Thank you Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

As I write this, I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes, having just finished The Four Winds. Hannah's The Great Alone is one of my all time favorite books so I was thrilled and nervous to hear about the Four Winds. Kristin Hannah is an autobuy author for me, but that always comes with a little bit of anxiety. Will the next book be as good as the last? I can 100 percent say that The Four Winds was as amazing and met all of my expectations.

Hannah has a way of crafting stories and characters that draw you in and consume you while you're reading or listening to them. Like the Great Alone, I will talk to anyone who will listen to me about the Four Winds. I know they're historical fiction, but I feel like I learn from them too.

Elsa Martinelli lived such a hard life, but she was such a strong amazing women. She adapted so quickly to her abrupt marriage and motherhood. As hard as life is living during a global pandemic, Elsa's life during the dustbowl and then in California was down right heartbreaking. She was such an inspiration and so dedicated to making sure her children had a better life.

The ending of this book absolutely broke me. I am in awe of Kristin Hannah and her books. I know it is only February, but I can already tell this will be a favorite of the year, and probably an all time favorite like the Great Alone.

I will update with the link for my review when I share on my bookstagram page.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a digital copy of this book to review! What an amazing story this is! Hands down one of my favorite reads of all time and it definitely earned 5 stars from me! I've read a few Kristin Hannah books and by far this is her best work yet!

I enjoyed this book. It wasn’t my absolute favourite by this author, but I found the characters engaging, and I learned all kinds of things about the Depression, the dustbowl, and migration within the U.S. during that time that I didn't know before. It will definitely be one I recommend to bookstore customers who are interested in historical fiction but ready for something not set during WWII.

I am not sure how to express my thoughts about Kristin Hannah's new book.

I do know that for anyone that would listen to me I said this "it is a super sad and depressing setting but for some reason, I cannot stop reading, I just know there will be an amazing unveiling"

And that definitely proved true. I will say I loved this book but at the same time I hated what happened to these "okies". This book sheds a lot of light on what has happened in American History and how the mistreatment of people isn't okay.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Netgally for a copy of this book to provide my sassy review.

This is a very well written book, and it held my attention throughout. I thought the story was very compelling, and I found it hard to put down. I received a complimentary copy from the publisher through Netgalley.

I am a big Kristin Hannah fan (primarily due to the The Nightingale) so had high expectations for her newest release. The Four Winds takes place in Texas and California during the time of the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. This is an area of historical fiction that I don't often read and was an interesting and welcome change. I enjoyed the strong female characters and the exploration of the mother/daughter relationship. I've recommended this book to all the members of my book club and to any historical fiction lover!

Kristin Hannah does it again! Beautiful story that completely broke me. This takes place in 1930s Texas and shows the struggle, strife and poverty that exist. Incredibly mesmerizing and heartbreaking while showcasing how mentally and physically strong the characters can be.

This is an amazing story in that Ms Hannah has taken an epic period in US history and made it personal and relevant to today. It follows a young woman in Texas from the late 1920s through the Great Depression, the dust bowl, and labor exploitation and strikes in California. Throughout, the main character is so well developed that the reader ages with her, feels her joy, worry and exhaustion, and roots for her to succeed. Though it was difficult reading at times through my tears, it is an excellent and important story and one I gladly recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC to read and review.

Kristin Hannah has legions of fans and I count myself among them even though I’ve only read three of her books. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘕𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘦 was my first, and it’s still one of my most memorable reads ever. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘈𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘦 let me down a bit, and her new book, 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝗪𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐒, falls squarely in the middle of the other two. I flew through the story of Elsa, a Texas woman beaten down by life. First, by her own family who never quite understood her, then by a young husband who never quite loved her, then nature with the unrelenting Dust Bowl years, and finally by poverty in the Great Depression.⁣
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Through much of this Elsa acted in fear and insecurity (driving me a little nuts), but she had two children she needed to save, so Elsa fought her way to a different life. The relationship between Elsa and her daughter, Lareda, was where 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 truly shone, making me enjoy the second half of the book much more than the first. As circumstances and Lareda pushed Elsa out of her shell, I liked her character so much more. I also found this book to be a wonderful history lesson in an era I don’t know as much about as I should. Though obviously very different, I saw many parallels between then and now: unprecedented times, huge populations of people falling into poverty, finding new ways to survive, and hanging on to the hope for change. Elsa lived all that. At its heart, 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘍𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘞𝘪𝘯𝘥𝘴 was the story of a mother’s fight to protect and provide for her children and in that it was a great success.

