The Four Winds.

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                                           CONTAINS SPOILERS

Texas, 1934. Millions are out of work and a drought has broken the Great Plains. Farmers are fighting to keep their land and their livelihoods as the crops are failing, the water is drying up, and dust threatens to bury them all. One of the darkest periods of the Great Depression, the Dust Bowl era, has arrived with a vengeance. 

In this uncertain and dangerous time, Elsa Martinelli—like so many of her neighbors—must make an agonizing choice: fight for the land she loves or go west, to California, in search of a better life. The Four Winds is an indelible portrait of America and the American Dream, as seen through the eyes of one indomitable woman whose courage and sacrifice will come to define a generation.

 
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone comes an epic novel of love and heroism and hope, set against the backdrop of one of America’s most defining eras—the Great Depression. 

 

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Love. Hope. Courage. Sacrifice. 

I shouldn’t be surprised how heart-wrenching this book was, right? I have been reading Kristin Hannah for years now, and yet I’m in shock every single time. The Four Winds is different from her books, and I have read most of her books. The Four Winds , how do I even begin to explain? It is one of her most inspirational books that I have read. I remember learning about Great Depression when I was in high school, but it has been so long that I remember only history pieces. I felt as I learned so much about it from reading this breathtaking story. The Four Winds is not an easy book to read; it’s one of the hardest ones that I had read in a while. Despite the challenging subject, I could not pull myself away from the story. As I read, I found myself connecting with the characters. I wanted to see how things would end for them. 

I loved that the book was told in timeline format. Through the book, you saw the change in each of the characters with everything they went through. I believe that the most character developments occur in Elsa and, later, Loreda. I wasn’t fond of Loreda in the beginning, and I was not too fond of the way that she treated Elsa. I felt as if Loreda did not appreciate her. I hoped that Loreda would see that everything that Elsa was doing was for them. Elsa stayed when their father, Rafe, left when things got too hard. She had courage. I hoped that when they made it to California, their relationship would change. I live in Arizona, so I have been through few dust storms, but it wasn’t anything like it was described in The Four Winds. The descriptions of the dust storms were so vivid; I could picture it; I felt it. I felt the fear that Elsa and her family felt, especially when Ant got sick. All the descriptions in the book were incredible and terrifying at the same time, what they had to go through. I had wondered about the title, but it wasn’t long until the title made sense. It described the story. 

I was touched by the book in so many ways. It does remind me of the pandemic we are facing right now, except their situation was much worse. After reading the book, I researched my own, and I wanted to learn more. The Four Winds taught me so much about that time. I cannot even begin to imagine how to go through something like that. Elsa was my favorite, a character that you cannot help but love. Elsa faced so many challenges, but she did not give up; she kept on going. I know she did not feel it, but she was a strong woman with everything she did for her children. There’s no love like mother’s love. All through the book, I was rooting for the Martinelli family, and I wanted them to make it through it. I can feel my emotions going through me as I write this review. The Four Winds is an inspirational book that will stay with you. A story that everyone should read.