What a book! Wow!!
If you want a strong, courageous, downright heart wrenching novel with a woman named Elsa Martinelli and her lionhearted children, this is it!
Elsa Martinelli has a good life living on a farm with her in-laws and two children in Texas during the 1930's.

Then in the blink of an eye --- The dust bowl comes with no rain, wind storms and no crops! Their farm animals are dying, crops are withered, and food and water are scarce! People have dust pneumonia.
Life has taken a dramatic turn!
Elsa decides after much turmoil to take her children and seek out a better life in California.
"Courage is fear you ignore." She will make this journey for her family!
This is the land of hope, good and plenty!
Will they find the rainbow or just more devastation?

At this time in our country with our own pandemic, this is certainly an emotional, thought provoking novel that I read deliberately.
I could feel all the pain, heartache and challenges during this time in history and how similar they are at this present time to then!
Ten stars for this brilliant story!
It will not be forgotten anytime soon!

"The four winds have blown us here, people from all across this country, to the very edge of this great land, and now, at last, we make our stand, fight for what we know to be right. We fight for our American dream, that it will be possible again."

Elsa Martinelli and her children moved west for a better life. The Dust Bowl and Great Depression forced families to leave behind their barren, dust-laden lands that they loved despite hardships. Elsa bravely lets the winds cast their fate at a new future in pursuit of the American dream.

Kristin Hannah portrays the life of the farmer struggling to save their families. They faced deplorable conditions, minuscule wages and greedy landowners treating them like migrant workers. Despite disparity, they refused to give up, stood for what's right and demanded to be treated as American citizens.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for the early read in exchange for an honest review. The grit and determination Elsa displayed was a powerful reminder that although women are often depicted as the fairer sex, that's not a fair generalization.

Brave women fought to protect their families, worked alongside the men in grueling conditions and were heroes to their loved ones. Although this a fictional account, women like Elsa wore the pants in the family. That chapter is often overlooked in history books but Hannah's "The Four Winds" gives homage to those heroic women.

I think my eyes are bleeding. They cried themselves to death. They cannot function properly anymore.

My heart hurts. It is already broken. My tears drained. I cannot gather my emotions anymore because they’re at everywhere. This is real heart ripping, soul crushing and truly earth shattering, shaking you to the core reading experience!

Ms. Hannah did it again! She shattered my soul in tiny pieces and captured my heart as like she did with Nightingale, Great Alone, Firefly Lane. I turned into a human mash and I don’t know how long I find the strength to turn back to my normal self!

This book takes place in 1930’s Texas: the time of Dust Bowl, Stock Market Crash, the very same time of people who suffer from poverty, homelessness, despair, starvation. They lost their hopes and own paths, struggling, grief stricken, witnessing to lose everything they’d worked for! These are toughest times to test people’s patience and survival skills.

Elsa Martinelli has to make a choice like her neighbors do: she may stay with her two kids and fight for her land or go west to settle in California for better life opportunities.
Her life can never be defined as a fairytale. Till her childhood times she has been forced to be a survivor, a fighter. She fought with serious illness, she worked hard to earn love of her parents who never respected or accepted who she is.

And after getting pregnant she was forced to marry an elder man she didn’t love. But with her marriage, she earned a real family: devoted support of in-laws: Rose and Tony. For the first time she realized how to be loved from deep in your heart.

Once upon a time, she was a loner, introverted bookworm girl but times have changed, everything became tougher. The circumstances pushed her grown up faster and wear her big girl pants to adjust the new reality of her new life.

So she raises from her ashes by turning herself a hard working farmer and a great mother. She can do anything for the love of her kids. Maybe the wrong thought patterns she inherited from her judgmental parents made her think she was not strong woman but she couldn’t be so wrong. She is tough, brave, kind hearted and a true fighter. It’s impossible not to respect and love her. She is one of the best characters Ms. Hannah created.

I don’t want to give much spoiler not to ruin your reading experience but I have to say, this is not easy, soft journey for you. It will shake you, break you, hurt you, slap you, crash you. It’s so effective, tremendously heartbreaking because it’s honest and realistic. The tragedies people face, the despair, grief, hunger, powerlessness test their mental and physical strength.

It’s poetic, shocking, heart wrenching, tear jerking, poignant!

I have no words left. I am human shell right now. This book took away all the words from my mouth. I can only say I loved it so much even though it hurt me a lot.

Special thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sharing another fantastic Kristin Hannah’s book’s arc copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

2.5/ 3 stars...this is hard one to rate because my heart wants to give Kristin Hannah way more. However, this story never reached its full potential for me. There were so many parts that pulled at my heart and had the tears flowing but then it went off in a different direction.
I loved Elsa and her daughter Loreda, there is such a powerful story to be told between them.
I enjoyed learning about this period in history as well, I felt like it was something I had learned in school but not to this degree. This story puts a face to the Great Depression and The Dust Bowl.

Where this story got off track and went to left field for me was when they finally went to California. For me once they arrived there and things still didn't improve it was so disheartening. Then they got involved with Communist and I felt like that didn't fit into the spirit of the book. I didn't enjoy reading about any of that and I skimmed most of those pages to see if the story changed and then Loreda is back in Texas and the book ends.

