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planreadrepeat's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Violence, and Police brutality
Minor: Gun violence, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and Medical trauma
shelbyjo's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I'll never understand how Kristin Hannah does it. I swear each new book of hers becomes my favorite. The phenomenal storyline & brilliant characters combined with Julia Whelan's incredible narration created one heck of a masterpiece. I literally would have listened to this all in 1 sitting if it weren't for work and life getting in my way! It was sad and heartbreaking, but also inspiring and beautiful. Loved it so much!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Physical abuse, Violence, and Police brutality
hungryandhappy's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.0
*Netgalley arc*
Brutal, raw, emotional and hopeful. I don't think I can put into words all the feelings this book put me through. I was so lost just like Elsa, and infuriated, just like Loreda! I wanted to scream so loudly.
Elsa comes from a family that didn't give her love because, in their opinion, she was ugly so not worthy. She takes the love or what looks like it, from the first boy that's willing to give it to her and who sees her more than her parents do. This leads to Elsa marrying into a immigrant italian family of farmers in Texas.
It stops raining and things start looking horribly for the family and Elsa is left by her husband and she has to make a hard decision when the awful sandstorms and just too hot weather risk taking one of her kids away.
Elsa, her daughter Loreda and Ant, the little son, embark on a journey to look for a better life. What they find isn't better; they get treated worse than animals, underpaid, exploited, denied basic human rights, and more.
What touches you about the story is not only the events, that still happen too often, but the courage of this woman, left alone, who will do anything to give her kids a better life and future. The strength of these two women, mother and daughter, will make you cheer for them and will take you to an emotional journey like not many others.
Brutal, raw, emotional and hopeful. I don't think I can put into words all the feelings this book put me through. I was so lost just like Elsa, and infuriated, just like Loreda! I wanted to scream so loudly.
Elsa comes from a family that didn't give her love because, in their opinion, she was ugly so not worthy. She takes the love or what looks like it, from the first boy that's willing to give it to her and who sees her more than her parents do. This leads to Elsa marrying into a immigrant italian family of farmers in Texas.
It stops raining and things start looking horribly for the family and Elsa is left by her husband and she has to make a hard decision when the awful sandstorms and just too hot weather risk taking one of her kids away.
Elsa, her daughter Loreda and Ant, the little son, embark on a journey to look for a better life. What they find isn't better; they get treated worse than animals, underpaid, exploited, denied basic human rights, and more.
What touches you about the story is not only the events, that still happen too often, but the courage of this woman, left alone, who will do anything to give her kids a better life and future. The strength of these two women, mother and daughter, will make you cheer for them and will take you to an emotional journey like not many others.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Murder
mldavisreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
Adult historical fiction. Elsa lives with her parents and sisters in a small Texas town in the late 1920s. As women are chopping their hair and showing off their legs, Elsa is stuck at home because her parents see her as sickly and also as homely. When Elsa decides to make her own red silk dress and go out on the town one night, she can't imagine how much that choice changes the course of her life. She meets Rafe Martinelli, they hook up, and see each other a few more times until Elsa's mother realizes with her horror that her unmarried daughter is pregnant. Elsa gets unceremoniously dumped at the Martinelli farm, completely disowned from her parents. This is only the beginning of Elsa's story. As a Martinelli, she takes to the hard work involved in living on the farm. When the dust storms start in the 1930s, the family starts using up their food reserves. Eventually a health scare forces Elsa to make the difficult decision to head west with her children to the promised land of opportunity on the west coast. But life in California is not what they expect, and they become migrant workers living in a field. As the Martinelli family tries to stay fed, clothed, and healthy they face countless obstacles. But they also find friendship and community in the midst of their hardship.
Like so many of Kristin Hannah's other novels this book is hard to read. The situations are tough--listening to the narrator describe the dust storms was unbelievable. Seeing Elsa's situation on the cotton farm was infuriating. Knowing that so many of these issues that the country faces decades ago are still an issue was exasperating. But this book was so powerful, about simple acts of kindness, about a friend that would do anything for you, about a cause so dear to your heart that it's worth risking your life for. Don't pick this up for a light beach read, this is the antithesis of fluff. But if you're in the mood for a great female-centered family drama, this one is a winner.
Thank you to libro.fm and the publisher for an advanced listening copy of this book.
Like so many of Kristin Hannah's other novels this book is hard to read. The situations are tough--listening to the narrator describe the dust storms was unbelievable. Seeing Elsa's situation on the cotton farm was infuriating. Knowing that so many of these issues that the country faces decades ago are still an issue was exasperating. But this book was so powerful, about simple acts of kindness, about a friend that would do anything for you, about a cause so dear to your heart that it's worth risking your life for. Don't pick this up for a light beach read, this is the antithesis of fluff. But if you're in the mood for a great female-centered family drama, this one is a winner.
Thank you to libro.fm and the publisher for an advanced listening copy of this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Gun violence and Police brutality
Minor: Miscarriage
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