This is the first book that has made me ugly cry in a long time.

Maybe that's because I'm currently teaching my US History class about the dust bowl, workers strikes, and how Americans became refugees in their own land.

Maybe it's because this has been an emotional week.

But definitely because this is an amazing book.

The book follows the story of Elsa, an unwanted daughter from an unloving home who falls into a whirlwind relationship, with an Italian boy named Rafe, that she thinks is love. She quickly realizes how one-sided that love is when she and Rafe are forced by their parents to marry when she is discovered to be pregnant.

Eventually though, Elsa finds family and finds a love of the land that she never expected. But the land turns on her family and creates hardships that threaten to take everything from her and those she loves. Could love possibly be enough to save her family?

This book explores so much of the important parts of American history that are glossed over. Students might learn that the dustbowl was bad, but usually they don't learn about the greed of corporations or the unwillingness of so many Americans to help their own during hard times. Students CERTAINLY don't learn how communists helped workers to fight for living wages and an end to debt peonage. That was a lovely unexpected surprise (one of many) to find in a popular bookclub styled book.

This book explores so many timeless ideas as well, such as the necessity of love, the importance and resilience of family, the way in which we hurt those we love, and the difficulties of mother/daughter relationships.

This might be Hannah's best work yet.