The Four Winds, by Kristin Hannah, tells the story of Elsa Martinelli and her family through many hardships and struggles. This is an emotional epic, all about the life in the Dust Bowl and American migration patterns.

I have to admit that almost put this book down early on because Elsa and Rafe's romance felt flat -- but I'm so glad I didn't, because that lack of romance was kind of the point. Elsa's accidental pregnancy wasn't part of a love story, instead, it was the start of her life with her new family, the Martinellis. Rafe isn't the greatest guy, but he tries to do what's right for his wife and then their children, and without the unending hardships of the dust bowl, he probably could have managed.  There is a sweet relationship here between mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, and that's not a very common story.

If I describe the plot of The Four Winds, it starts to feel like an endlessly tragic story, as the family goes from hardship to hardship, facing natural disasters and the resulting poverty.  The drought that begins the Dust Bowl, black dust storms, crippling heat, floods.  So many natural disasters in this book, it's almost like living in 2020.

But Elsa's attitude is perfect for these covid times, too. She just keeps working hard and making the best of things, focusing on her beloved family and hoping for better times again. This familiar covid attitude gets her through some harsh conditions on the farm and many other setbacks. But her work ethic, of just working as much as she can and hoping things improve, might not success when she works long hours at lower and lower rates as a picker for exploitative bosses.

This is a compelling, emotional story about a struggling family and about a woman trying, again and again, to choose the least-terrible out of the terrible options presented to her. A perfect read for 2020.

I should have know this book, being a Kristin Hannah novel, was going to shatter me and yet I still was not prepared. I’m beginning to think I will never be ready for her books. I don’t think my eyes will ever work properly again as much as they’ve cried. Elsa’s story was a soul crushing, heart breaking, magnificent story. Just when I thought I couldn’t handle anymore emotional break downs the story would prove me wrong by breaking my already bleeding heart even more.

This story is about Elsa and the heartbreaking choices to she has to make for her family’s survival. It’s an amazing story of survival and love, but make sure you bring tissues and a comfortable blanket with you. It’s going to leave you emotional mess and needing a good hug.

Wow, wow, wow! Kristin Hannah has done it again! In a novel reminiscent of The Great Alone and The Nightingale, Hannah weaves a tale set during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. Elsa is a woman who has never felt loved or worth anything in a hard, bitter world. She has been dealt a bad hand but finds a place with her husband's family among their barren fields where she learns how to keep house and farm. With an opportunity for a better life, Elsa moves to California where she builds her life and finds strength she doesn't know she possesses. Despite enduring difficult times, Elsa never gives up hope.

This book is so inspiring in such a difficult time. It was a great reminder that although times are tough right now, many people that came before us had it so much worse. Hope is the driving force that will help us all persevere. Hannah's character development has such depth, the plot is believable and moving, and the book is historically accurate. This book is something special! Thank you NetGalley for an arc of this amazing book! It will stay with me for a long time.

What a book! Wow!!
If you want a strong, courageous, downright heart wrenching novel with a woman named Elsa Martinelli and her lionhearted children, this is it!
Elsa Martinelli has a good life living on a farm with her in-laws and two children in Texas during the 1930's.

Then in the blink of an eye --- The dust bowl comes with no rain, wind storms and no crops! Their farm animals are dying, crops are withered, and food and water are scarce! People have dust pneumonia.
Life has taken a dramatic turn!
Elsa decides after much turmoil to take her children and seek out a better life in California.
"Courage is fear you ignore." She will make this journey for her family!
This is the land of hope, good and plenty!
Will they find the rainbow or just more devastation?

At this time in our country with our own pandemic, this is certainly an emotional, thought provoking novel that I read deliberately.
I could feel all the pain, heartache and challenges during this time in history and how similar they are at this present time to then!
Ten stars for this brilliant story!
It will not be forgotten anytime soon!