Kristin Hannah has scored another five-star rating from me with her novel, The Four Winds.

This novel is set during the Great Depression and in the heart of the Dust Bowl of 1934 in Texas. Farmers are trying to keep their land amid great blowing dust storms and dying crops. Banks are calling in loans and farmers and their families have to find a way to stay alive. Most set off for the golden state of California where land is said to be plentiful and full of promise. However, once they get there they find that they are just one family amidst thousands who have come to make their living. They are not wanted by they Californians because the work for less money and take jobs from the residents.

Elsa Martinelli must make the trek for the safety of her son, who has developed dust pneumonia. This dust has killed many, animals and persons alike. With little money and more hutzpa than most, Elsa and her two children go west.

Ms. Hannah always manages to bring such a time to reality with her vivid descriptions of weather, land conditions, the poor, starving people. I almost felt the dust in my nose as I read of the horrid conditions that were happening. Ms. Hannah is a wonderful author. I try to read everything she writes.

Spectacular! The Four Winds is a moving novel set during the Great Depression that I found unputdownable! This book follows the Martinelli family, as they struggle to survive as farmers in drought-ridden Texas and the journey they embark on to try and make a better life out west. I adore when a novel can entertain and educate at the same time and this novel came through big time in both areas. Kristin Hannah does a brilliant job creating a multi-layered storyline that is filled with so many emotions (both heartbreaking and heartwarming) and characters that you think about long after you’ve finished this novel. Before starting this book I never dreamed a book set in the Great Depression would be so relatable and relevant to our nations current state of affairs, but it truly is! In true Kristin Hannah fashion this 5 star novel will be a book I will re-read many times—it’s that phenomenal! The Four Winds will most definitely be one of my top reads of 2021 and the novel I recommend to absolutely everyone!

Elsa starts out as a normal teenage girl, she wants to go out and have fun. Then, when she finally builds up the courage to go out and to finally make friends and everything. She gets into trouble, in the family way and her and Rafe must get married. While Elsa grows to love Rafe, he is still a dreamer and outspoken. Rafe dreams of something more, he wants to see the world. Elsa builds amazing relationships with her inlaws Tony and Rose. She literally transforms from a city girl with no responsibilities to a hard working farm girl. Her determination and strength is amazing! She keeps at it until she learns the task at hand and then some. When the dust storms start to occur stress is put on everyone, and when push comes to shove Rafe takes off in the middle of the night leaving Elsa, their two children Ant and Loreda, even his own parents because of his dreams.
This decision leaves Elsa trying to be the stand up parent for the kids as well as trying to roll with the flow. Elsa, Tony, and Rosa stay afloat by making soap and selling what they can. But supplies were dwindling and when Ant became sick because of the dust Elsa knew she had to do what she could to provide for her kids. She takes the kids and travels to California to find a better life, although the better life is definitely not what they expected Elsa does whatever is necessary to make sure her kids are fed and keeps up the hope of a better tomorrow.
This is the first novel I have ever read by Kristen Hannah, and let me tell you my eyes are red from tears. This tale shows so much love, determination, heartbreak, sacrifices, and courage! I loved this story soo much and I can't believe how much I loved it! Once I was able to sit down and read I was gone and I had to know what happened next, what was the next misfortune or how Elsa would stand up and find her voice for her children and say when enough was finally enough. I cannot recommend this book enough, it was moving, spectacular and everything a book should be. Read it you will not be disappointed!

An interesting story that teaches you about a history. A little much about the strike and worker's rights. Sad, but it had to end that way. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

This book was super good. It was super original and I flew through it. It didn't feel like anything I've read in the past. Can't wait to read more from the author!! This book was unputdownable.

Elsa has never known love in her family. After a night of escape, she finds herself married and beginning farm life. When the Dustbowl begins, she has no choice but to migrate to California.

I knew from the very beginning that this was going to be an incredible story, and it was. This very well may end up being my favorite book of the year. Elsa is such a lovable character from the getgo. Readers can’t help but root for her throughout her tears and trials, and there are many. The historical background for the book is one that I’ve never encountered, but important and interesting to read about. The author’s note at the end was very interesting. She relates the Great Depression to today’s events, not realizing we’d be in this position as she wrote and researched the story. This was an epic saga, reminiscent of the Grapes of Wrath, that all will love.

The Four Winds comes out 2/9/21

“Poverty was a soul crushing thing. A case that tightened around you it’s pinpricks of light closing a little more at the end of each desperate, unchanged day.”

“Heartache had been a part of her life so long it has become as familiar as the color of her hair or the slight curve of her spine.”

The Four Winds follows the story of Elsa Martinelli. Rejected by her family, Elsa becomes pregnant and marries an Italian immigrant named Rafe and moves from her parents' wealthy home to a farm. Over the next few years, she works tirelessly to care for her mother and father-in-law, husband, and two children. However, the Dust Bowl wrecks their fields and their way of life as they struggle to get by with no money and no crops to sell. When her husband abandons them and her son Ant's lungs nearly give out from the dust, Elsa packs up her and her two children and drives to California in search of a better life.

