Wow! You can feel the dust and grit in your eyes and mouth, see the darkness of sand approaching, and feel every emotion, sorrow, sadness in this excellent offering. The story will passionately carry you through the realistic hardships on an unforgettable journey.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Thank you to NetGalley and St Martins Press for the opportunity to review this new novel.

This is my 3rd Kristin Hannah book - as I have read the Nightingale and The Great Alone. What Kristin Hannah does really well is to create a vivid place, strong characterization, good pace, and she knows how to end a book..

Set in depression era Texas, this has a distinct Grapes of Wrath feel to it. This cannot be an easy subject matter for any author to tackle but strangely enough it is completely relevant today. We are experiencing an economic crisis unlike anything in our recent times, and workers rights and protections are back in the news.
Elsa is a teenager looking for a little fun outside her dull family life and finds farmer Rafe at her personal crossroads. Welcomed into the Martinelli family, she is disowned by her own. So begins Elsa's challenges even before the dust begins to blow. Elsa moves with her children to California for work, and to hopefully find Rafe, but finds desperate hardships and threats of workers against big farming.

The subject matter itself is rather dull, with the day after day drudgery, but Hannah builds and builds her story to a great climax, as she does in her other stories. If you find yourself concerned by nearly half way there that this is all there is, keep going, as there is so much more in the second half that makes the book worth the ride.

This book didn't move me like The Nightingale or The Great Alone, during which I was moved to tears. This book was moving but not devastating, in my opinion. Nonetheless, Kristin Hannah is still one of my favorite authors and I have already heartily been promoting the book in my library and book clubs. Its a topic not oft discussed and I think my patrons will adore this book. Personally, I give it over 4 stars but not 5, but will round up for the sake of other Hannah fans.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review.this book finally pulled me out of my COVID slump and I will ever be so great full. Fascinating story and part of out history. Could easily be a movie. Kristin writes such beautiful stories.

I have read five of Ms. Hannah’s novels. I would give the read itself a 3* but the beautiful writing and the incredible research that went into this book definitely earns it a 4* rating.

This book was an incredibly depressing read. I felt so much for the characters that I really had to hold myself back from crying. Particularly when injustice after injustice was endured and things kept going from bad to worse. It made me wonder how much can a person really stand before their spirit is completely broken.

Elsa was born into a family of “means”, however she suffered from a complete lack of love, attention or any kind of affection. Elsa had two sisters who were considered pretty and married at a young age. Elsa’s mother had told her this when she was in her twenties, ”You are unmarriageable, Elsinore, even with all our money and standing. No man of note wants an unattractive wife who looms over him” This last a comment on the fact that she was tall for women then, about six feet tall.

On her 25th birthday she decides to go into town and celebrate. She meets Rafe who finds Elsa interesting and beautiful in her own way. When she tells her parents that she is in love, her parents want to know who the man is. Her father then forces the marraige between Rafe and Elsa.

There are a few good years when Elsa and Rafe are living with the Martinelli’s who have embraced Elsa and their baby daughter Loreda. They are very warm and caring people and Elsa at last feels a part of a family.

Then The Great Depression and the worst drought in the history of the Great Plains hits and it’s a double whammy for the US farmers and workers.

After years of near starvation on the family farm Elsa takes her daughter Loreda and young son Ant west to California. It is said that there is work there and money to be made. However as history has told us, both farmers from the drought stricken “Dust Bowl” and workers from the cities all converge on California looking for jobs. I had hoped that here at last would be a new beginning for Elsa and her children.

It would spoil the story to tell much else about the plot. In comparing Ms. Hannah’s novels, I felt that there was hope and more vibrancy in The Nightingale and The Great Alone. This book felt like just one nightmare to the next. I realize that this is the true history of what the people endured, but it is very hard to read. I kept looking for a silver lining which never seemed to come. Perhaps in her Elsa’s daughter’s generation.

The characters were incredibly well developed and I felt for all of them. The dust storms were so well described I could envision how horrible a twister of dust blowing at 50 mph would be. So forceful that it got between every small crack in the house. In the beginning the beautiful wheat fields were described; how tall, golden and strong the wheat stalks were and went on for acres and acres. She again described some terrible scenes in California when the rains caused flooding in the tent and truck camps set up along the ditches close to the farms. How horrible to have everything you own covered in mud for weeks on end.

