A little weak at the beginning as normally, Kristin has me hooked from the beginning. I think I needed a stronger case for Elsa to throw aside the mores of her time and herself into Rafe's arms. She made that decision so easily and quickly. Very soon, however, the Kristin Hannah magic kicked in and drew me into Elsa's life on the Great Plains during the 30s, her family's trek west to California, and the terribleness of life there..

A Beautifully Written, Heartbreaking Novel!

The year is 1921, the setting is Texas, during the Great Depression.

Elsa is a young woman who has never known love. Ignored by her family, she yearns for a different life. The first time a man pays attention to her, Elsa becomes wholly smitten. That man is Rafe Martinelli. His intentions are less than stellar, as Elsa comes to find out when she discovers she is with child and she finds out he is engaged to be married to someone else. Yet his parents, Tony and Rose are kind and generous (unlike her own) and they insist on doing the right thing and Rafe and Elsa marry.

Going from an affluent home to live on a farm, Elsa learns a whole new way of life and yet she takes to it beautifully, working harder than even her husband and enmeshing herself into the Martinelli family. Raising first a daughter, Loreda and then a son, Ant, Elsa is both overprotective and overbearing.

At first life on the farm while hard work, is full of abundant crops and rewarding days and then the drought comes and it never goes away. Crops die and food is scarce. Thereafter the dust storms hit and days get even harder. Each day Elsa, her father, and mother-in-law pray for rain, and each day it ceases to come. Day after day and year after year. There is no end in sight.

The day slowly comes when the family makes the decision to head west to California in search of a better life. Promises of jobs and the land of milk and honey don’t quite ring true with what they find upon arrival. Lucky for Elsa, hard work and determination are her middle names.

Desolation, devastation, heartache, heartbreak, and loss. “The Four Winds” is a novel that encompasses all of those words and yet it is also about survival. The ability to survive during the absolute worst of times. Family, friendship, and love are also prevalent themes in this book and Kristin Hannah showcases them all beautifully.

There is much sadness here. A heaviness that is pervasive. I can’t say that I ever felt a moment of happiness while reading “The Four Winds” by Kristin Hannah and yet I will say that I loved the beautiful, lyrical writing, the characters, and the strength they showed throughout. It is a testament to Ms. Hannah, that she was able to make me love the book and the characters of Elsa, Tony, Rose, Ant, and Loreda (difficult though she may have been at times) when parts of this storyline were so completely and wholly depressing.

What resonated with me was this books’ underlying message which is that a human being can survive anything - which I think is especially true for all of us to remember right now.

A huge thank you to St. Martin’s Press, NetGalley, and Kristin Hannah for the arc.

Published on Goodreads on 10.4.20.

This is an amazing book. One that I couldn’t put down. The struggles that families went through to just feed and clothe their children are heartbreaking. This story really makes you appreciate the privileges we have today.
This is a definite must-read for all. I learned a lot about our American history while reading this. I never knew of the Dust bowl years or the migrant experience in California during the Great Depression.
Each book that Kristin Hannah writes gets better each time. I didn’t think this was going to be as good as The Great Alone but I was proved wrong.
Thanks Netgalley for the ability to read this ahead of publishing and this is my honest review.

"Daughter, Mother, Warrior " Elsa's growth through the story is amazing. She is a powerful woman but it takes awhile for her to realize it. She is fiercely protective of her family and she finds strength she didn't know she had in order to protect her children. Kristen Hannah is a beautiful writer. I felt as if I were there experiencing everything with her and her family. I was engrossed in the whole story.

I would like to thank NetGalley, The Publishers, and Kristin Hannah for emailing me the ARC The four winds. This novel definitely lives up to Kristin Hannah’s great storytelling ability. I was ‘sucked’ in from the beginning of Elsa’s story. And, I “blew’ through this novel in two days, even though these characters will remain in my heart for quite a while.

This story spans 18 years. I have always heard about the ‘Roaring 20s’ and ‘the great depression’. But, to read it through the eyes of these characters. I felt like I was there with them. Kristin Hannah, really makes you experience what her characters are experiencing...it makes you want to turn the pages faster. To see what happens, and then slower, so the book doesn't end!

When The novel begins, Elsa is almost 25. She had scarlet fever as a child. And now, her family seems to forget she exists,always expecting her to be in a corner with her favorite book, Jane Eyre. Elsa is a hopeless romantic because of all the reading she has done. She makes herself a dress and goes out on the town. She meets up with a young Italian-American 18-year-old boy named Rafe. He's the first person to give her any kind of attention. They make love. (even though he is engaged to another girl).

Elsa's family disowns when they find out she's pregnant. Her father brings her to the Martinelli Farm. people she doesn't even know. But, their son got her pregnant. So, she is now their daughter, even though they were expecting a different daughter. They welcomed Elsa. She feels love for the first time from them. When her daughter is born, she is flooded with love emotions.
They also have a son.

Elsa loves farm life. She loves being part of a family. But, when her son’s life is threatened and Rafe abandoned the family in the middle of the night. She and the children head toward California. They are searching for a better life.

Did they find a better life? I guess that's a matter of opinion. The life they found was certainly different. They had hardships, maybe even more, then they had on the farm. And, as hard as they worked, they had to beg for food and shelter some days.

This novel is a tear-jerker. I am so thankful, to our essential workers who have gotten us through the past few months. We will all get through this together.

****As for the author's note: Kristen Hannah and family, I am sorry to hear about your personal loss. XOXO

Kristin Hannah is one of my very favorite authors. Although The Four Winds is not my favorite book by her, it is a very good book. I knew nothing of the time or place in which this story is set but the book has encouraged me to learn more about the Dust Bowl and the hardships brought on by it. The strength of women is the main point of this book. That strength is shown in every facet of the story The Four Winds encourages us all to find our voices and use them for good.

Thank you to NetGalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review. 

Beautifully written book, as usual, Hannah knocks it out of the park.  A modern Grapes of Wrath that sheds a light on the issues we see in our current world. 

With the caveat that I read an uncorrected proof, I want to mention that there are a handful of incorrect words used such as where instead of were. Also at least two instances of duplicate scenes. This could have been meant to emphasize the information being transmitted by these scenes but it was also literally verbatim and therefore difficult to overlook.

Slight spoiler alert:

Unnecessary romance is unnecessary.  I know it was obvious they would hook up, but it really took away from the action of the story at the time.

Set in the 1930’s, The Four Winds tells a story of love, family, hope, and survival. Elsa Martinelli is disowned by her family after the 25-year-old spinster becomes pregnant. Set in the mid-1930’s, deep into the depression and dust bowl, Elsa must choose between keeping her family safe and staying on the Texas land she has learned to love. Elsa’s choices have dire consequences as life across all of America is in turmoil.

The writing is excellent and it’s clear Kristin Hannah put in a ton of work researching the era. The characters were well written - I especially loved Rose and Tony. I felt like there were many connections between the themes in this novel and “hot topics” in America now - immigration, fair wages, unemployment, etc. 4.5/5 rounded up to 5.

The Four Winds is a powerful heart wrenching story of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl and more than that, the strength and tenacity of men , women and children that lived , suffered but never gave up during those times.

I can not imagine having the grit and determination to survive.

I simply did not want the book to end.

I cheered them on, I cried for them and I sometimes laughed with them all.

Elsa is my hero as she fights to provide and care for her two children in this horrific time. Her daughter learns from her mom's strength though she does not know it at the time.

Please take time to read the author's notes at the end of the book.

The Four Winds will stay with me for a very long time and I can't wait to get my hard copy of this book that has to be in the top 10 of 2020.

Thanks to NetGalley, St Martin's Press for allowing me to go on Elsa's journey.

I am a big fan of Kristin Hannah's, but this book just didn't do it for me. Her writing style was just as good as always, but the story itself had too many unfinished concepts. I kept waiting for something else to happen, or for people to come back into the story who had been important. Instead, when they left the story they were never heard from again. Without giving anything away, let me give you an example (this did not happen in this book): let's say that there was a brother and sister who were very close, and for one reason or another, the brother decides to leave home. If the brother was in this story, you don't know where he went, what happened to him, if the sister ever heard from him again, etc. He's just "poof", gone. Although this was not something that happened in this book, this situation did happen with several characters in this story. I just completed the book with the feeling that there was too much unfinished business. The plot is great...it was just never developed to my satisfaction. This definitely won't prevent me from reading this author's books again, though.

Another major winner from Kristin Hannah, mainly for these reasons:

•I could not put the book down and didn’t want it to end. Definitely one of my favorites this year.

•The story was filled with unexpected yet believable plot twists.

•This book inspired me to do further research into the history of the Dust Bowl, the Great Depression and the California agricultural strikes.