Once in California, Elsa realizes that California isn't the golden land so many have described. Jobs are hard to come by for "okies" fleeing the Dust Bowl and Elsa, Loreda, and Ant are forced to live in a tent and live off of meager pay for picking cotton. As their conditions and mistreatment worsens, Loreda is pulled into a group of communists fighting for better treatment and pay for migrant workers as Elsa works to keep her children fed and clothed. As things get worse, however, she realizes that hard work might not be enough.

This book was incredible. I shouldn't be surprised as a long-time fan of Kristin Hannah, but this book once again blew me away, especially the last quarter. Elsa's lifelong search for love in her family, her husband, and her children and her drive to care for them create such a beautiful story of motherhood. I couldn't help but root for Elsa as she fought against horrible odds and circumstances. I'll admit that I didn't care for Loreda as much as she fit the rebellious teenager caricature.

The ending of this book broke my heart, but wow. What an ending and what an amazing book. Read it!

Kristin Hannah never fails to draw me into her fictional world and keep me there until I turn that final page. This story was so captivating that I felt like I was right there with these characters. It felt so real that at times it was difficult to transition back into the real world.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone.

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah is a wonderful, heartbreaking, epic journey and is an excellent historical fiction novel. This novel will grip you from beginning to end. Once you start reading, you will not be able to tear yourself away from the stunning plot. You will forget your job, your responsibilities, your family...just kidding, but you will definitely be absorbed into this complex, intricate journey of a young woman coming into her own and overcoming the large amount of obstacles thrown her way to find her way to redemption. Do yourself a favor, and read this book.

The main character is Elsa Martinelli and she and her children live in a very difficult time and era: 1930s Midwest (Texas). The time of the post-stock market crash, down and out economy, the dust bowl center of the US, and in the center of this, Elsa is trying to eek out a living in a rural area with less then stellar results. Her choice in the end: does she take her children to California in order to find a sliver of a chance at survival, or does she stay with the sad, decreped land that she inhabits now which has thus far resulted in poverty, scarcity, and emotional emptiness?

Elsa has been through so much growing up, a difficult childhood, growing up too soon due to necessity, marrying into a loveless match, but being able to have children that she loves, and the eternal hope that somewhere, somehow things can be better.

I loved Elsa. She is strong, she has fire, she has gumption, she has a foundation of love and forgiveness for others despite not being afforded that in her past. She does not realize how strong and intelligent she truly is. She is a force to be reconned with. I love that she fights for her family and her children's future. I love the independence. Is she perfect? Nope. Does she always make the best choices? Nope. But who does? And those imperfections make me love her even more. Her journey is hard, it is remarkable, it is brave, and I cannot lie and say I did not tear up every now and then while reading her story.

I am not going to lie, this is not an easy read. There is pain, there is heartache, there is not always justice. It is a difficult time for many people and the odds are stacked against the characters, but the fortitude and the drive is what draws you back to the story again and again.

An excellent read from an excellent author.

5/5 stars Truly a gem.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this wonderful ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR, Instagram, and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon, B&N and Instagram accounts upon publication.

Love love love. This was a wonderful and heartfelt story. It was about the relationship between a mother and a daughter and a relationship with oneself. This book was about learning to love yourself even when the world has told you not to. Typical Kristin Hannah fashion, you never know what she is going to write about, but when she does, it knocks you off your feet. Well done.

This is one of just a few books that I have read by this author but has been on of my favorite books in the past 10 years. I felt educated as I followed Elsa and her family through the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl and her courageous move to California. Tony and Rose staying behind was so sad and I felt bad for Elsa over and over again - if it wasn't her Mom, Dad and siblings treating her like garbage, then her husband up and leaves, her daughter blames her...all she has that means anything to her it seems like she loses. But, after the move to California her bond with her daughter becomes unbreakable. Hard doesn't even begin to describe the life they live there, and while reading it my heart broke as I knew it was based on actual events.

I didn't care for the ending on this one, and won't ruin it for anyone else who wants to read it. But, I still give it 5 stars and would highly recommend it.

I wanted to rave about this title.  It had so many positive things going for it, but the story just never reached its full potential for me.

What I loved: 
Time period. The Dust Bowl and Great Depression. 
Writing: Immersive and vivid. I could almost feel the dust in my chest, heat on my skin, and the hunger in my belly. 
Characters: Elsa's strength as both a woman and a mother is admirable. When I tried to put myself in her shoes it felt overwhelming. I really appreciated the way the relationship between her and her daughter evolved. 

What I didn't love:
Tone: It is relentlessly bleak.  I mean it takes place during a time of immense, almost unbearable hardship, so . . .Ending: I kept waiting for the big culminating moment. When it happened it was jarring, melodramatic and a bit surreal. I felt manipulated and I didn't agree with where the author took certain characters. My reaction was, "What? Are you kidding me? Come on!" 