As you can see this book did touch me in many ways. I went online to find out more about the drought and “Dust Bowl” and realized how little I had known. This book opened my eyes to the farmers tragedy. I had read much about The Great Depression but not much about the farmer’s plight.

This is a very eye opening novel. I loved the author’s notes in which she addressed the pandemic that we are now going through and hoped that the book would teach us this:
“We’ve gone through bad times before and survived, even thrived. History has shown us the strength and durability of the human spirit. In the end, it is our idealism and our courage and our commitment to one another--what we have in common--that will save us. Now in these dark days, we can look to history, to the legacy of the greatest generation and the story of our own past, and take strength from it.” I hope that we can learn this lesson and pass it on to our children.

This novel is set to publish on February 9, 2021
I received an ARC of this novel from the publisher through NetGalley

Will post to Amazon upon publication

I enjoyed reading this title by Kristin Hannah. I did not like it as well as The Great Alone. I feel like the last 1/4 of the book was the least enjoyable.

This is a very well written descriptive book. I felt the dust pounding on them during each dust storm. The desperation of trying to live during this terrible time. By the end of the book I was in tears.
This book was hard to read but I also couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. I thought it was really good.
Definitely recommend
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the early copy

Another great book by Kristin Hannah! I remember reading her when she was writing romance novels. Hard to believe that she is still writing and gets better with each book. Set during the Great depression and the movement of families to California for a better life, this book not only teaches us history about that time but also resonates with what is going on today. Will strongly recommend.

Wow. So much happens in the first 5 chapters! I just love how the Martinelli’s are so unexpectedly kind to her in their tough way. I adored the relationship between Rose and Elsa.

A favorite quote:
“Do you remember what I told you on the day Loreda was born?” Elsa almost smiled. “That she would love me as no one else ever would and break my heart?”

The scene about halfway through with Elsa, Rose and Tony? “I’m not brave enough to do this.” “Yes you are”. Waaaahhh....loved it. And the Martinellis Explorers Club. Too sweet.

So many tender moments to love in this book and some are just infuriating. Those PTA ladies!! Grrrr.... Betty Anne and Ned in the beauty shop brought tears to my eyes.

The book comments repeatedly on the horrible way we treat others who we perceive as different or a threat to our “better, and superior” selves. Invaders in MY land. Over and over this has happened in this country. When will we ever learn? A very timely topic, indeed.

I wished for a different ending, but even so I really enjoyed it. Kristin Hannah does it again.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

4 powerful, engaging stars

The Four Winds is the third book by Kristin Hannah that I have recently read. They have all been powerful, engaging, historical fiction that transplant the reader to a new time and place. Women take on active, meaningful roles. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

After an introduction to Elsa in 1921, the book skips to Dust Bowl in the 1930s. Hannah immerses the reader in the daily drama of working/ hoping for enough food. The dust storms are relentless, but Hannah writes so well, nothing feels repetitious. I had known about this time though books and documentaries, but this is the first time I really felt the desperation of the Dust Bowl and the Great Depression. I felt the wind and tasted dust. Hungry children and parents broke my heart, as they toiled on. Neighbors move, hoping for a better life in California. Problem is, thousands of other ‘Okies’ are headed west. While California is lush, jobs providing enough to feed a family are non-existent. The new migrants are taken advantage of as they sweat and bleed from cotton picking - even the children.

Character against character, against nature, against self. The Four Winds and its characters don’t skirt conflict. Families and neighbors sacrifice for each other. The Four Winds is about rising above the hardest life can deal out, about love prevailing against overwhelming odds.

Kristin Hannah has scored another five-star rating from me with her novel, The Four Winds.

This novel is set during the Great Depression and in the heart of the Dust Bowl of 1934 in Texas. Farmers are trying to keep their land amid great blowing dust storms and dying crops. Banks are calling in loans and farmers and their families have to find a way to stay alive. Most set off for the golden state of California where land is said to be plentiful and full of promise. However, once they get there they find that they are just one family amidst thousands who have come to make their living. They are not wanted by they Californians because the work for less money and take jobs from the residents.

Elsa Martinelli must make the trek for the safety of her son, who has developed dust pneumonia. This dust has killed many, animals and persons alike. With little money and more hutzpa than most, Elsa and her two children go west.

