Reviews
"It's a tearjerker, but the journey is as lovely-and haunting-as a snow filled winter's night." - People magazine "Readers will find it hard not to laugh a little and cry a little more as mother and daughters reach out to each other just in the nick of time." - Publishers Weekly "Winter Garden is Kristin Hannah's best written and most deeply affecting novel yet." - The Huffington Post "This tearjerker weaves a convincing historical novel and contemporary family drama..." - Library Journal "A…searing story with a breathtaking, beautiful ending." - The Seattle Times, Readers will find it hard not to laugh a little and cry a little more as mother and daughters reach out to each other just in the nick of time., "It's a tearjerker, but the journey is as lovely--and haunting--as a snow filled winter's night." -- People magazine "Readers will find it hard not to laugh a little and cry a little more as mother and daughters reach out to each other just in the nick of time." -- Publishers Weekly "Winter Garden is Kristin Hannah's best written and most deeply affecting novel yet." -- The Huffington Post "This tearjerker weaves a convincing historical novel and contemporary family drama..." -- Library Journal "A...searing story with a breathtaking, beautiful ending." -- The Seattle Times, "A . . . searing story with a breathtaking, beautiful ending." -- The Seattle Times "It's a tearjerker, but the journey is as lovely--and haunting--as a snow filled winter's night." -- People Magazine "This tearjerker weaves a convincing historical novel and contemporary family drama." -- Library Journal "Readers will find it hard not to laugh a little and cry a little more as mother and daughters reach out to each other just in the nick of time." -- Publishers Weekly
CLASSIFICATION_METADATA
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Synopsis
Can a woman ever really know herself if she doesn't know her mother? From the author of the smash-hit bestseller Firefly Lane and True Colors comes Kristin Hannah's powerful, heartbreaking novel that illuminates the intricate mother-daughter bond and explores the enduring links between the present and the past. Meredith and Nina Whitson are as different as sisters can be. One stayed at home to raise her children and manage the family apple orchard; the other followed a dream and traveled the world to become a famous photojournalist. But when their beloved father falls ill, Meredith and Nina find themselves together again, standing alongside their cold, disapproving mother, Anya, who even now, offers no comfort to her daughters. As children, the only connection between them was the Russian fairy tale Anya sometimes told the girls at night. On his deathbed, their father extracts a promise from the women in his life: the fairy tale will be told one last time--and all the way to the end. Thus begins an unexpected journey into the truth of Anya's life in war-torn Leningrad, more than five decades ago. Alternating between the past and present, Meredith and Nina will finally hear the singular, harrowing story of their mother's life, and what they learn is a secret so terrible and terrifying that it will shake the very foundation of their family and change who they believe they are., Mesmerizing from the first page to the last, Kristin Hannah's Winter Garden is one woman's sweeping, heartbreaking story of love, loss, and redemption. At once an epic love story set in World War II Russia and an intimate portrait of contemporary mothers and daughters poised at the crossroads of their lives, it explores the heartbreak of war, the cost of survival and the ultimate triumph of the human spirit. It is a novel that will haunt the reader long after the last page is turned. 1941. Leningrad, a once magical city besieged by war, cut off from aid, buried in snow. A city full of women desperate to save their children and themselves... 2000. Loss and old age have taken a terrible toll on Anya Whitson. At last, she will reach out to her estranged daughters. In a halting, uncertain voice, she begins to weave a fable about a beautiful Russian girl who lived in Leningrad a lifetime ago... Nina and Meredith sit spellbound at their mother's bedside, listening to a story that spans more than sixty years and moves from the terrors of war-torn Leningrad under siege to modern-day Alaska. In a quest to uncover the truth behind the story, Nina and Meredith discover a secret so shocking, so impossible to believe, it shakes the foundation of their family and changes who they believe they are. "Another powerful story of family love, and strong women...a fascinating story that weaves fairy tales into reality, fairy tales that don't always have the expected endings."-- The Herald-News "...a gripping read. Hannah's audience will find plenty to discuss in this enthralling entry."-- Booklist
