Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

18 reviews

cassiejean's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • 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


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hjengelson's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

The best historical fiction I've ever read. I don't often cry at books, but this one, I sobbed. Such a beautiful story or resilience, perseverance, and bravery. I could not put it down. 

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yvo_about_books's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad medium-paced

3.5

Finished reading: February 16th 2025


“A warrior believes in an end she can’t see and fights for it. A warrior never gives up. A warrior fights for those weaker than herself. It sounds like motherhood to me.”

I'm a fan of Kristin Hannah's writing, and I've been meaning to read The Four Winds ever since it was published four years ago. Somehow it took me a lot longer than expected to finally do so... Probably because part of me worried about how I would react to it after seeing more than one mention of just how bleak and depressing this story was. And there is no doubt about it that The Four Winds is one of the most depressing stories I've read in a while. Not necessarily a bad thing, but it almost felt like the author researched just about ever bad event that happened in the time period, and then dumped it all on the main characters. It's one thing to read about characters trying to overcome a bad situation, but when you pile up too many tragedies it's hard not to become desensitized to it all. On top of this, I found the characters to be quite cliche and I kind of wish they would have been developed more... There was a lot of repetition going on with certain interactions and events appearing over and over. As for the characters: I absolutely hated the selfish daughter Loreda and the way she kept behaving. Elsa wasn't much better to be honest her constantly repeating that she is ugly and not worthy... This also made the ending even less credible, because after everything you've read it's hard to believe she finally finds her self-esteem. I wasn't a fan of the ending in general to be honest; I actually already suspected it was coming and it seemed the author wanted to go in this direction to add even more tragedy. Like I said before, I was already completely desensitized by then, and the only thing the author got from me was an eye roll and a sigh. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't all bad. I did love Ant and the grandparents, and I loved learning more about the time period. Still, sometimes less is more, and this story would have benefitted from a little less tragedy and more hope. I can't say it was my favorite Kristin Hannah, but I'm still glad I finally read it. 

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annafieldsforever's review

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adventurous emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This was a heart wrenching, beautiful book that just… ended. 

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whatdebsreads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes

5.0


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campbellemily's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad medium-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

5.0

It’s a book set in the Great Depression, following a family from the Dust Bowl in the Texas panhandle to the shanty towns in California. A terrible time is had by all, but it’s an excellent read with threads of hope throughout. 

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fancyjess_party's review

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adventurous challenging emotional inspiring sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25


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sizzlesteaks's review

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emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes

4.5


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erinwolf1997's review

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25


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kelseyh13's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring relaxing sad medium-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? Yes

4.25


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