It wouldn't be a Kristin Hannah book if she didn't try to make you cry. After loving The Great Alone, I was eager to pick this one up, and although I didn't love it as much, I really enjoyed it. Elsa is considered too old to marry, but she changes her fate when she meets Rafe Martinelli. Living in Texas, things aer looking up, until the Dust Bowl sets in. Dramatic and harsh, Hannah tugs at the heart strings with this one. If you're a fan of Hannah's previous work, this one is not to be missed.

I love Kristin Hannah's books but one thing they certainly are not is feel good. The Four Winds was one depressing moment after another - perhaps more so than any of her other books. She is such a talented writer that it is still enjoyable to read her work, but I wish this one wasn't quite so down.

Kristin Hannah is a truly gifted storyteller, and "The Four Winds" was no different. Across decades and familial ties, Hannah weaves an intriguing tale of desperation, commitment, and the female drive to survive.

The Four Winds Kristin Hannah
This was my first book by this author, and I loved it!
At times I had to remind myself that this book was fiction, I just got totally absorbed into the story.
I adored Elsa and her two children, especially Loreda. I felt their pain and plight as the book went on, and admired their courage. It was difficult reading, but I do enjoy this style of book.
One of my favourites this year.

This is truly a masterpiece of a book. Kristin Hannah never fails to impress. The book is really a window to the past, to a time that most of us will never understand. The simplicity of a time not too long ago, contrasting with the sheer struggle for existence makes this novel so compelling. If you are a fan of historical literary fiction, this is a must-read. Kristin Hannah is a modern-day great, and you can't go wrong with one of her books.

Another great historical fiction read from Kristin Hannah. Her writing and depictions put you squarely in the moment creating vivid images of the desperation felt by families in the Dust Bowl and during the Great Depression. History textbooks simply give facts and approach these time periods in an almost clinical approach, but The Four Winds really helps to paint the human story of survival.

I listened to this as I made a long road trip home. I didn’t pay much attention to the summary of the book but it is very somber. The content is about the Great Depression and the dust bowl during the 1930’s.

With that being said, it was an incredible book. I cried a lot of tears for Elsa and her family. I can’t even fathom the hardship and complete despair people endured. While this was a fictional book it was brought to my attention a very real time period when just existing was a struggle.

The Four Winds is a Kristin Hannah novel. I've read a couple of her books but this was the best one for me. I didn't know much about the story as I started reading. Families entanglement with their young daughter and an older son of another family. This was the fun part. The couple married and lived with his family in a forlorn farm within nothing but dust and dirt. Everyone lived together, children were born, but the farm, the dust and dirt got worse. I have read about the Dust Bowl in history. Kristen Hannah made this area very vivid and clear. No matter what the area inhabitants of the area did no stopping this devastating life. Some leave. Some stay with their homes. I received this from Net Galley as an ebook. I started it about 10 at night and was immediately entangled in the story. It wasc3 in the morning when I put the book down. Finished it the next day. I've never read anything like this to hold my attention. Just read it as a wonderful epic story.

I am a little wishy washy about Kristin Hannah. She's a favorite in my book club, so I've read several of her books and absolutely loved some, but felt a little meh on others without knowing why, because so many people love her works. But this one was more meh for me, It felt very Grapes of Wrath - like TOO much like the grapes of wrath.

This book is hard to rate. The beginning was written like a badly written YA novel and the end was predictable. This book could have been shorter by many pages. And yet at some point, I couldn't put it down and HAD to get to the finish that I guessed from a hundred pages out. This isn't Kristin Hannah's best book.

Wow — this was another of Hannah’s heart-ripping reads. I struggled with this one, not because it wasn’t a gripping book, but because the pain and tragedies of the characters were just relentless and I felt wrung out by the time I was done. And yet…I started another of Hannah’s books as soon as I finished. No spoilers except to have your Kleenex ready and some hot tea to soothe yourself because this one is a gripping ride.

Kristin Hannah does it again. I moving story about the choices that women have to make in order to survive.

This is truly a book I could not put down. I really love Kristin Hannah’s writing and this book was no exception. I wasn’t sure I would love the time. It was sent in but somehow she found a way to make it captivating.

Gosh just tear my heart out and rip it to pieces. Kristin Hannah knows how to break my heart in the best ways. Read her books if you need to feel things you didn’t think you could. What a beautiful story. ♥️

Dear Publisher - I was unable to finish this book before the digital ARC expired. I appreciate the opportunity to review this title before it was published and hope you will continue to approve access to your titles! I am continually hand selling titles I have read to my customers and recommending them on Goodreads, Litsy and my personal blog.

Can Kristin Hannah do it again? Of course she can!

Emotional and heartbreaking, this novel takes you back in time to the 1930s Dust Bowl era and one mother's fight to keep her children alive. Would it be safer to stay and fight the dust in Texas or head west with everyone else? The difficult choice Elsa is forced to make and her courage and resilience throughout the entire book is remarkable. I stayed hopeful that things would get better for the Martinelli's, but in The Great Depression was that ever possible? By the end, there were definitely some tears shed. Hug your mama's y'all

Thank you NetGalley for my e-arc of this striking and compelling read.

This book was very sad and depressing. You have to be in the right mindset before reading it. I think that even though there is so much sadness in this book there is a lot of love and hope. I enjoyed getting to know the characters and their development throughout the story. There’s a few things within the plot that I didn’t love but overall I think this is a great historical fiction book. I hadn’t read any historical fiction books set in the great depression and the dust bowl so I am glad I pick this one up.

I saw many not so great reviews criticizing this book because it was so sad and “how could she release such a sad book in these hard times”. It makes me sad to see those reviews because if you know anything about publishing is that books are often written years before they are published. I don’t blame Kristin Hannah and the publisher for releasing it now. You get to choose what you read and when so if a sad book is too much for you right now then don’t read it. Common sense says that a book set in the great depression will definitely be sad.

I love Kristin Hannah so much. I know when I read her books it is sure to be full of emotion so I always plan accordingly and sandwich them between easy and happy reads. This one was just so darn depressing for me. And not just the regular and expected amount from her books, it just felt excessive. Not one of my favorites from her, but I do have to admit she has a beautiful writing style that was not absent from The Four Winds

The Great Depression is an era I've always been fascinated by, primarily due to stories my grandmother used to tell me about the hardships she dealt with as a child. In The Four Winds, Kristin Hannah presents a heartbreaking tale of a family, the Martinellis, who are devastated by the harsh dual realities of the Depression and the Dust Bowl. When Elsa's son becomes ill with dust pneumonia, she travels to California with her two children alone. There she encounters poverty and hardship, along with friendship and hope. Hannah really illustrated the harsh realities that many dealt with in the 1930s as they struggled to make it from day to day. I won't forget this one.

I picked this book up because as a librarian formerly in Texas, I love to keep up with fiction that is set in areas that my patrons and I can connect with. This was a beautiful book about a time that I don't see covered much in fiction, being not as glamorous as WWII and the decades that have followed. I would highly recommend this to anyone interested in historical fiction and representations of Texas in fiction.