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!

"The four winds have blown us here, people from all across this country, to the very edge of this great land, and now, at last, we make our stand, fight for what we know to be right. We fight for our American dream, that it will be possible again."

Elsa Martinelli and her children moved west for a better life. The Dust Bowl and Great Depression forced families to leave behind their barren, dust-laden lands that they loved despite hardships. Elsa bravely lets the winds cast their fate at a new future in pursuit of the American dream.

Kristin Hannah portrays the life of the farmer struggling to save their families. They faced deplorable conditions, minuscule wages and greedy landowners treating them like migrant workers. Despite disparity, they refused to give up, stood for what's right and demanded to be treated as American citizens.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the early read in exchange for an honest review. The grit and determination Elsa displayed was a powerful reminder that although women are often depicted as the fairer sex, that's not a fair generalization.

Brave women fought to protect their families, worked alongside the men in grueling conditions and were heroes to their loved ones. Although this a fictional account, women like Elsa wore the pants in the family. That chapter is often overlooked in history books but Hannah's "The Four Winds" gives homage to those heroic women.

I think my eyes are bleeding. They cried themselves to death. They cannot function properly anymore.

My heart hurts. It is already broken. My tears drained. I cannot gather my emotions anymore because they’re at everywhere. This is real heart ripping, soul crushing and truly earth shattering, shaking you to the core reading experience!

Ms. Hannah did it again! She shattered my soul in tiny pieces and captured my heart as like she did with Nightingale, Great Alone, Firefly Lane. I turned into a human mash and I don’t know how long I find the strength to turn back to my normal self!

This book takes place in 1930’s Texas: the time of Dust Bowl, Stock Market Crash, the very same time of people who suffer from poverty, homelessness, despair, starvation. They lost their hopes and own paths, struggling, grief stricken, witnessing to lose everything they’d worked for! These are toughest times to test people’s patience and survival skills.

Elsa Martinelli has to make a choice like her neighbors do: she may stay with her two kids and fight for her land or go west to settle in California for better life opportunities.
Her life can never be defined as a fairytale. Till her childhood times she has been forced to be a survivor, a fighter. She fought with serious illness, she worked hard to earn love of her parents who never respected or accepted who she is.

And after getting pregnant she was forced to marry an elder man she didn’t love. But with her marriage, she earned a real family: devoted support of in-laws: Rose and Tony. For the first time she realized how to be loved from deep in your heart.

Once upon a time, she was a loner, introverted bookworm girl but times have changed, everything became tougher. The circumstances pushed her grown up faster and wear her big girl pants to adjust the new reality of her new life.

So she raises from her ashes by turning herself a hard working farmer and a great mother. She can do anything for the love of her kids. Maybe the wrong thought patterns she inherited from her judgmental parents made her think she was not strong woman but she couldn’t be so wrong. She is tough, brave, kind hearted and a true fighter. It’s impossible not to respect and love her. She is one of the best characters Ms. Hannah created.

I don’t want to give much spoiler not to ruin your reading experience but I have to say, this is not easy, soft journey for you. It will shake you, break you, hurt you, slap you, crash you. It’s so effective, tremendously heartbreaking because it’s honest and realistic. The tragedies people face, the despair, grief, hunger, powerlessness test their mental and physical strength.

It’s poetic, shocking, heart wrenching, tear jerking, poignant!

I have no words left. I am human shell right now. This book took away all the words from my mouth. I can only say I loved it so much even though it hurt me a lot.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing another fantastic Kristin Hannah’s book’s arc copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

2.5/ 3 stars...this is hard one to rate because my heart wants to give Kristin Hannah way more. However, this story never reached its full potential for me. There were so many parts that pulled at my heart and had the tears flowing but then it went off in a different direction.
I loved Elsa and her daughter Loreda, there is such a powerful story to be told between them.
I enjoyed learning about this period in history as well, I felt like it was something I had learned in school but not to this degree. This story puts a face to the Great Depression and The Dust Bowl.

Where this story got off track and went to left field for me was when they finally went to California. For me once they arrived there and things still didn't improve it was so disheartening. Then they got involved with Communist and I felt like that didn't fit into the spirit of the book. I didn't enjoy reading about any of that and I skimmed most of those pages to see if the story changed and then Loreda is back in Texas and the book ends.

