I highly recommend this historical fiction novel to anyone with a remote interest in America during the Great Depression. Kristin Hannah's description of life on a midwestern farm during the 1930s is haunting. At points, I felt the dust the characters were inhaling in my throat! Even though I knew that people from the Midwest were treated horribly in other parts of the country, the author's detailed descriptions of how the main characters were treated in California was appalling. I'm usually one to forgot books soon after reading, but this one has stayed with me. In fact, I plan on reading more of Kristin Hannah's books!

Book Review for The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah
Full review for this title can be found at: @fyebooks on Instagram!

An emotional & powerful historical masterpiece. Kristin Hannah evokes intense desperation and love in this story of 1930s Texas and the depression, drought and the Dust Bowl. Captivating and heartbreaking, you won't be able to put this down.

Wow, this book...I read it in three days and that has not happened in quite a while. #2020

It is not perfect, and I do not think anything will ever top Hannah's The Nightingale for me, but it was a great story with a lot of emotion. I only know the basics of the Dust Bowl years from school, but you never get personal stories and experiences from textbooks. KH gives us that in this novel and it is truly gut wrenching.
Elsa’s story will resonate with anyone who has ever felt lonely, unloved, or just “not enough” and you will love her journey. Things get a bit political towards the end and that is not something I really like in my stories, but it wasn’t too overwhelming. I think overall this is a great story that needs to be told about a little talked about time of the Greatest Generation.

Great quotes:
“Love is what remains when everything else is gone.”
“If I close my eyes sometimes, I swear I can still taste the dust…”

This is a really tough read. This is America. This is America at her worst, a newly relevant time period to study. 


This book is not a fun read. It is deep and heavy. This is no happy romp through the pages, this is a difficult one to get through. That being said, the writing itself is exquisite. The story is beautifully crafted. The research that went into this novel,  I cannot even. 

If you are looking for a book to make you cry, this will do the trick. This is a truly excellent work of historical fiction. It is also incredibly depressing. I recommend it if you want to be sad while experiencing a great read.

Kristin Hannah, you did it again!

The Four Winds is one of the buzziest books of 2021 and I cannot wait to get my hands on a hardcopy! But for the time being, thank you St. Martin's Press for allowing me to read an eARC of this incredible story!!

The story takes place in Texas during one of the toughest times in America's history, The Great Depression and for those farmers of the great plains, the Dust Bowl.

Elsa Martinelli did not grow up a farmer, but after learning to love her husband and his family, she also came to love the land and everything about farming it. But when the depression hits and dust storms strike, she is forced to make a decision. Does she risk her two children's life and stay trying to farm land that has not yielded crops in years, or does she head west to California looking for work. In search of a better life, she packs up her two children and takes off towards California. But what she finds is that life isn't all that better once she arrives. From living in dirty camps by the river, to picking cotton for wages that are dwindling each day, Elsa finds herself on the front line of a new battle that threatens the life of her and her children.

Gosh, this story! I will warn you now, in true Kristin Hannah fashion, have tissues ready because she will manage to break your heart a couple different times, but so artfully put it right back together. There are so many things I loved about this story. First and foremost, I feel like this is an era of history that does not often make storybooks. It is so well researched and so wonderfully written, you will feel trapped in a dust story right alongside Elsa's family. The strength in which Elsa shows throughout the story is also amazing. It shows how far a mother is willing to go for her children and honestly how far a woman is willing to go in the fight for what is right.

I am calling it now. This will be the best historical fiction book of 2021!

Love, hope, and bravery in the face of the most harrowing difficulties are woven into this beautiful and gripping novel by Kristin Hannah. 5 stars!!!

The Four Winds was set in Texas during the 20s and 30s where drought and terrible dust storms across the Great Plains were the norm. Hannah writes for this time period in such detail that I felt the pain the characters felt as they made u thinkable decisions to survive during such a tough time.

Elsa is such a force as a character, only overshadowed at times by an equally powerful force, her daughter, Loreda. Their relationship and journey goes from heart-wrenching to maddening to pride all within the novel. Their eventual bond truly brought tears to my eyes and made me think of my own relationship with my daughter and with my mother.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

What an inspiration this book was , I felt bad for elsinore the way her parents treated her , this is a story about a girl who yearns to live a normal life and to enjoy all of life's pleasures and gets a late start at doing so . I loved the story line , the writing drew me in and felt the strength and courage of the main character cheering her own to live her life .

Kristin Hannah's newest work of historical fiction did not disappoint. Her books are always extremely well researched, and The Four Winds was no exception. As we traveled with Elsanore from a prosperous but unloving city family, to an unplanned but not bad marriage of necessity in the 20's, to the Dust Bowl of the 30's, and the false hope of a new life in California, it was easy to imagine yourself in the moment. Although Elsa often thought of herself as invisible, she eventually learned to make herself heard - if not for herself, for those she loved.

