W — WINTER GARDEN, written by Kristin Hannah; reviewed by Debi O’Neille

Published by St. Martin’s Press.

If you don’t like to cry from time to time, don’t read this book. If you don’t like to feel a lot, don’t read this book. If you have a weak stomach when it comes to graphic turmoil, don’t read this book. But, if somewhere inside you there is a fairy-tale heart waiting to be stroked, read this book. Don’t wait, because as WINTER GARDEN will prove, you never know what tomorrow will bring.

It’s a story of love as much as it is of war, and about hope as much as fear and oppression. Mostly, it’s a story of acceptance, forgiveness, and moving forward. It’s a literary work of living in its best and worse sense. The plot glides back and forth between a Russian history and current day life in America, showing one woman’s struggle to get through the past and the thawing of her lost fairy-tale heart as she brings her family together again.

There were times I wanted to throw the book across the room, but I didn’t. Couldn’t. I had to know how these people got to where they are today. I’m so glad I stuck with it. It was never a dislike for the story or the writing that tempted me to toss WINTER GARDEN. It was the strong emotions it triggered that had me worried whether or not I could continue reading. Could I find even a fraction of the strength these characters needed, these characters who lived it? Yet this skilled author made me live it too. You can’t read this story and not feel every piece of it. The writing is excellent. The characters are real. The story is powerful. Don’t give up on reading it regardless of the emotions it triggers. You’ll be glad you stuck with it.

Happy reading!