I'm honestly not sure how to feel, I guess when reading one of Kristin Hannah's books you always are waiting for that huge moment that gets you and sucks you and with this one it almost happened in so many places throughout the book but it never fully got there.

This book is out February 2021. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for my advanced ebook copy.

I truly don't know if Kristin Hannah could possibly write anything other than a 5 star book- her storytelling is so completely captivating that I'm immediately transported to whatever world she's created. I laughed, I cried, and now I feel lonely- I miss Elsa and Loreda so much!!

Set during the Great Depression, Elsa, a 25 year old spinster from a city in Texas is sent away by her family. She ends living with an Italian family on a farm before making the great trek to California in search of a better life for her family because of the great dust bowl. The Four Winds is a beautiful story of perseverance, fighting for what is right, and a mother’s love for her children. As always, Kristin Hannah writes with passion and love. It’s an amazing read with phenomenal characters that I absolutely loved.
Kristin Hannah has completed yet another masterpiece. I cannot wait for this book to come out so my friends and customers can read this wonderful book

Wow, this was a tear jerker. I didn't know that much about this time period but this book really brought it all to life. You think about what we are all suffering through now and this woman and her family didn't have it easy at any point in time. A life of suffering and struggle and not much happiness... Very very sad that at certain points I just had to put it down because it was so painful to read...

I’m not going to give you a synopsis of this book – that’s what the blurb is there for. Instead, I’m going to tell you how this book made me feel.
Hannah has a way of writing strong women in very well researched moments in history that is unparalleled. As a mother, Elsa’s story and love for her family shook me to my core. I felt as though I was on every step of Elsa’s journey with her. I felt longing, frustration, heart break, desperation, anger and boy did tears fall. There isn’t a single moment of this book that did not resonate with me.

I’ll admit, I wasn’t familiar with the American dust bowl (thank you education system for failing me) prior to picking up The Four Winds, but I know I was in good hands. Kristin Hannah, you queen of historical fiction, you did it again!

You can pick up a text book and read about the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, but until you read this book by Kristen Hannah you will never experience how these event impacted people's lives. You will never feel the emotion, the trauma and the devastation on a personal level. Her research is impeccable, but more than that, what she brings to life on these pages makes you feel as if you were right there with them. The suffering is stifling, so much so you cannot help but feel the pain and cry. You cannot understand what it took to survive. How can you feel reading a textbook with facts and figures what humanity had to withstand on a daily basis? You can't. Ms. Hannah with her outstanding ability to create this novel, gives us, on a personal level, what these people endured. Her female characters are strong, but then I would think that is true of those in real life. Actually the way this is written, you would think this is biographical instead of fictional. Amazing!

Every book I have read by Ms. Hannah is better than the one before. This is no exception. The "Nightingale" excellent, "The Great Alone" excellent, but this is more outstanding, if that's even possible. As difficult a book to read given the times we are going through currently, I am glad I had the opportunity to do so. If you do not pick up any other book this year, this is one not to miss!! My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. I was so thrilled (thank you so much perfect read while in recovery) when I saw that I was approved to read this book. First let me say I feel my review will not do this book justice. I loved this book. Kristin Hannah did it again. She is a master at evoking all possible emotions with her writing. Believe me I felt just about all the emotions possible. If I could have laughed or jumped for joy I would have. I cried, maybe I should say I wept (but who doesn't with a KH book?)
I loved Elsa and how strong and brave she was even though she thought otherwise. I loved the person she was, loved the person she became, the person she will forever be in my mind and the people she touched in her life. I loved the majority of the characters in this story. There were a few I didn't won't say anymore on that (will give some of the story away). I know this is a work of fiction but it felt so real so true. Elsa and her family's story will stay with me for a long time and one that I will recommend time and again. I do know I will be buying this in hardcover and hope they offer a signed copy. This book will definitely be on my bookshelf front and center!

Kristin Hannah at her finest. This story is fantastic and though it’s historical fiction, it’s so relevant to today’s society.