This book follows Elsa and her family who live in the panhandle of Texas during The Dust Bowl. You see their struggles of the time there, and then their life and struggles as they become part of the migration to California.

I love Kristin Hannah’s historical fiction because she can weave such an emotional story while teaching us about history. How she is able to evoke so much emotion from her strong characters is amazing at times, although I did find some smaller scenes in this book just a little melodramatic for my taste,

It is still expertly written and is obvious how much time the author put into researching the topic for this story. I learned a lot from this book and it made me want to research and learn more, which to me is the goal of a well done historical fiction novel in my opinion.

4.5 stars

The Dust Bowl era of the 1930s, coupled with the Depression, were crippling times for many families in America's Heartland. Overused, their farms suffered and the families lost their livelihood and their own sustenance. Lured by hopes of jobs in California, thousands of families traveled west in the hopes of new agriculture jobs. Land barons, who did need their help, often treated them poorly, still giving them insufficient wages, excessively demanding conditions, and discrimination over the "Okies". In their hometowns, many were farmers but others were white collar workers from banks, schools, retail, etc. The stress was unimaginable and families accepted the picker jobs for pure survival. Kristin Hannah follows a family on their desperate trek to find a better life.

I enjoyed this book. I learned a ton about the Dust Bowl and was invested in Hannah's characters. It is a somber story but well done.

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah is a story of the Depression, the dust bowl, poverty, unionization, and the American dream. It is a story of being an immigrant in one's own homeland and of prejudice. Although written about the 1930s, some of these conversations continue today even amidst the current prosperity of this nation. Elsa Wolcott is a memorable character, and the book is one that will stay with me for a long while.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2021/07/the-four-winds.html

Reviewed for NetGalley.

This was my first historical fiction book in quite awhile, and it was impossible to put down. I think I finished this in just under 3 days? It follows the story of Elsa Martinelli and her children as she makes the heartbreaking decision to leave her family and the only home she's ever known to go west to California for a better life. What happens next is the view of the "American Dream" through the eyes of someone who risks everything to give her children a better life.

This book felt a lot like the season of Game of Thrones where you think "Surely this can't get any sadder/worse/more depressing/dark." Spoiler alert, it does. This book made me ugly cry several times and I will not feel shame for that. What Elsa and her children go through is absolutely terrible. The descriptions of the ditch camp and all of the families who thought they were in for better and ended up living worse than slaves was heartbreaking. I almost wish I had taken a break during this book because it was so emotional, even though I had the hardest time putting it down. I thought when the plot shifted towards focusing on the resistance I would get a break (along with the characters). Boy, was I wrong. I basically sobbed for the last hour of the book.

This is a great historical fiction piece, but my advice would definitely be to break it up into smaller parts because it is truly SO emotional.

Kristin Hannah always delivers. This devastating saga was about a woman and her family struggling to survive during the Dust Bowl. Her descriptions of the characters and the time period were captivating. You could feel the changes in the environment and sense the emotions of the characters (total Great Alone vibes). It was heartbreaking and uplifting, and I’m telling everyone I know to read it.

this book was so depressing that there were moments that I wanted to give up on it. But overall, I am glad I finished it. Although very depressing and heart wrenching I wanted to see how the characters would end up. I also feel that I learned so much about this time period and I loved the women in this book.

I really had no idea how bad Texas was just after the Great depression in conjunction with one of the worst drought in the Great Plains. Add to that Dust storms and food shortages, and you have a very depressing story. Kristin Hannah's writing style saved me from losing interest. I mean how many times can this family's luck be that bad? It seems like once there is a glimmer of hope tragedy strikes again. I would have put this book down when I started to feel depressed but I was also thinking it has to get better at some point. I cheated and looked up this time in history just so I could see what year it ended, hoping that they didn't all die before then.

Do yourself a favor and look up the Dust Bowl to get a visual of how real it was.

Do you ever read a book and get sucked in by the characters and the situation they're going through?! If not, then I definitely recommend you read this book because it will do exactly that! Of course I'm not living during the Great Depression but I did tell my husband we needed to stock up on bread haha.
In all seriousness though, I absolutely loved this book. It is slow-paced at times, but definitely worth it in the end. I love how Kristin Hannah gets into the details of the Great Depression, showing what ordinary families had to go through in order to survive. It made me realize how strong my great grandparents really were to have to live like this and under these conditions. I also really enjoyed the political movements that she brought into this book and the way that debt/credit actually started and how it's used as a way to make people poorer. It also made me realize that humanity is not all that different between generations. How the way people wanted "foreigners" or those who didn't originally live in California, out of their state and how it's similar to how we treat people from other countries who live in the USA today.
Overall, I would highly recommend this book. Kristin Hannah is an amazing author and so far her books have been far from disappointing!

Excellent, but extremely depressing story with an equally depressing ending. Characters were well-written and memorable.

Another epic from Kristin Hannah. Set in an era I really did not know much about. One woman’s struggle to keep her family alive during the Dust Bowl. A true survivor story!!

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin's Press for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This was a compelling page turner, started out a little slow, but the story picked up and keep my interest from beginning to end. This is a part of history that I wasn't too familiar with, so I appreciated the ability to learn from this story. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone. Kristin Hannah has hit it out of the park with her last 3 books!

An extraordinary albeit difficult story about a strong woman character during extremely challenging time in US history.

Unbeknown to most the Dust Bowl era was marked by the biggest American migration of people from the East ( Oklahoma, Texas, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico all the way from Louisiana …. ) To California. These hard working American people went West trying to survive and got abused as slave laborers kept under the poverty level to pick, cotton, fruits and vegetables replacing the two millions Mexican laborers that had been deported by FDR Mexican Repatriation Act.

Yes, the account is dire, but the times were too. Regular women had to grow the courage, tenacity and survival skills during depressing, miserable circumstances, when death was looming around. I’m always gobsmacked that WWII stories are so popular but American history tales are judged as depressing … almost like … if it happened far away then it is romantic, if it happened here then it is dramatic.

Thankfully Kristin Hannah is a great writer who can entice the reader in a painful journey and still brings up the hope of betterment.

Allow yourself the space to read this book. Surely not a beach/pool novel but definitely worth your time (over a 100K 5 stars cannot be wrong ).

Thank you to the Publisher St Martin Press and Kristin Hannah for this book in exchange for an honest review.

Kristin Hannah's book, The Four Winds, is a very well researched historical depiction of a slice of time. She has once again created such vivid, authentic characters - flaws and all - who take the reader deep into the story. The Dust Bowl and Great Depression era come alive in these pages. Very well written and a must read for historical fiction fans!

Thank you to Kristin Hannah, St. Martin's Press, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel and share my thoughts.

This book has a strong female lead like many of the author's other books of the author's other books.. It was not my favorite of hers but I'm excited for a future book. I felt like a dragon towards their trip to California.

3 Stars

TW: Animal death & lots of it

If you are looking for an emotional book, Kristin Hannah is your go-to. I have found that most of her books tend to have me sobbing on the floor late at night. WhileThe Four Winds deals with heavy subjects, that wasn't the case for this book.

While I did enjoy the emotional aspects of The Four Winds, I struggled with it a bit. The first half of the book was hard to get through, I found it incredibly boring. It wasn't until the second half that the pace picked up. By then it kind of felt like it was too late. The pacing being slow for more than half the book kind of ruined it for me.

The problem with historical fiction for me is the amount of suffering an author puts their characters through. I understand this book was well researched but it felt like that overpowered the book. I know this book isn't meant to be an easy read, but so much suffering for one group of people? It was just a lot all at once. It didn't feel authentic, just carefully written sad plots tossed into one family.

While the ending did frustrate me, I think a lot of people will still like this one. It just wasn't for me this time around.

Thanks to Netgalley for a electronic ARC of this book.

I'm usually a Kristen Hannah and eagerly await the release of her books. Unfortunately, I found The four Winds to be just....OK.
It's set in Texas during the Dust Bowl. Elsa's parents show her no love. She's made to marry someone she doesn't want to be with. Then, here comes the Great Depression and drought. Reading it felt like slogging through mud with a cloud hanging over my head. I know this was a harsh time in history and there wasn't much to be happy about, but a tiny pinpoint of lightness would have been appreciated. I thought she did a much better job developing characters dealing with troubles in The Great Alone. I'll revisit The Four Winds at some point and hopefully will find it a little brighter.

None of my relatives are from the areas the Dust Bowl took place in. I have no first hand knowledge of it and have not had the privilege of hearing stories of this tragedy passed down from generation to generation so to gain knowledge of it I read fantastic and very highly researched books such as this one.
This book hits where it hurts, the heart. The characters are realistic and believable and you come to know them as though they are friends and they are in your corner.
These people could be your people, when they hurt you hurt as you become very invested in the character's lives both good and bad.
The Dust Bowl in the 1930's was a tragic time, many men were cowards and killed themselves or ran off to leave their women and children alone to fend for themselves.
The banks closed, everything did people didn't have the money to buy anything .
Dust covered everything, filling people's lungs ,killing off the livestock and making life an impossible hell!
Scraping together money for gas to make it to California they are in for a shock when they meet the land of broken dreams there.
Unfair wages for many hours of backbreaking work and having to live in tents where people carry diseases and total discrimination while trying to find and honest job are what they are met with.
The book was overall bleak but realistic for it's time period and I can't fault the book for that because I enjoy reading about realism.
There are pockets of sunshine and a renewed sense of hope along the way though.
I can't recommend this book enough!
This is my first book by this author but you better believe it won't be my last!

Pub Date 02 Feb 2021
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.

I am always nervous when I see a book written about farming/agriculture because it is normally a misrepresentation. I am so glad to say Kristin Hannah really nailed it on this one.

At this point most people know the general story line of this one and I feel like the most common criticism of the book is that it is "too sad". The thing is the Great depression and Dust Bowl was not a sunshine and glitter time period and while it was sad, this is what life in farming is like even today. The realities described in this book are still effecting farmers today and dismissing them as unrealistic just shows how removed most people are from the realities of farming not only in the US but the world.

If I could I would give this book 10 stars simply because it is the first book I have ever read where I feel seen in.

This was heartbreaking, beautiful, and so sad. Loved it, another great one from this author. 5 stars!