This amazing book is set in Texas during the 1930's. The Great Depression after the stock market crash takes down everyone in its path. This story follows Elsa, a young woman who is unloved and not even liked by her parents just wishing for someone to actually love her. When she meets Rafe Martinelli, she feels her life has changed. They marry and move in with his parents on their farm. Elsa loves working on the farm with her in-laws and her children, Ant and Loreda. The Martinelli's live in Texas and are hit extremely hard by the Dust Bowl Era. Should they stay and try and save the farm or should they go to California where there are supposed to be jobs and prosperity? This story is hard to read and will make you cry. What the people of this time period went through is absolutely heartbreaking. Elsa is such a strong woman and lives for her family. I loved this book and its amazing characters. This is a story that will stay with me in my heart forever. I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

Kristin Hannah knocks it out of the park again!! This is an incredible novel about a period of time I was not very familiar with. It takes place in 1930's Texas during the time of the Dust Bowl and the crash of the stock market. Elsa was abandoned by her family and her husband but did everything for the love of her children and her in-laws, Rose and Tony, who became her family. It is both heartbreaking and incredibly heart lifting. I was left in tears of sorrow and tears of joy and pride. Just a beautiful book and a must read!

The Four Winds
A Novel
by Kristin Hannah
St. Martin's Press
You Like Them
General Fiction (Adult) | Literary Fiction | Women's Fiction
Pub Date 02 Feb 2021 | Archive Date 23 Feb 2021

I love the writing of Kristin Hannah! This is an excellent book. Thanks to St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for the ARC. Living in the time of the Dust bowls and striving to survive in these times.

5 star

Another great historical fiction title from Kristin Hannah. Life in the Dust Bowl and the struggles of those who leave to find better options are described with care and detail.

A gritty, resolute, wonderfully strong woman is Elsa Martinelli. Raised up to think she was frail and unhealthy, sickly. She isn’t the lovely beauties like her sisters but is instead too tall, gangly and strong featured and determined to make a life for herself. This all takes place in the farmlands of Texas amid the Great Depression and Dust Bowl era.
Elsa decides to go west to California in search of honest work and to try to make a better life. The spirit of this one young woman is what makes this story so wonderful. Kristin Hannah has another tale of courage and drive in one of America’s darkest times.
4.5 stars! Thank you NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my comments.

I'm floored by Hannah's writing, honestly. Never before have I been blown away by historical fiction of this nature. The characters are deep and complex, the storyline is harrowing, and I was on the edge of my seat throughout the ride.

The Four Winds takes the reader to America’s Great Depression and what the Dust Bowl did to American farmers and ranchers. Elsa Martinelli, unloved by her birth family but embraced and loved by her in-laws, is forced to leave Texas because her children are sick and starving. She sets out for California – “the land of milk and honey” -- only to encounter new challenges. Elsa is a woman of uncommon grace, determined that her children live a better life than hers. Her grit, determination, perseverance and friendship to fellow suffering women tells a story we all need to read during this strange and upsetting year of 2020. Another five-star read from Kristin Hannah! #TheFourWinds #NetGalley

What an epic journey. I learned so much from this book. I loved Elsa, a mother of 2 in the 1930's era. Historical fiction is definitely where Kristin Hannah thrives. I could never imagine living through the Dust Bowl. This story reminded me to love and to be so thankful for what I have, no more judging a book by its cover. No matter where Elsa was in her life, she was giving. everything she had to help others. "Always look for the helpers" words to live by and she did. Driving across the country alone with her children to save her son from the dust that was killing him, she is the strongest female character I've have read about in a very long time. I strongly recommend The Four Winds. My new favorite Kristin Hannah book. Loved this story, the writing and the characters. Read it, you won't regret it.

If you thought The Nightingale was good?!! Wow! @kristinhannahauthor Thank you for this beautifully written historical fiction that’s tells the story of a mother’s love and strength that holds a family together. The story of families as they left the Dust Bowl and headed West to fulfill dreams of green lands only to find themselves unwelcome and conditions worse than what they left.
We take this journey with Elsa, whose husband ran months ago, and her two children as they leave Texas to save her young son from dust pneumonia. Elsa’s never been on her own but will do whatever she has to for her family.
I highly recommend this novel to everyone who enjoys historical fiction or just loves an amazing story! It left me in tears! So good with characters so strong you won’t be able to forget them.

I cried and cried some more. A beautifully written novel like I've come to expect from Kristin Hannah.

The Four Winds will take you on a journey so vivid and emotionally compelling that you cannot help being immersed in this world. It's the era of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression and aside from the expected hardship and heartache Kristin Hannah brings us a story of love, hope, and survival. I felt overwhelming sadness, anger, outrage, and fear while also being overcome by great joy, compassion, and adoration. We live in a world today where we are so quick to judge another's appearance and actions; not so different from the world in this book and the parallels are staggering and life changing. In a world full of Mr. Walcott's, Rafe's and Mr. Welty's; be an Elsa, a Tony, or a Loreda. If you're looking for something meaningful that will shake you to the core, look no further than The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this advanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review.