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jdubbs1110's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Child death and Grief
thursdd4y's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Miscarriage, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
bookswithnichol's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Sexism, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism
annikamanika's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I was in tears within the first few chapters, and I found myself in spontaneous tears repeatedly. Some of it was the author’s intention, and some of it was how I perceived it through a sense of relating to my own life.
The book opens about 10 years before the Depression and the Dustbowl, and it centers around a young woman (Elsa) who is constantly made to feel and told outright that she is unlovable and even unlikable the way she is by her parents and her sisters. Their highest aspiration for her is to live a quiet life, alone in her parents' home. It centers around how Elsa learns to love herself, how she finds her voice, and how her childhood informs her adult choices.
I HAAATED the way it ended, but it makes sense. It is tragic and has many triggers, but it is beautiful.
I will also mention that I listened to this as an audio book which has commentary from the author as bonus material. I highly recommend it.
Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Sexism, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content and Police brutality
jennaviolet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Death of parent, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Abandonment
themdash's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Sexism, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
slahlum's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Death, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
sophia_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, and Religious bigotry
astoriareader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
- It is the 1920s in a small farming community in the Texas Panhandle. Elsa Martinelli grew up in a wealthy family, who never appreciated her & make her feel hard to love. At age 25, she hooks up with Rafe, and she winds up pregnant. They get married, and she moves in with Rafe and his parents, Rosa and Tony, on their farm.
- Fast forward, it is 1930s. Along the stock market crash & The Great Depression, there are also several years of drought and The Dust Bowl. Elsa has two kids now, Ant & Lareda, and with no end in sight to the dust storms, Elsa abandon their home and flee to California where they hope work and a better life await. The book details what happens when the family arrives in California.
- As my first read of 2024, I wanted to start off with a book by one of my favorite authors. This marks the fourth book I’ve read by Hannah, with the others being: The Great Alone, The Women, The Nightingale.
- Hannah is an expert at character development & writing strong female characters. I always learn something when reading her historical fictions. In this one, I learned a lot that I didn’t know about the Dust Bowl & migrants.
- I thoroughly enjoyed the bonds that develop among the characters in the book, and the imagery and vivid descriptions of the surroundings were also very well done.
- It is definitely a sweeping story, and it is a hard one to read.
- My only complaint about the book is all the characters were white, and I would have enjoyed different perspectives about the experiences of BIPOC folks.
- Kudos to Hannah for clearly spending a lot of time researching the era & the topics covered in the book.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Minor: Chronic illness
sarahfeller's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic