Kristin Hannah - The Four Winds review

THIS BOOK!! WOW. Kristin Hannah did it again. It's deep, powerful and I couldn't put it down! This book wasn't a happy one, BUT it was a poignant story and relates to what is happening to our world right now with COVID-19. Times are hard for Elsa. In more ways than one but she is a strong woman. In fact, most of the women of her time were. Circumstances had her making decisions she didn't want to make. But she did it and with as much grace as she could. Times were hard and she did what she had to do. I was completely immersed in Elsa's story and Kristin brought ALL. THE. FEELS. This was truly a beautiful read and gave me a book hangover; 1st of 2021!

From the number-one bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Great Alone comes a powerful American epic about love and heroism and hope, set during the Great Depression, a time when the country was in crisis and at war with itself, when millions were out of work and even the land seemed to have turned against them.

“My land tells its story if you listen. The story of our family.”

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.

The Four Winds is a rich, sweeping novel that stunningly brings to life the Great Depression and the people who lived through it—the harsh realities that divided us as a nation and the enduring battle between the haves and the have-nots. A testament to hope, resilience, and the strength of the human spirit to survive adversity, 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.

Kristin Hannah - The Great Alone review

THIS BOOK! OH MAN! I'm writing this review days after reading this book and this book is still with me. I can't stop thinking about it. It was EPIC! Now, for me, the beginning of this book was a little slow, but it soon picked up the pace and I was lost in Leni's journey.  I loved the way Kristin describes Leni's trip from Seattle to Alaska and what she and her family found when they arrived in this new land. I felt like I was there and could picture it so well. I held my breath and watched as Leni grew up in Alaska. Some were great and others had me so mad! Kristin definitely gave me ALL the FEELS in this read and I couldn't pull myself away. This was such a captivating read and left me with my first book hangover of 2018.  I can't tell you quickly enough to GO ONE-CLICK THIS BOOK! This is a journey by a young girl, who has to grow up in a unique way, and how her environment makes her into a strong woman. You'll laugh and cry with her and cheer her on.  I was totally blown away by this book. Please, do yourself a favor and don't miss this amazing story. 

**ARC provided by NetGalley for my honest review**

"A TOUR DE FORCE." —Kirkus (starred review)

Alaska, 1974.
Unpredictable. Unforgiving. Untamed.
For a family in crisis, the ultimate test of survival.

Ernt Allbright, a former POW, comes home from the Vietnam war a changed and volatile man. When he loses yet another job, he makes an impulsive decision: he will move his family north, to Alaska, where they will live off the grid in America’s last true frontier.

Thirteen-year-old Leni, a girl coming of age in a tumultuous time, caught in the riptide of her parents’ passionate, stormy relationship, dares to hope that a new land will lead to a better future for her family. She is desperate for a place to belong. Her mother, Cora, will do anything and go anywhere for the man she loves, even if means following him into the unknown.

At first, Alaska seems to be the answer to their prayers. In a wild, remote corner of the state, they find a fiercely independent community of strong men and even stronger women. The long, sunlit days and the generosity of the locals make up for the Allbrights’ lack of preparation and dwindling resources.

But as winter approaches and darkness descends on Alaska, Ernt’s fragile mental state deteriorates and the family begins to fracture. Soon the perils outside pale in comparison to threats from within. In their small cabin, covered in snow, blanketed in eighteen hours of night, Leni and her mother learn the terrible truth: they are on their own. In the wild, there is no one to save them but themselves.

In this unforgettable portrait of human frailty and resilience, Kristin Hannah reveals the indomitable character of the modern American pioneer and the spirit of a vanishing Alaska—a place of incomparable beauty and danger. The Great Alone is a daring, beautiful, stay-up-all-night story about love and loss, the fight for survival, and the wildness that lives in both man and nature.