"Elsa smiled, thinking again of her grandfather. It had taken decades, but she finally knew exactly what he'd meant by the things he'd told her. It wasn't the fear that mattered in life. It was the choices made when you were afraid. You were brave because of your fear, not in spite of it."
-from the novel
In 1934 Elsa Wolcott Martinelli lives on a farm in the Texas panhandle during the Great Depression and the drought that became known as the Dust Bowl. Her family and others must either fight to survive the horrible conditions or make the difficult decision to go West---to the "promised land" of California.
Reluctantly, Elsa takes her two children, Loreda and Anthony, called Ant, and bravely sets out in hopes of making a better life. After a challenging journey, they find that Californians call them "Okies" and treat them with appalling disrespect. I couldn't help comparing Elsa's plight with that of Lydia in American Dirt. They are both mothers escaping dangerous surroundings and trying to do what is best for their children. Lydia and Elsa must both summon great courage and overcome huge, often dangerous challenges. While it is not surprising that Mexican immigrants are not welcomed by many in the U.S., it is rather shocking that other Americans are scorned the way the Martinellis are.
I was also reminded of The Grapes of Wrath, which our book club read recently---similar settings and themes of hope and determination. I thought, too, of Mildred Taylor's series beginning with Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry. The Logan family (in ...Thunder...) valued their land above almost anything else and would hold onto it at any cost just as Rose and Tony Martinelli, in The Four Winds.
I could see this being a future pick for Page Turners. I might even read it again.
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