The Four Winds
Author:
Kristin Hannah
(This review is from an ARC galley from Netgalley)

This is a heart-breaking historical novel and the strength and resilience of women and the bond which developed over time between mother and daughter. The main protagonist is Elsa Martinelli.
Set against the backdrop of the Great Depression
“The Four Winds” begins in northwestern Texas in 1921. Elsa Wolcott is the eldest daughter in a middle-class family that treats her like an” ugly heirloom.” Her unloving parents keep Elsa cloistered in her room reading, insisting she’s too weak to endure any social interaction. At 25 — a hopeless spinster! — she’s constantly reminded that “no man of note wants an unattractive wife.”
Fast Forward, Elsa Martinelli has a good life living on a farm with her in-laws and two children in Texas during the 1930's Her husband is MIA..
After the dustbowl comes to the farm with no rain, windstorms and subsequently ruining the crops and the farm animals are dying, Elsa decides to take her children to seek a better life in California where people are flocking as they heard this is the land of hope and plenty.
But this was not to be, the hardships faced by Elsa and her children are relentless and Kristen Hannah describes the migrant settlements in California vividly with the sickness, bad weather and horrendous living conditions. There are thousands of migrants that have had the same idea and Elsa and her children were slaves to the large farms and farmers, picking cotton for long hours and rewarded for a pittance.
The plight of the migrants was hopeless, with many dying of typhoid, starvation, and the horrible weather.
Kristin Hannah in an interview about the book and Elsa Marinelli said, “probably my favorite character I have ever written”.
Hannah goes on to say, “I wanted to write a book that had the emotional impact, message and importance of The Nightingale but was a quintessentially American Epic” (Parade, Sunday January 31,2021)
Elsa showed courage and sacrifice to protect her children through this perilous journey and her resilience was an example to all mothers facing trying times during this pandemic and frightened for their future.

*4-4.5 stars.

'Be brave. Or pretend to be. It's all the same.'

This is a well written piece of historical fiction, set in Texas in the midst of the Great Depression and Dust Bowl years. The main character, Elsa Wolcott, is unloved by her wealthy parents as a child and forced to marry when she 'gets in the family way.' This changes all the plans and dreams the Martinelli family had for their son, Rafe, but they manage to find a way to welcome Elsa into their home on the farm and she works hard to earn their love and respect.

But nature takes control of their future: the rains stop and the drought years begin and just never seem to end--year after year of brutal heat and winds, dying crops, dying hope. Up until this point, they'd had 'faith in the essential kindness of our planet.' But now they were seeing its cruel side. Should they leave and join the ever growing hoards heading to California to find work? And what will they find there, if they do?

This book is so emotionally wrenching. It's a good read but perhaps a bit overly long and depressing. Whatever can go wrong will go wrong for these people! But the character development and their personal growth is the book's greatest strength. I won't soon forget Elsa Martinelli and her family--most especially their courage, strength and love. And I did learn a lot about workers' rights and the politics of that era, how migrant workers were treated back then. Even though the pandemic has been tough for many to live through, we still have a lot to be grateful for.

I received an arc of this new work of historical fiction from Kristin Hannah via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Many thanks for the opportunity!

High praise for Kristin Hannah and her new book "The Four Winds". The life of Elsa Marinelli from her home as a little girl to the life of a married mother of two. Such story telling and emotional writing! It was beautiful, heart breaking, and inspiring! This is great writing,a book to be remembered! If you thought "The Great Alone" was good....buckle in, this journey is even better!

