Kristin Hannah

Texas, 1934. Elsa Martinelli had finally found the life she'd yearned for. A family, a home and a livelihood on a farm on the Great Plains. But when drought threatens all she and her community hold dear, Elsa's world is shattered to the winds. Fearful of the future, when Elsa wakes to find her husband has fled, she is forced to make the most agonizing decision of her life. Fight for the land she loves or take her beloved children, Loreda and Ant, west to California in search of a better life. Will it be the land of milk and honey? Or will their experience challenge every ounce of strength they possess?

The Four Winds

Texas, 1921. A time of abundance. The Great War is over, the bounty of the land is plentiful, and America is on the brink of a new and optimistic era. But for Elsa Wolcott, deemed too old to marry in a time when marriage is a woman’s only option, the future seems bleak. Until the night she meets Rafe Martinelli and decides to change the direction of her life. With her reputation in ruin, there is only one respectable choice: marriage to a man she barely knows.

By 1934, the world has changed; millions are out of work and drought has devastated the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as crops fail and water dries up and the earth cracks open. Dust storms roll relentlessly across the plains. Everything on the Martinelli farm is dying, including Elsa’s tenuous marriage; each day is a desperate battle against nature and a fight to keep her children alive.

In this uncertain and perilous time, Elsa—like so many of her neighbors—must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or leave it behind and go west, to California, in search of a better life for her family.

A Novel

Ina Faminova 

'Powerful and compelling, I loved it' Delia Owens, bestselling author of Where the Crawdads Sing The Four Winds is a deeply moving, powerful story about the strength and resilience of women and the bond between mother and daughter, by the multi-million copy number one bestselling author Kristin Hannah. She will discover the best of herself in the worst of times . . . Texas, 1934. Elsa Martinelli had finally found the life she'd yearned for. A family, a home and a livelihood on a farm on the Great Plains. But when drought threatens all she and her community hold dear, Elsa's world is shattered to the winds. Fearful of the future, when Elsa wakes to find her husband has fled, she is forced to make the most agonizing decision of her life. Fight for the land she loves or take her beloved children, Loreda and Ant, west to California in search of a better life. Will it be the land of milk and honey? Or will their experience challenge every ounce of strength they possess? From the overriding love of a mother for her child, the value of female friendship, and the ability to love again - against all odds, Elsa's incredible journey is a story of survival, hope and what we do for the ones we love. PRAISE FOR THE FOUR WINDS 'Its message is galvanizing and hopeful' The New York Times 'Through one woman's survival during the harsh and haunting Dust Bowl, master storyteller, Kristin Hannah, reminds us that the human heart and our Earth are as tough, yet as fragile, as a change in the wind.' Delia Owens, bestselling author of Where the Crawdads Sing 'Brutally beautiful.' Newsweek 'Epic and transporting, a stirring story of hardship and love...Majestic and absorbing.' USA Today 'Hannah brings Dust Bowl migration to life in this riveting story of love, courage, and sacrifice...combines gritty realism with emotionally rich characters and lyrical prose that rings brightly and true from the first line.' Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Kristin Hannah is incredible. She writes historical fiction like no one else. 

Pacing felt a bit off toward the middle/end but loved the characters 

Emily Lucie

What a beautiful story of perseverance and love in the Great Depression. A mother’s love is a powerful force, and this book so eloquently shows that a woman will battle all odds to provide for her children. 

Kristen Savage

My favorite author never misses. Loved the character progression✨ 

Taylor Silveira 

It was written well, I love a good Kristin Hannah book, but I think I’m starting to realize I’m just not a fan of historical fiction 🤷🏻‍♀️

Mariah crawford

Laura Walden

Oh man. I was warned, but still wasn’t fully prepared for how SAD this book is. Seriously, from start to freaking finish. 

In typical Kristin Hannah fashion though, closed this book feeling like I have more knowledge, empathy, and insight into the struggles of the Great Depression, specifically in the Great Plains. 

Kaitlyn Wendler

Oh man. I was warned, but still wasn’t fully prepared for how SAD this book is. Seriously, from start to freaking finish. 

In typical Kristin Hannah fashion though, closed this book feeling like I have more knowledge, empathy, and insight into the struggles of the Great Depression, specifically in the Great Plains. 

I really love Kristin Hannah’s writing. She crafted a beautiful scene setting, a tough but loving familial character set, and an u underdog protagonist that Id imagine any mother daughter pair could align with. 

Hannah highlights the abilities of humans to withstand, to persist in the face of great…depression?? The story was compelling, the development of the mother and daughter bond was beautiful, but overall this book was simply painful to read. Like…kristin, my girl….throw the reader one bone at least. A small win here or there would be nice to pull the metaphorical gun out of my mouth.  Cause damn this was depressing. 

