Loved this piece of historical fiction. I learned so much. It broke my heart in many places. Poignant and heart wrenching.

I was so excited to receive an ARC of this book as I have loved Kristin Hannah's previous work. But I couldn't make it through this one. I was about 20 weeks pregnant in addition to having a four year old and there are several gut wrenching scenes of the impossible decisions a mother has to make that I just could not handle. I made it to the 40% mark and felt like it was just too sad for me to continue. So I will still recommend KH's work - but I couldn't finish this one (and thought that disqualified me from writing a review, but I'll share this anyway). Now that the baby I was pregnant with is a year and a half old - I still don't feel I'm ready to return to it. So. Sad. (And I LIKE reading sad things but apparently not this.)

Hannah's books usually take me a bit to get fully invested, and this one was no different. While I wasn't head over heels for this one, I still enjoyed it. She has a great way with words, you can definitely feel how passionate she is for writing.

This was such a steady, slow burn read full of heartbreak... I felt for these characters during such an important and historical time. I learned so much about the Dust Bowl from this book and my emotions were all over the place reading about these characters. Kristen Hannah knows how to create a whirlwind of emotion and she did it again with The Four Winds!

Such a great book. Kristin Hannah is wicked talented. I cried my eyes out. This was the first book I have read by this author, and now, I want to go back and read all her books!

I became a Kristin Hannah fan when I read THE NIGHTINGALE -- and THE FOUR WINDS confirmed that she's the kind of author who finds her way into your heart at Page 1 and never, ever lets go. "Enjoy" is not the right word to describe how I felt about THE FOUR WINDS; it's a sad -- even brutal -- read at time, this story of Elsa, a mother from a Texas farming town trying to save her children and find a drop of dignity as she migrates to California during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. The hunger, the deprivation, the hatred and greed that traps her deeper and deeper into poverty all affected me so strongly -- and yet Elsa's integrity and resilience and courage made this book so gripping and such an emotional read for me. I especially loved the female relationships in the book -- notably Elsa and her daughter, Elsa and her mother-in-law, and Elsa and the friend she makes in the ditch camp. I really enjoyed the audio version of this book, which included an interview with the author.

Kristin Hannah is an auto-read author for me - she definitely knows how to weave an emotional yet epic story about love and loss.

In this story we travel back to the 1920s and 1930s to see how one family endures the tragedy of The Great Depression coupled with the environmental disaster that was later coined “The Dust Bowl.”

Something that I love about history / historic fiction is that I always learn something about the past that can also be applied to the here and now. In this story, thousands of people migrate from The Great Plains seeking opportunity in California, only to be treated horrifically by locals who see them as outsiders. Sounds familiar, right? Meanwhile, we are reminded that we must care for our environment or face devastating consequences (and that science is a good thing!).

Solid four star read for me!!

I had heard a lot of buzz about this book - as is the case with many of Kristin Hannah's past books. Having read and enjoyed the Nightingale I thought I would give this one a try, especially after all the hype. Well I feel like this one was hyped a little too much. It was just an alright read for me. It kept my interest and taught me about a period of history I really didn't know much about. I enjoyed the characters but just felt like something was missing a little. I will definitely give her other books a chance. She writes very well and has interesting characters and I love a good strong female relationship between mother and daughter as was depicted in this story.

Wow! This book showed me so much of a time I knew very little about. It broke my heart, but opened my eyes! It made me feel. Books about a mother's love always seem to be tops for me.

What a great book! Once I got started I literally could not put it down and read it all within 24 hours. It was such a compelling book that made you feel like you were right there living during the Dust Bowl times. This is the first book I've read about this time period but I was totally engrossed and loved learning about how so many traveled to California for a better life.

If you enjoy books by Kristin Hannah you will love this one! I highly recommend it.

Thank you Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review. All opinions are my own.

Published 2 February 2021

Strong themes of who is, and who isn't, family, and that without unity workers will never overcome the manipulation of the big business and thus be enslaved in a cycle of poverty This page turner will break your heart, and at the end you will realize that “pulling yourself up by the bootstraps” sounds nice, but it is a farce.

I really love everything Kristin Hannah writes, and I'll be recommending this to all of my fellow historical fiction lovers! It took me a while to get into this book, but I really enjoyed the writing. It was bleak and engrossing, and I just kept wanting better things for the main character.

There is a reason this book was voted Book of the Year! The story moves quickly and has a lot of dramatic turns. Even though it's long, it won't take you a month to read. You'll want to hear more about Elsa's story, and what could possible come next.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced copy in exchange for a review.

"Courage is fear you ignore."

I enjoyed this story of Elsa Wolcott Martinelli. Twenty-five years old when the story starts and considered an unmarriageable spinster by her family, she just wants a family of her own and love.

"Elsa had survived it all by being quiet, by not demanding or seeking attention, by accepting that she was loved, but unliked."

After an indiscretion, she is forced into marriage with a farmer's son and her life begins and she finds the family she has desired.

This is a tough tale to read at times, starting in Texas in 1921 and going through the Great Depression,the Dust Bowl days, and following Elsa and her family to California as she looks for a way for her family to survive.

It is quite an epic tale of these daunting times in America's history and a strong woman who will do anything to protect her family.

I highly recommend this book - one of the best of 2021.

I received this book from St. Martin's Press through Net Galley in the hopes that I would read it and leave an unbiased review.

The Four Winds is a breathtaking story about human resilience. Beginning in the 1830s and spanning several years, Kristin Hannah paints a tale of survival and the "American dream" in the midst of the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. Like many of Hannah's other works, The Four Winds is powerful and at times difficult to read. I read this book in a single sitting and was left wondering if I would have had the strength to endure the Dust Bowl migration and subsequent hostility upon arriving in the West.

Hannah focuses her story on Elsa and her two children. Motherhood and sacrifice are prominent themes in The Four Winds, and Hannah writes characters who feel incredibly realistic and fully realized. This goes for not just the central family in this story but also all of the side characters. Whether you are rooting for or against them, the side characters felt purposeful and carefully crafted.

I highly recommend reading The Four Winds (as well as everything else Kristin Hannah has written). I can't think of another author who can perfectly interweave bleakness and hope the way that Hannah does. I can't give this book anything but five stars, and I will return to this story again and again.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press for an eArc of The Four Winds in exchange for my honest opinion.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an advanced copy of this book. Elsa Martinelli and her two children decided to go west after her husband abandoned them in the midst of the Great Depression. "They headed west in search of a better life, but their American Dream was turned into a nightmare by poverty, hardship and greed." They had to learn how to be independent without a man to defend them. This is a story of love and determination of one warrior and her children. Another amazing book by Kristen Hannah.

What can one say about THE FOUR WINDS that hasn't already been said? Hannah simply shines with prose that breathes life into her tale. Having been a fan of the author's for a long time, it was so wonderful to see her take on the time period of the Great Depression and give her readers Elsa, a character I will not soon forget. Bringing together the history behind what her characters are dealing with, Hannah also shows humanity through family, hope, and the desire for the American dream.

The Four Winds lives up to the hype. A brilliant tale of mother and daughter set across the backdrop of the dust bowl. Some parts were repetitive, but generally I was engaged the whole time. I highly recommend it to people who love historical fiction or who read Dear America books as a kid.

This book was not for me. I found it to be depressing. Kristin Hannah is a great writer but I felt she missed the mark with this book. I felt I was being manipulated to feel sad during emotional scenes instead of it happening naturally.

Riveting, yet so sad. An well-researched glimpse into the dust bowl era..as usual, Hannah's characters are well developed. It's hard to fathom this was life in the United States at one time. Thank you for the opportunity to read this amazing work.