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Book Review of Winter Garden

Winter Garden
Winter Garden
Author: Kristin Hannah
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Hardcover
AZmom875 avatar reviewed on + 624 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3


I got this book from a swap when it was highly wishlisted and let it gather dust on my To Be Read=TBR pile way too long. I put off reading this cause the author wasnt familiar to me and I felt she wrote modern women romance books in the style of maybe Nora Roberts which is not on the top of my list of favorite genres.

It was finally chosen in of all things, a TBR swap, and I thought about mailing it off unread. BUT Since I had time I plunged ahead, and said I would give the book 50 to 100 pages. I kinda guessed the outcome would be: Mom had bad things happen in Russia and she feels terrible about them, hence she is cold to her daughters and leaves them unloved for all their lives until they are 40 and 37 years of age. She does strange things that lead the family to think she has dementia, but it looks more like PSTD to me.

When their father dies, he implores the women to get to know the truth behind their mother. On his death bed he makes the mother and daughters promise to finish the story, the fairy tale. The girls begin to hear the real story behind the fairy tale the mother had told the girls when they were little. Of course all of our characters stretch and grow, and the ending was great. So I would read more by this author.

I really could identify with Meredith who is 40 her girls are gone to college and she has forgotten who she is, who she loves, or what she wants in life. I kinda wanted to smack the other people like Merediths husband, and the Mom, and Nina. This book was about a winter garden and cold people, but really they were all cold and selfish in many ways, not just this mom.

Two complaints
1. Dad dies and wants the girls to get to know mom. Hey, why didnt Dad have some gonads and insist in this in their childhood?
2. And really do the Math, the girls are 40 and 37 and meaning their mother was way way way over 40 when she had them.. Yes it happens but come on. twice? and 3 years apart.