I'm honestly not sure how to feel, I guess when reading one of Kristin Hannah's books you always are waiting for that huge moment that gets you and sucks you and with this one it almost happened in so many places throughout the book but it never fully got there.

This book is out February 2021. Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martins Press for my advanced ebook copy.

I truly don't know if Kristin Hannah could possibly write anything other than a 5 star book- her storytelling is so completely captivating that I'm immediately transported to whatever world she's created. I laughed, I cried, and now I feel lonely- I miss Elsa and Loreda so much!!

Set during the Great Depression, Elsa, a 25 year old spinster from a city in Texas is sent away by her family. She ends living with an Italian family on a farm before making the great trek to California in search of a better life for her family because of the great dust bowl. The Four Winds is a beautiful story of perseverance, fighting for what is right, and a mother’s love for her children. As always, Kristin Hannah writes with passion and love. It’s an amazing read with phenomenal characters that I absolutely loved.
Kristin Hannah has completed yet another masterpiece. I cannot wait for this book to come out so my friends and customers can read this wonderful book

Wow, this was a tear jerker. I didn't know that much about this time period but this book really brought it all to life. You think about what we are all suffering through now and this woman and her family didn't have it easy at any point in time. A life of suffering and struggle and not much happiness... Very very sad that at certain points I just had to put it down because it was so painful to read...

I’m not going to give you a synopsis of this book – that’s what the blurb is there for. Instead, I’m going to tell you how this book made me feel.
Hannah has a way of writing strong women in very well researched moments in history that is unparalleled. As a mother, Elsa’s story and love for her family shook me to my core. I felt as though I was on every step of Elsa’s journey with her. I felt longing, frustration, heart break, desperation, anger and boy did tears fall. There isn’t a single moment of this book that did not resonate with me.

I’ll admit, I wasn’t familiar with the American dust bowl (thank you education system for failing me) prior to picking up The Four Winds, but I know I was in good hands. Kristin Hannah, you queen of historical fiction, you did it again!

You can pick up a text book and read about the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl, but until you read this book by Kristen Hannah you will never experience how these event impacted people's lives. You will never feel the emotion, the trauma and the devastation on a personal level. Her research is impeccable, but more than that, what she brings to life on these pages makes you feel as if you were right there with them. The suffering is stifling, so much so you cannot help but feel the pain and cry. You cannot understand what it took to survive. How can you feel reading a textbook with facts and figures what humanity had to withstand on a daily basis? You can't. Ms. Hannah with her outstanding ability to create this novel, gives us, on a personal level, what these people endured. Her female characters are strong, but then I would think that is true of those in real life. Actually the way this is written, you would think this is biographical instead of fictional. Amazing!

Every book I have read by Ms. Hannah is better than the one before. This is no exception. The "Nightingale" excellent, "The Great Alone" excellent, but this is more outstanding, if that's even possible. As difficult a book to read given the times we are going through currently, I am glad I had the opportunity to do so. If you do not pick up any other book this year, this is one not to miss!! My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC. I was so thrilled (thank you so much perfect read while in recovery) when I saw that I was approved to read this book. First let me say I feel my review will not do this book justice. I loved this book. Kristin Hannah did it again. She is a master at evoking all possible emotions with her writing. Believe me I felt just about all the emotions possible. If I could have laughed or jumped for joy I would have. I cried, maybe I should say I wept (but who doesn't with a KH book?)
I loved Elsa and how strong and brave she was even though she thought otherwise. I loved the person she was, loved the person she became, the person she will forever be in my mind and the people she touched in her life. I loved the majority of the characters in this story. There were a few I didn't won't say anymore on that (will give some of the story away). I know this is a work of fiction but it felt so real so true. Elsa and her family's story will stay with me for a long time and one that I will recommend time and again. I do know I will be buying this in hardcover and hope they offer a signed copy. This book will definitely be on my bookshelf front and center!

Kristin Hannah at her finest. This story is fantastic and though it’s historical fiction, it’s so relevant to today’s society.

The Great Depression and the early days of migrant workers’ strikes make for a riveting read. This novel of poverty, terrifying climate events, and fortitude is a must read. The main character is so human, you feel as if you are her best friend. I can't wait to introduce this book to my friends and patrons.

Wow! When you read a book
written by Kristin Hannah you know going into it, you will meet people who have strength, courage and true grit ! A book that will teach you, stay with you, and writing that pulls you into the story , and for the entire book you are there, with the characters, their families, their struggles and the triumphs.
Elsa is born into a rich family who doesn’t know her, and doesn’t love her. She has this desire to be loved. She wants a life where she can be judged on more than her appearance. When she meets Rafe she mistakes his lust for love and when she becomes pregnant and her family disowns her, it is Rafe’s family that takes her in, and Rafe marries her. Elsa grows to love Rafe but Rafe constantly wants a better life than being a farmer in Texas.
Rafes parents become the parents Elsa never had, hard-working farmers who fall on very hard times. The hard times become way too much for the couples youngest son, and he has to be taken out of the dust bowl that has become Texas, and they migrate to California hoping for a healthy and safer life. That is not what they get .
I love this family, this family went through so many hard times, so much pain and suffering, all they had was their love for each other.
This is a book about America and about migrant workers. This is a book about the farmers and the hard times that befell Americans in the 1930s, The Great Depression and the fallout from the stock market crash.
I loved Elsa, she had more grit and courage than she ever thought she had.
I am a huge fan of this author and I love that she writes of strong females and lives that don’t break them but make them stronger and mold the generations after them to be just as strong .
A huge 5 star “ don’t miss “ read!
A huge thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review .