Ms. Hannah always manages to bring such a time to reality with her vivid descriptions of weather, land conditions, the poor, starving people. I almost felt the dust in my nose as I read of the horrid conditions that were happening. Ms. Hannah is a wonderful author. I try to read everything she writes.

Spectacular! The Four Winds is a moving novel set during the Great Depression that I found unputdownable! This book follows the Martinelli family, as they struggle to survive as farmers in drought-ridden Texas and the journey they embark on to try and make a better life out west. I adore when a novel can entertain and educate at the same time and this novel came through big time in both areas. Kristin Hannah does a brilliant job creating a multi-layered storyline that is filled with so many emotions (both heartbreaking and heartwarming) and characters that you think about long after you’ve finished this novel. Before starting this book I never dreamed a book set in the Great Depression would be so relatable and relevant to our nations current state of affairs, but it truly is! In true Kristin Hannah fashion this 5 star novel will be a book I will re-read many times—it’s that phenomenal! The Four Winds will most definitely be one of my top reads of 2021 and the novel I recommend to absolutely everyone!

Elsa starts out as a normal teenage girl, she wants to go out and have fun. Then, when she finally builds up the courage to go out and to finally make friends and everything. She gets into trouble, in the family way and her and Rafe must get married. While Elsa grows to love Rafe, he is still a dreamer and outspoken. Rafe dreams of something more, he wants to see the world. Elsa builds amazing relationships with her inlaws Tony and Rose. She literally transforms from a city girl with no responsibilities to a hard working farm girl. Her determination and strength is amazing! She keeps at it until she learns the task at hand and then some. When the dust storms start to occur stress is put on everyone, and when push comes to shove Rafe takes off in the middle of the night leaving Elsa, their two children Ant and Loreda, even his own parents because of his dreams.
This decision leaves Elsa trying to be the stand up parent for the kids as well as trying to roll with the flow. Elsa, Tony, and Rosa stay afloat by making soap and selling what they can. But supplies were dwindling and when Ant became sick because of the dust Elsa knew she had to do what she could to provide for her kids. She takes the kids and travels to California to find a better life, although the better life is definitely not what they expected Elsa does whatever is necessary to make sure her kids are fed and keeps up the hope of a better tomorrow.
This is the first novel I have ever read by Kristen Hannah, and let me tell you my eyes are red from tears. This tale shows so much love, determination, heartbreak, sacrifices, and courage! I loved this story soo much and I can't believe how much I loved it! Once I was able to sit down and read I was gone and I had to know what happened next, what was the next misfortune or how Elsa would stand up and find her voice for her children and say when enough was finally enough. I cannot recommend this book enough, it was moving, spectacular and everything a book should be. Read it you will not be disappointed!

An interesting story that teaches you about a history. A little much about the strike and worker's rights. Sad, but it had to end that way. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

This book was super good. It was super original and I flew through it. It didn't feel like anything I've read in the past. Can't wait to read more from the author!! This book was unputdownable.

Elsa has never known love in her family. After a night of escape, she finds herself married and beginning farm life. When the Dustbowl begins, she has no choice but to migrate to California.

I knew from the very beginning that this was going to be an incredible story, and it was. This very well may end up being my favorite book of the year. Elsa is such a lovable character from the getgo. Readers can’t help but root for her throughout her tears and trials, and there are many. The historical background for the book is one that I’ve never encountered, but important and interesting to read about. The author’s note at the end was very interesting. She relates the Great Depression to today’s events, not realizing we’d be in this position as she wrote and researched the story. This was an epic saga, reminiscent of the Grapes of Wrath, that all will love.

The Four Winds comes out 2/9/21

“Poverty was a soul crushing thing. A case that tightened around you it’s pinpricks of light closing a little more at the end of each desperate, unchanged day.”

“Heartache had been a part of her life so long it has become as familiar as the color of her hair or the slight curve of her spine.”

The Four Winds follows the story of Elsa Martinelli. Rejected by her family, Elsa becomes pregnant and marries an Italian immigrant named Rafe and moves from her parents' wealthy home to a farm. Over the next few years, she works tirelessly to care for her mother and father-in-law, husband, and two children. However, the Dust Bowl wrecks their fields and their way of life as they struggle to get by with no money and no crops to sell. When her husband abandons them and her son Ant's lungs nearly give out from the dust, Elsa packs up her and her two children and drives to California in search of a better life.