One surprising yet positive side effect is that after reading this book I've been looking at the material things in my life differently.  Just our day-to-day life in a comfortable home. Having plentiful food, ample clothing, and steady employment is something that I never take for granted, but this book shed a new light on those luxuries. 

This is the 9th Kristin Hannah book I've read.

Wonderful book . Hannah has a way of creating heartbreakingly beautiful characters. This one is as good as The Great Alone!
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

There isn't too many topics that Kristin Hannah couldn't write and make them enjoyable... even the Great Depression

This was a really interesting look at the dust bowl and life during the great depression as well as how the US citizen migrant workers were treated. An especially relevant read for current times

Maybe this was the wrong time for me to read this particular book; I found it heartbreakingly depressing to read, with very little bright spots to keep me going. This will not be one of my favorite Kristin Hannah titles; I had to stop and start the book multiple times to actually finish.

This book was AWESOME! We begin the book meeting main character, Elsa and her 'well to do' family. 'Well to do' does not mean kind, generous or loving. Fast forward and Elsa is on a Texas farm with her husband, their two children and her in laws. They are living through the depression when the Dust Bowl begins and continues for years. The live stock are gone, the crops are gone and you just don't think that things could get any worse. Well, they do! Elsa will do what it takes to keep her children safe.

This is not one of those feel good, everything is going to be wonderful kind of stories. It does, however, show the power of a woman and what she can accomplish for those she loves. This is the kind of book that you read when you are looking for an ugly cry moment.

My thanks to Netgalley and St Martin's Press for this advanced readers copy. This book is due to release in February 2021.

Kristin Hannah has written another heart wrenching book capturing the hard times during the Dust Bowl. Her characters are well developed along with the devastating descriptions of the land, poverty and the struggle to stay alive. Her writing is reminiscent of John Steinbeck. Along with the hard times they endured there was also a love for one another and the courage to help their fellow man. Well written and researched by a gifted author!

As soon as I began reading The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah, I thought of this famous photograph:



The woman gives us a hefty dose of despair. She reminds me of the main character of Elsa. When we first meet her, she is an outcast, a misfit. Her family treats her differently because of her bout with an illness when she was younger. At twenty-five, she is sheltered and not allowed to do much more than stay in the house.

One night she gets dressed up to go out on the town like a normal woman and her father tries to stop her. She goes anyway and fueled by her anger; she does something regrettable that sets the course of her life.

Soon she’s married to Rafe, an Italian immigrant five years younger than her, and shunned by her parents. Elsa moves in with his parents, Tony and Rosa. She works on their struggling wheat farm.

This is during the Great Depression when the Dust Bowl sweeps through Texas, leaving many fighting for their survival. Rafe is a dreamer who wants more from life, and he chooses to leave Elsa and their children. As she struggles to care for the farm and her kids, Elsa decides to head to California. There are rumors of things being better out west. Well, they couldn’t be much worse, could they?

Once in California with her children, she lives in poverty, nearly starving. Her son goes barefoot until he receives a pair of hand-me-down shoes with holes in them. The only work available is brutal cotton-picking then in the other season, picking fruit. Elsa and her kids live in a tent and barely make enough money to get food. Finally, she gets a job where she can live in a cottage but she is constantly in debt because the owner of the farm forces his workers to buy everything on credit. She can’t get ahead, no matter how hard she works.

I kept waiting for Elsa’s luck to turn. But the hardship is bleak and never-ending. Things look up a little when she meets Jack, a man who tries to organize workers into a union and believes in communism. Elsa’s strong-willed daughter, Loreda turns out to be just as tough as Elsa whose transformation in the book is heroic.

As I read this book, I could almost feel the scorch of the sun burning my skin, the dry air, the dust-clogged atmosphere. I felt the sting of poverty and rumble of a hungry stomach. Kristin’s writing is, as usual, top-notch.

If you’re wanting to read an uplifting story, this is not the book for you. It is extremely heavy and depressing. It’s all about hard times and heartbreak.

The dust storms of the Texas panhandle have been devastating for Elsa and her family who already faced insurmountable obstacles. Leaving Texas and moving to California in hopes of dreams coming true ended in more heartbreak.

While The Four Winds is disturbing, it is also compelling. What I liked about this book is that it is well written and solid with believable characters who are tenacious and brave.

What I absolutely did not like was the author espousing socialism and communism later in the book. Have you really researched these -isms that promise failure, Ms. Hannah, like Cuba, Venezuela, and the USSR? Don’t forget about those countries that tried it and then rejected it, like Israel, India, and Sweden. Your support of communism was as disturbing to me as your story.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I don't have enough good things to say about this book. I honestly expected to be let down because I didn't think it could get any better after The Great Alone, but wow, this is DAZZLING. And the relevancy!! I know Kristin Hannah had no way of predicting current times, but the parallels between The Four Winds and modern day really hit home. There are so many lessons and takeaways in this story. Brilliant characterization, rich scenery, and a heart-wrenching plot will make this an instant best-seller. Well done.