Oh my heart!! Kristin Hannah is my absolute favorite author and her latest does not disappoint. The Four Winds is a beautifully written book that is heartbreaking, inspiring, courageous and will leave you with every single feeling. Living in Texas, I know the history of the dust bowl, but reading the details and descriptions made it all so real. Absolutely loved this beautiful book. Thank you to netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

It is 1930s Texas and the depression, drought and the Dust Bowl has led to desperation. Elsa Martinelli has to make a very difficult decision to move with her two children to California, with hopes of a much better life. Instead they are met with prejudice and issues like inflation. However, Elsa is indomitable, and her courage and strong will shines through time and again.

Elsa never had an easy life. As a teenager she nearly succumbed to serious illness, and this had a long-term effect on her life. Also, she never quite measured up to her sisters and never felt the strong arms of love from her parents. As Elsa became pregnant, she was forced to marry. Blessedly, her in-laws, Rose and Tony, welcomed her with open arms. However, as the years progressed, now the mother of two children, extreme conditions made life impossible in Texas. And, like many families, Elsa wanted something better for her children.

Elsa made the perfect protagonist. A strong woman who rose time and again, despite the incredible odds against her. Elsa felt so very real to me. I connected with her from the very beginning, whether as a woman living vicariously through the books she reads, as a daughter who couldn't measure up, as a wife who felt completely alone and as a mother who would move mountains for her children.

I only discovered Kristin Hannah this year, and have been chipping away at her backlist. Actually, I had planned to read The Great Alone last month, but time got away from me. At this point I have read The Nightingale, Summer Island, Winter Garden, Fly Away, Firefly Lane and True Colors. So, I have a lot more to read and greatly look forward to the opportunity. Kristin Hannah mixes amazing talent with extensive research, thus always producing incredible stories that manage to compel me from the very first page to the very last word.

This touching story broke me. To be frank, I bawled. Kristin Hannah never ceases to surprise me with the quality she puts into her writing. That time in history was incredibly tragic for many people, and this book did an excellent job at reflecting that time in America. This is in stark contrast to the life we live today with the pandemic. Uncertain times then. Uncertain times now.

Many thanks to St. Martin's Press and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Kristin Hannah does it again. You root for Elsa from the beginning til the end. You feel her pain,love, anguish,and triumphs.i would love to see this book made into a movie

Stayed at home and read this beautiful heart wrenching book. Elsa - just wow. Talk about a strong female main character. She was absolutely amazing throughout the entire book. I can’t believe I finished an almost 500 page book in 4 hours, but I could not put it down.

I loved seeing Lorenda come into her own and grow into the person she was meant to be. This book played on every emotion possible. You will want to get this book when it releases February 9, 2021.

Historical fiction that will tranport you straight to Texas, 1934 and make your heart full.

This beautifully written novel tells the story of America in the 1930s, during the Great Depression. It takes place in Texas as millions of people lost their jobs to a recession while a severe drought diminished the crops. Our main character Elsa Martinelli doesn't just deal with the rough times, but also a tough family situation: she's not really accepted by her loved ones, and when she gets pregnant with her daughter Loreda, she is made to marry the father of her baby, Rafe. Due to the increasingly hopeless situation and growing poverty, Elsa is forced to make an impossible choice: whether to fight to save her family's land or go West to earn money like so many others had.

The Four Winds is a heartbreaking yet wonderful tale of a resilient woman in a difficult time. I don't usually reach for historical fiction, but Kristin Hannah has a way of winning me over. The writing is incredible, which made me even more attached to the characters and their world. I can't wait to read more novels from this author.

*Thank you to the Publisher for a free advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Incredibly compelling story and characters, another stellar offering from Kristin Hannah. Telling the story of the Depression and Dust Bowl from the perspective of one family of strong women, Hannah brings the era to life again, and educates readers to many issues that were glossed over in American history class. One can’t help but make comparisons to what’s occurring now, making the book even more timely and moving.

The Four Winds is Kristin Hannah's best work yet. Set in The Great Depression and Dust Bowl Era. Elsa and her family learn what it is like to fight to survive. Set in the Panhandle of Texas, this book shows what it is like to live on a farm and live just on wheat and crops.

Rosa takes Elsa in as her own and teaches Elsa everything her own mother did not. Elsa fights to survive and is the glue that holds that family together. As Elsa and family set out West she will do what it takes, but at what cost?

One of the highlights of the book is Ms. Hannah's ability to research. I felt like I was there with Elsa, Rafe, Rosa and Tony.

Thank you Netgalley and St. Martins for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.