Enthusiastically recommended for fans of this author, and for all readers of historical fiction. Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

As with Kristen Hannah"s previous books, this started with so much promise....until the female protagonist had sex and predictably became pregnant...same old, same old, so I abandoned the book very early on.

I have been a big fan of Kristin Hannah for years. This book was just another wonderful novel to add to her list of fantastic storytelling. I was immediately drawn into the character of Else and her life. Her perseverance throughout the book is awe inspiring. This is a wonderful book about keeping faith and having hope even when life seems bleak. Cried and laughed, read all night.

I don’t usually read historical novels, but this one had me at the first page! Hannah has written a stunning, fascinating work of art that is all about a very strong woman and the power of love to get through even the most difficult and dangerous at times.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

A Great Depression story told movingly through the experience of a young Texas mother and her two children as they are forced to find a living away from the dust bowl Texan farm they had lived on until there was no living to be made from the cracked earth.
This story describes the extreme hardships endured by the migrants who headed to "the land of milk and honey" seeking something better than what they experienced in their home states.
Our introduction to the main female character portrays a young woman seriously deprived of parental love and support, but taken in by an Italian family who embraces her after being abandoned. Not too many happy moments along this road, but growth and strength do come to her.

Thanks to St Martin's Press through Net Galley for this ARC.

Kristin Hannah is one of my favorite authors and her newest book The Four Winds was everything I hoped it would be. Truth be told, I started Four Winds synopsis unread, because I love every Kristin Hannah book. While I don’t usually reads historical fiction, this story is a must read. The writing is superb and the character development exceptional.

Following the lives of the Martinellis through the Great Depression and the years that followed, was absolutely heart wrenching. The struggles they faced and the injustices they experienced were unbearable. When it seemed it couldn’t get worse, it did. The hardships they faced and the courage they showed was inspiring. The epilogue made the entire story and will resonate with every mother or daughter reading the story. 5 stars.

Kristin Hannah has been a favorite author of mine since middle school. She has a way of transporting the reader to different eras that is unmatched, and "The Four Winds" is no different. The characters are struggling through the Depression, and I felt the weight of that burden throughout the novel. It was tough to move through at times because the emotional load is full, but that also made the reading a real experience. I would recommend this book for older students -- 12th, possibly advanced 11th grade or elective -- for a historical fiction unit or as a companion novel when studying the Great Depression.

I always know I'm going to love a Kristin Hannah book, no matter the subject matter. Her newest novel is contemporary take on The Grapes of Wrath with a feminist angle. The main character, Elsa Martinelli, is strong, smart and so easy to root for. We follow Elsa and her two children from a small town in the Texas dustbowl east to California where she is forced to live in a tent city Hooverville. I loved Elsa's no nonsense attitude and refusal to take no for an answer and I learned a lot about the hardships of the era along the way. My favorite kind of historical fiction.

A beautiful story about courage and being true to yourself. Set during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression, we follow Elsa from awkward, ostracized daughter of wealthy parents to farmer to migrant worker. Her tale is heart-breaking and heart-warming. Hannah's characterization was amazing and I felt like I was right there with Elsa through all her tragedies and triumphs. Definitely recommend for fans of Hannah's other works as well as those who like historical fiction and strong female protagonists. I would have read it in one sitting if I didn't have to go to work!

I Love Kristen Hannah's books, admire her strong women characters. The Four Winds is a story of how life was challenging for the working class of America during the stressful times of the Great Depression, and the Dust Bowl, A story about California during the migration of farmers from the Midwest and California's violent struggles between labor and employers. It's a story of Elsa, one woman's tenacity to survive and provide for her children. I was drawn to Elsa from the beginning. This was a book I could not put down, it moved me as if the wind was behind me pushing me forward. Forward to California, forward to the injustice of the American people during this migration to the city of gold during this time period.
Elsa's life was a struggle from the time she fell ill as a child and her parents over protected her to a point of abuse. Elsa's untimely affair leads her to a different family and a much different life. Led by her loving in-laws she finds a home she longs for and deserves to be part of. Then disaster strikes the country and Elsa is forced to make decisions that scare the heck out of her but knows this is what her children need to survive. During her migration to California Elsa meets bright and dark people, high and low, honest and dishonest. Most of all Elsa met Elsa and learned what path to she needed to follow. Learning and teaching her children all along, what the meaning to life was and how to follow it. Big Fan of Kristen Hannah can not wait to book talk this book, and read it in my book club. 3 stars***