Depressive beauty is it what it is. Would I recommend it? Idk, do you like being sad? But there are some very poignant moments of power and love that come through the dry cracked depression era earth, read it for those. Read it for the explorative youthful energy that we’ve lost, read it to remember that there is fierce love at play in this world. 

I will say I think this is the first time i’ve identified more with the responsible adult rather than the optimistic youth in a story. Who knows, maybe i’m finally wising up. 

connor arnette

I really love Kristin Hannah’s writing. She crafted a beautiful scene setting, a tough but loving familial character set, and an u underdog protagonist that Id imagine any mother daughter pair could align with. 

Hannah highlights the abilities of humans to withstand, to persist in the face of great…depression?? The story was compelling, the development of the mother and daughter bond was beautiful, but overall this book was simply painful to read. Like…kristin, my girl….throw the reader one bone at least. A small win here or there would be nice to pull the metaphorical gun out of my mouth.  Cause damn this was depressing. 

Depressive beauty is it what it is. Would I recommend it? Idk, do you like being sad? But there are some very poignant moments of power and love that come through the dry cracked depression era earth, read it for those. Read it for the explorative youthful energy that we’ve lost, read it to remember that there is fierce love at play in this world. 

I will say I think this is the first time i’ve identified more with the responsible adult rather than the optimistic youth in a story. Who knows, maybe i’m finally wising up. 



Angeli

This is my first Kristin Hannah book and I have heard a lot of good things about her books that I looked forward to finally reading one of them and since a lot of people were raving about The Four Winds, I had high expectations for it but it hurts me to say that I didn't love it. 

I understand that it's supposed to be emotional which is even why I was excited to read it because I like a good cry but this was just overdoing it. I knew there was going to be a series of unfortunate events but it felt like the book was just trying too hard to make me cry, trying too hard to be a tearjerker. The melodrama was just too excessive for me and the ending, I already knew it was gonna happen. It was very predictable, very formulaic that I thought I'd be more surprised if that didn't happen after all the things that happened before that. It didn't bring me to tears, it only made me cringe and want to finish the book faster so I could move on to my next read. And that last hospital scene was just ugh. 

I almost DNF'd it at 80% because it was too slow, it was too repetitive (so many dust storms, Loreda being rebellious then being nice then being rebellious again then being nice again, struggles with limited money and resources, etc.). I was waiting for something different, exciting or positive to happen. It almost felt like I was waiting for rain in the middle of a drought just like what the characters did in the story. Also, the romance towards the end felt forced. I didn't feel any butterflies in my stomach, I didn't feel the connection or chemistry between them. After 80%, the pace finally picked up and things finally started to happen but it felt rushed. I was looking forward to find out how they finally got justice and started getting fair wages that they've been fighting for but nope, that didn't happen. 

I did appreciate that I learned a lot about the Great Depression and it gave me a glimpse of what life was back then. I also learned some valuable life lessons from it and I do feel sad for all the things that happened to them but it was just too much. The idea was great but the execution wasn't.

I really tried to like this book and I did love some parts of it but I guess this book just wasn't for me. I'm really sorry. Please don't come at me. Haha.

elizabeth

What's great about it:
- This feels like a well-researched portrayal of the Dust Bowl era, and I appreciated the focus on labor organizing in California. 
- While individual characters aren't the most complex, the relationships between them are well-drawn. The mother-daughter relationship, in particular, is nuanced and complex enough to take its place at center stage in the back half of the novel. 
- The focus on land--what it gives us and what we owe it--during a profound shift in climate feels prescient.

What's holding me back:
- I don't totally understand why, by the end of the novel, our younger protagonist becomes so dead-set on calling Elsa a "warrior." I don't know where the allusion to war or violence comes from or why the focus on this word was so necessary. I don't get it, and it feels too important not to get.
- "Communist or a rabble-rouser. This was about fighting for the rights of every American." Hannah makes some watered-down political statements via her characters. She seems to step back from the boldness of labor organizing and the ideology that empowered it by assigning the fullness of this ideology to a secondary character. 
- Some scenes--and sometimes the novel itself--felt rushed and packed, without enough space or pace to let anything sink in or feel important to me as a reader. 

Miscellany:
- "She wished she’d never read The Age of Innocence. What good came from all this unexpressed longing? She would never fall in love, never have a child of her own." The Age of Innocence is not a book that should make anyone believe in love or long for it. Does Elsa know that? Does Kristin Hannah know that?

Very emotional ending, but in general this story was too hard for me.  Poor characters could never catch a break.

