Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

112 reviews

kmh20's review against another edition

challenging sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Grief, and Death of parent

thingsmeganreads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Abandonment

bubblebot's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

a very insightful book into the hardship that some people faced during the american great depression.
the book will affect how i view some things in the future. it has caused change in me and that is the biggest compliment i can give a book.

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

jillianlottie26's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, and Classism

readingkatastrophiee's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I really wanted this to be more of a character study, but unfortunately the characters were all pretty archetypal and basic. Everyone just exists as a tool to progress the story. Elsa is the one character you could maybe argue had some depth and growth. And then maaaaaaaybe Loreda. Regardless, I accepted that with little complaint and even appreciated the role Elsa filled as protagonist. Very cool to have a more timid wallflower as the lead, even if that could have still been explored further.

Other than that, I didn’t have much issue with the story until the end. Overall, the pacing was fine. It was generally fast-paced with a couple minor moments when I thought perhaps we were getting too much description of day-to-day life or wondered what the heck else could possibly happen lol. 

Then we get to the ending, which is where the majority of my grievances lie. When I was roughly 100 pages from the end (book is about 450 pages), I was really wondering when things were going to start to wrap up just because it didn’t feel like the story was winding down at all despite being somewhat close to the end. Then at like T-minus 70 pages it just goes WHAMBAMALAKAZAM and the pacing becomes a ridiculous break-neck speed to the point where I damn near got whiplash. I was smiling and chuckling incredulously at happenings that were clearly intended to be sad or emotional. And I’m an easy crier! I teared up at other things in this book, so it’s not like I’m Stone-Cold Steve Austin. 
And ultimately the ending left me wondering what the point of it all was. Like idk why I just read all of that. For what.

3 stars because, aside from the ending, I had an enjoyable (can I say that despite this being a story of suffering???) time and learned a lot about the Dust Bowl era. I know next to nothing about history, but it felt accurate enough to me. Also was not boring.

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Grief

weasley1912's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense 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

4.0

Once again KH hits with incredible story telling with a powerful and emotional back drop. I have given her other books all 5☆ but I think I have to bump this down a little . I was both invested in the story and found myself avoiding it because it was such a downer. The ending was very powerful and I even cried a little. Very moving. Very stressful that it feels like we are heading back to this . 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

booksnart2023's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense 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? It's complicated

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Miscarriage, Violence, Police brutality, and Grief

Minor: Sexual content

beckyhofman's review

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism, and Deportation

natreadthat's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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? No

4.0

Elsa makes the tough decision to leave everything—the family farm, her in-laws, life as she knows it—and do what’s best for her children during the throes of the Great Depression: head west to California. There, she hopes to find work and settle down in the land of milk and honey. It’s only when they arrive that reality sets in. They’re seen as filthy migrants only good for working in the fields for next-to-nothing pay, left constantly trying to claw their way out of poverty. 

 

It did not go unnoticed how easy it is to see the parallels of Elsa’s story and the events from ~90 years ago and what is still happening today. Environmental disasters, years of economic hardship, and flailing political solutions aren’t just a thing of the past. This book does a great job of reminding you that sometimes even hard work isn’t enough when you’re stuck in a disastrous cycle. 

 

I can’t say I enjoyed The Four Winds. It was a sad, harrowing look into how the land turned against those who called the Great Plains home and left them desperately choosing between abandoning everything or risking death by dust pneumonia. It did, however, vividly tell the story of hardship, bravery, and comradely of everyday people who are forced to be resilient in times of desperation. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Violence, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Child death, Sexual content, and Police brutality

geminisoul's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is one of those stories that makes you stop and reflect on your own inner strength and resilience. It truly shines a light on what people went through during that time period. The author has does an outstanding job of creating characters that seem to leap off the page. They are not perfect but they are so human in some of the best, and for some worst, ways. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death and Pregnancy

Minor: Bullying, Miscarriage, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, and Deportation