Once in California, Elsa realizes that California isn't the golden land so many have described. Jobs are hard to come by for "okies" fleeing the Dust Bowl and Elsa, Loreda, and Ant are forced to live in a tent and live off of meager pay for picking cotton. As their conditions and mistreatment worsens, Loreda is pulled into a group of communists fighting for better treatment and pay for migrant workers as Elsa works to keep her children fed and clothed. As things get worse, however, she realizes that hard work might not be enough.

This book was incredible. I shouldn't be surprised as a long-time fan of Kristin Hannah, but this book once again blew me away, especially the last quarter. Elsa's lifelong search for love in her family, her husband, and her children and her drive to care for them create such a beautiful story of motherhood. I couldn't help but root for Elsa as she fought against horrible odds and circumstances. I'll admit that I didn't care for Loreda as much as she fit the rebellious teenager caricature.

The ending of this book broke my heart, but wow. What an ending and what an amazing book. Read it!

Kristin Hannah never fails to draw me into her fictional world and keep me there until I turn that final page. This story was so captivating that I felt like I was right there with these characters. It felt so real that at times it was difficult to transition back into the real world.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah is a wonderful, heartbreaking, epic journey and is an excellent historical fiction novel. This novel will grip you from beginning to end. Once you start reading, you will not be able to tear yourself away from the stunning plot. You will forget your job, your responsibilities, your family...just kidding, but you will definitely be absorbed into this complex, intricate journey of a young woman coming into her own and overcoming the large amount of obstacles thrown her way to find her way to redemption. Do yourself a favor, and read this book.

The main character is Elsa Martinelli and she and her children live in a very difficult time and era: 1930s Midwest (Texas). The time of the post-stock market crash, down and out economy, the dust bowl center of the US, and in the center of this, Elsa is trying to eek out a living in a rural area with less then stellar results. Her choice in the end: does she take her children to California in order to find a sliver of a chance at survival, or does she stay with the sad, decreped land that she inhabits now which has thus far resulted in poverty, scarcity, and emotional emptiness?

Elsa has been through so much growing up, a difficult childhood, growing up too soon due to necessity, marrying into a loveless match, but being able to have children that she loves, and the eternal hope that somewhere, somehow things can be better.

I loved Elsa. She is strong, she has fire, she has gumption, she has a foundation of love and forgiveness for others despite not being afforded that in her past. She does not realize how strong and intelligent she truly is. She is a force to be reconned with. I love that she fights for her family and her children's future. I love the independence. Is she perfect? Nope. Does she always make the best choices? Nope. But who does? And those imperfections make me love her even more. Her journey is hard, it is remarkable, it is brave, and I cannot lie and say I did not tear up every now and then while reading her story.

I am not going to lie, this is not an easy read. There is pain, there is heartache, there is not always justice. It is a difficult time for many people and the odds are stacked against the characters, but the fortitude and the drive is what draws you back to the story again and again.

An excellent read from an excellent author.

5/5 stars Truly a gem.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this wonderful ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR, Instagram, and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, B&N and Instagram accounts upon publication.

Love love love. This was a wonderful and heartfelt story. It was about the relationship between a mother and a daughter and a relationship with oneself. This book was about learning to love yourself even when the world has told you not to. Typical Kristin Hannah fashion, you never know what she is going to write about, but when she does, it knocks you off your feet. Well done.

This is one of just a few books that I have read by this author but has been on of my favorite books in the past 10 years. I felt educated as I followed Elsa and her family through the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl and her courageous move to California. Tony and Rose staying behind was so sad and I felt bad for Elsa over and over again - if it wasn't her Mom, Dad and siblings treating her like garbage, then her husband up and leaves, her daughter blames her...all she has that means anything to her it seems like she loses. But, after the move to California her bond with her daughter becomes unbreakable. Hard doesn't even begin to describe the life they live there, and while reading it my heart broke as I knew it was based on actual events.

I didn't care for the ending on this one, and won't ruin it for anyone else who wants to read it. But, I still give it 5 stars and would highly recommend it.