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Book Summary and Reviews of Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

Winter Garden

by Kristin Hannah

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  • Published:
  • Jan 2011, 448 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

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.

First published in hardcover: January 2010.

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Readers will find it hard not to laugh a little and cry a little more." - Publishers Weekly

"Anya's chronicle of the 900-day siege [of WWII Leningrad] imparts new gravitas to the novel...the effect, however, is all but vitiated by a manipulative and contrived ending." - Kirkus Reviews

"This tearjerker weaves a convincing historical novel and contemporary family drama with elements of romance. It is sure to please fans of Danielle Steel, Luanne Rice, and Nicholas Sparks." - Library Journal

This information about Winter Garden was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own reviewwrite your own review

Gloria G Norris

Winter Garden
Wonderful story of the promise to a father to hear the story of mother's life that brings a family together in love and respect. When a book brings tears it is worth reading.

goldencandy11

Winter Garden honest review
Amazing book! When I first picked up the book it seemed uninteresting, but I gave it a go and I was impressed. The story has so much depth to it and the author successfully transports the reader to both Leningrad and Alaska in a way I never expected. My rating: 4 1/2 stars

Trish Hamel

only finished because book club selection
Awful, unlikable characters. Emotionally stunted adults who pretty much behave like children, and suddenly everyone just grows up at the end. Hated this book, really.

Suzanne

What a shame--a usually good writer
This book was far-fetched and full of unbelievable occurrences. I don’t recommend Winter Garden--unless a reader is ready for a stupid fantasy.

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Author Information

Kristin Hannah Author Biography

Photo: Charles Bush

Kristin Hannah is an award-winning international number one bestselling author with over 25 million copies of her books sold worldwide. Her most recent titles, The Four Winds, The Nightingale and The Great Alone won numerous best fiction awards and her earlier novel, Firefly Lane, is currently a bestselling series on Netflix. Kristin is a lawyer-turned-writer and is the mother of one son. She and her husband live in the Pacific Northwest near Seattle.

Author Interview
Link to Kristin Hannah's Website

Other books by Kristin Hannah at BookBrowse
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