Jenny Engel

Suyash Goylit

Hope Is A Coin I Carry

There are a lot of books out there that have compelling writing or a really solid story, but once in a while, you come across a book that transcends all its flaws and delivers a story that you know will remain with you for a long time. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah is one of those stories. In the past few months, Hannah has emerged as one of my favorite authors. Her books deal with the struggles faced during the tough times, hence, it was no surprise that they drew my attention. Hannah’s stories not only take you through a tale in time but let you live through those times, and The Four Winds is a paragon of that philosophy. It’s not her most popular book. That would be the critically acclaimed and fan-favorite The Nightingale. Neither is it her best-written book yet. In a small subset of what I’ve read by Kristin Hannah so far, I believe that would be Winter Garden. Despite not being either of those things, I would rank this solemn tale of the great depression above both those books, which are masterpieces in their own rights.

Ryan 

also i find it coincidental i finished this book but happy international women's day!

i do think it is a structurally astounding book. the end really did grab me hard but it also left a softly transformative and inspiring tone. maybe it's just not for me.

Tatiana

The Four Winds: 4.5/5

“A warrior believes in an end she can’t see and fights for it. A warrior never gives up. A warrior fights for those weaker than herself. It sounds like motherhood to me.”

Once again, I have cried so much that I have no more tears. 

Premise:
The Four Winds is set during the 1930s Great Depression and Dustbowl era. It follows Elsa Martinelli, a Texas woman, and her family as they struggle to survive the trying times by moving to California in search of a better life. The two perspectives we follow are Elsa and her daughter Loreda as we see this tragedy from very different points of view.

This is 100% a book about survival and one that is too scarcely told. I thought I knew about the Dustbowl, but I was wrong. The horror of dust storms that overtook Oklahoma, Texas, etc., struck me. A story of a woman facing the world's harshest while dreaming only for love. 

“Courage is fear you ignore.”

Writing:
I always seem to forget how great of a writer Kristin Hannah is. She is so captivating and a beautiful storyteller. This book is not short, but I read it all in one day. I could not put it down. This is one of those books where you get completely lost in and forget all time.

“Elsa knew that a library card—a thing they’d taken for granted all of their lives—meant there was still a future.”

Characters:
I feel like my words can't really describe these characters. You have to read about them. I see so many people reflected in the eyes of the characters presented in this book. They are crafted beautifully, and with the utmost care, it is breathtaking. Their stories are one for all American's and yet deeply personal to their own. Please just read it.

"Mothers and daughters. We save each other, si?"

Conclusion:
Ultimately, this book is phenomenal and will rip your heart out. If you feel like you've read every story historical fiction has to offer, I beg to differ. Read this one. Some pieces of this story didn't quite fit, and there were bits that I felt that stretched on for too long, but overall deserve the highest praise. 

Even if you don't like historical fiction, I think you should give this book a try. 

I'll be crying for days :')

Melissa Palmer

At times, a heartbreaking read but it lives up to all the hype. Set during the Dust Bowl, it tells the story of Elsa and her children and in-laws. I recommend it.

Barbara Williford

The Great Depression and the Dust Bowl were “hard times in America: the worst environmental disaster in our history; the collapse of the economy; the effect of massive unemployment.” Kristen Hannah unravels the hardships of American families, especially those in the great plans through the story of Elsa Martinelli. Elsa was always the invisible, unloved and under appreciated daughter and sister. Through her struggle with abandonment, the Great depression and all the challenges that she faced trying to provide for her family as a single mother, she finally finds her voice. This is an very enlightening book about these dark days in American history. A moving, must read novel.

While this book was slow paced for 3/4 of it, the last 50 or so pages made up for it. There is a great story of a mother-daughter relationship and much needed character development in them both. Historical fiction brings the spectrum of emotions with it and I think Hannah captured that in this book.

Ariel Correa

Julia

I’m not a fan of Kristin Hannah’s writing style, but I do appreciate how she wrote the characters and their development later on. The second half of the story is the saving grace for this book, even though it was fairly predictable.

Claire Cantlon

3.9/5. pretty slow and boring for the first 3/4ths of the book but has a great ending.

Q&D review: Historical fiction novel that follows a family that's living through the Great Depression and Dust Bowl in Texas. The Four Winds looks at these events with a perspective not typically used that I found refreshing. The characters were relatable and I loved them. Aspects of the story were eerily similar to life during the pandemic which made the story more interesting for me. Kristen Hannah has become an instant read for me as I really enjoy her authorial voice. Definitely recommend, even for those who aren't really historical fiction fans since I'm not myself. 

Abigail F

sofyan

wow. i did indeed ugly cry while reading this. loved it.

Starts sad and just gets sadder. Everything that can go wrong does. Hard to get through - extremely repetitive and not enough time for main character growth. 

Paige Paul

Maddy Adams

Out of the Kristin Hannah books I’ve read this has been my least favorite. Full of struggle and heartbreak and strife, it definitely got at themes of betrayal and survival and what it means to be brave. I wish there was more background as to why Elsa’s family treated her so badly besides her heart condition and her not being pretty — they seemed so harsh for those to be the only reasons.

The Four Winds

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