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crabbytaco's review
adventurous
emotional
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Police brutality, Abandonment, and Animal death
Minor: Murder and Deportation
abbasaurusrex's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This was my first Kristin Hannah. I saw someone describe the author’s books as the Hallmark movies of historical fiction and now, having finished this, I can confirm that is accurate. Equal parts trauma porn and pearl clutching, this book just did not strike the right chords for me. I appreciated the view into a particular place and time in history that I knew little about, but found it a bit overdone, as it seems like the author is trying to address every single hardship of the Dust Bowl farmers/migrant workers through a single family’s experience. By the end of the book I almost felt sorry for the characters, not as victims of history, but as victims of the author. I just don’t enjoy watching people get dumped on, no matter how “historically accurate” the author might claim the events to be. The character development also didn’t hit. I found all of the characters to be a bit one-note and inconsistent, and their “development” (if you can call it that) seemed forced and incomplete. It’s almost like the author said, “I wanna write about the Dust Bowl,” instead of saying “here are some themes I want to explore, and I think the Dust Bowl and this particular family is the appropriate context in which to examine those themes.” She somehow manages to do too much and too little at the same time. Finally, there is not a single person of color in the narrative. I would have appreciated a more diverse perspective for a book that tries to tackle such a massive part of US history.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Grief, Xenophobia, Classism, and Sexism
Moderate: Miscarriage, Police brutality, Violence, and Child death
Minor: Pregnancy and Deportation
lidia7's review
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Death of parent, Child death, Classism, Miscarriage, and Death
Moderate: Abandonment, Animal death, Grief, and Police brutality
Minor: Emotional abuse, Deportation, Bullying, Religious bigotry, Blood, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Pandemic/Epidemic, Gun violence, Body shaming, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, and Animal cruelty
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