Four Winds is set in the 1930s; a time in history that has meaning to me as multiple generations of my family moved west in hopes of finding work after losing everything in the Great Depression. The details of the era are vibrant in my mind not just from fiction like Grapes of Wrath but also from first-hand stories from family members. That time in history is sad and depressing, and Ms. Hannah has captured the raw desperation of the wretched lives of children, parents and grandparents whose already meager lives were disrupted by the one-two-punch of the depression and the dust bowl.

Ms. Hannah’s lead characters reflect the type of grit and courage we want to have, the type of person we wish to be. I love that she promotes the underestimated strength and determination of women. The author’s descriptive writing truly brings her readers along for the journey.

Fans of Ms. Hannah’s writing have come to expect the high drama in her stories, and while it might be unlikely that her characters not only come across but are triumphant in all the situations presented, those life hurdles are representative of the era in which the story is set. I have a love-hate relationship with the author’s books. In many ways her books are formulaic, but each draws deeply on my emotional well. Four Winds is an emotional read that fairly depicts the struggles of the Great Depression and the impact of the Dust Bowl. A recommended read for most age groups.

Living in Texas I was so excited to read historical fiction from my part of the world and Kristin Hannah did not disappoint. As always she wore an epic and captivating story into the pages of this book. She is one of the only authors I know that can make a 400+ page book feel fo captivating. In the end I was emotionally wrung dry! This is required reading for all historical fiction and Americana lovers.

Lindas Book Obsession Reviews “The Four Winds” by Kristin Hannah, February 2021, St. Martin’s Press

Kudos to Kristin Hannah, the author of “The Four Winds” for writing such a powerful, poignant, captivating, dramatic, thought-provoking, and memorable novel. The genres for this novel are historical fiction, family drama, and women’s fiction. The timeline for this story is between 1921 and around 1934. The author describes the dramatic characters as complex and complicated. There is a comparison and symbolic relationship between the land, the family, and the people. I love that Kristin Hannah shows courageous and brave women, and mothers, who show love to their families and the land.

In 1921, just after World War One, the authors describe the wonderful bounty of the land and how farmers are doing well. Elsa Martinelli is constantly reminded by her parents that she and her ideas are not good enough. When Elsa is thrown out, she is welcomed by her lover’s family and gets married. Elsa loves her two children more than anything and works and respects the land that provided food and money for them.

As the dust storms, and the land doesn’t provide sustenance or life anymore there is much anger and frustration. Elsa’s husband no longer can deal with anything and leaves. Elsa stays with her in-laws and children. The draught and the sand storms bring illness and financial ruin. The Dust Bowl era joins the Great Depression. People leave going to California for a better life. Elsa is shocked that they aren’t welcome. Picking cotton and fruit seem to be a way to barely survive.

Elsa has tried to find a better life for her children and fights both the land and the people that take advantage that keeps her in poverty. Elsa tries to show her children that they have to stand up for what they believe in. She shows that they have to be strong, believe, and have courage.

I appreciate that the author describes the importance of working together, the importance of family, friends, love, hope, and fighting for what you believe in. I would highly recommend this amazing and memorable novel.

I received an ARC copy of this title from Netgalley. As an avid Kristin Hannah fan, I am so honored to have had the opportunity to get this one early! As usual, Mrs. Hannah did not disappoint. I enjoyed it so much I read the ebook and listened to the audio after it was released. I fell in love with these characters and this time in our history. I was heartbroken at some of the things they went through and what they had to fight for. Basic human rights. You will cry, have tissues ready. A story about a woman who finds herself, who loves her family fiercely and who will stop at nothing to keep them safe. I also highly recommend the interview with the author and narrator at the end of the audio version!

