Author: Kristin Hannah

Release date February 2nd 2010

Pages: 394

This is the second Kristin Hannah book I’ve read, the first being The Great Alone. I thought that was a masterpiece and surely couldn’t be topped. Well, I was wrong. Winter Garden is one of the best books I’ve ever read. Kristin’s writing is stunning. How she describes each setting is so vivid, it feels like I’m there in the moment. Some of the moments in this book, harrowing and beyond traumatising, you would wish to be anywhere else.

We are introduced to Meredith and Nina Whitson, very different sisters. Nina a famous war photographer and Meredith running the family business whilst looking after her family. Both sisters worship their dad but have never been able to form a relationship with their Russian mother. She is a stranger to them, and they gave up trying to understand her when very young. The only time they ever felt close to her is when she would tell her Russian fairytale, at night in pitch darkness. On their dad’s deathbed, the sisters were asked by him to promise to insist their mother finishes the fairytale.

The truth of Anya’s horrific experiences in Leningrad in the 1940’s is what slowly unfolds.

The story is captivating and devastating. It is a story of love, sacrifice, healing from trauma and most of all, forgiving yourself.

I have never been that interested in history, perhaps how it was taught to me at school put me off. Our history teacher was terrifying! He used to punch the lockers and dent them should someone dare as cough! This story has made me want to learn all about Leningrad and I will be 100% doing that next. I learnt all about Alaska after reading The Great Alone. Fiction is a marvellous way of teaching, that is why we must make reading enjoyable for children. It’s so important. Amazing, amazing, amazing book!

Final Thoughts:

I will remember Anya’s story forever. This I can say with confidence.

⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

Beautifully written, exquisitely heartbreaking.