Looking for a book to swallow you whole into a different reality? To entertain you while making you think? This is it. I was engrossed from start to finish.
It started in rural Texas during the Dust Bowl, when this formerly productive agricultural area experienced severe drought and dust storms due to unwise land management that caused crops to fail for years. Farmers became so desperate to survive that they left everything behind and fled west by the thousands. This story is about one such woman, Elsa Martinelli, who, after years of trying to survive on their family farm, finally took her two children and drove to California to look for work.
Competing with thousands of other immigrants for the relatively few jobs, while being taken advantage of by greedy landowners in league with government officials and police, their struggle to survive intensified.
As the Depression ground on, fear and poverty fostered hatred and mistrust towards outsiders. First, the Mexican immigrants who farmers had counted on to work the vast fields of the San Joaquin valley for years were denigrated and accused of all sorts of crimes, before being sent back across the border. Then the hordes of Dust Bowl refugees came and took their place. They too were looked down on, treated with cruelty, and forced to live like animals. As increasing numbers arrived, farmers gained power and cheated them mercilessly.
Eventually, conditions there became unbearable and Elsa and her family joined union organizers who were trying to get the farm workers to stand up for their rights. As a war between workers and landowners began to break out, all the Dust Bowl refugees were greatly affected by the violence that followed.
This unflinching look at what fearful and desperate people are capable of in a crisis was timely, especially during this year of the Covid pandemic. Fearful people are easily duped into believing that it’s outsiders who are the source of their problems, not the rich and powerful who are happy to take advantage of their desperation and distraction to gather even more wealth and power. The author has illuminated our current situation by allowing us to experience vicariously another time of great difficulty and suffering. This book entertained me thoroughly while making me think. A great combination.

3.5 I could almost taste the dust as I read this story of depression era Texas. The writing was vivid and bold when describing the difficult lives Elsa, her family and the rest of the farmers and ranchers endured when the drought came, the crops failed and everything and everyone was dying and struggling.
Where the book fell short for me was the plot. The opening and ending of the book both seemed rush and not as beautifully written as the body of the novel. There were too many plot lines thrown into the mix that really took away from the main focus and I felt like I was reading two different authors work.

I started THE FOUR WINDS late one night and I should have known better. Once I started reading, I was lost in the story and didn’t realize how much time had passed. I struggled with putting the book aside (after 3:30 a.m.) and going to sleep. I came really close to picking it up again instead of sleeping but managed a few hours before I woke up and grabbed it again. The only upside was that I started reading it on a Friday night and I didn’t have to be ready for virtual kids schooling after getting no sleep.
With THE FOUR WINDS, Kristin Hannah has created a novel with all the feels. I loved Elsa and felt so much for her. She took everything thrown at her and survived, even thrived. She would do anything for her family, especially her children and the parents that became more hers than the people she was born to. The era in which this novel took place was one that I had a basic knowledge of, but Hannah took the history and made it come alive, making me realize how little I really knew. There were times I could feel and taste physical hardships the characters experienced.
When I say this novel gave me all the feels, I am not exaggerating. It was, by turns, heartbreaking, inspirational, sad, happy… I could go on, but suffice to say, Hannah’s writing left me wrung out like an emotional rag. This was a wonderful novel. If you worry that it won’t live up to the pre-publication expectations, don’t. This novel will leave its mark and won’t be easily forgotten. Even if you forget the specific words, you won’t soon forget how you feel during and after reading THE FOUR WINDS.
Thank you to the publisher for an advanced reader’s copy of this novel. All opinions are my own and freely given.
#TheFourWinds #KristinHannah #StMartinsPress

Kristen Hannah excels in telling stories that that make you feel like you're right there in it with her characters. This book takes place during the Great Depression and the dust bowl. I was born in Kansas and have heard some stories of the dust bowl but it's safe to say that it's beyond anything I can imagine. With the characters, we struggle for breath as we watch nature turn on itself. We experience how the "have nots" are treated by the "haves" and the systems that are in place that keep starving people working 10-12 hour harsh days from bootstrapping up to anything better. It made me very grateful to be clean and sheltered.

In short, it's an incredible book that I hope millions will read. There are absolute parallels still to be found around us now. Just know that it is a bleak book with a side of desolation (but it might make you a better, more empathetic person!). 🙃