I loved this story. Not just because I enjoy the beautiful writing and detailed historical telling in everything Kristin Hannah, but for the tale itself. The Four Winds is the story of struggle and determination in a world that seems destined for destruction. It shows us a woman whose drive to survive and protect her children gives her just enough bravery to sacrifice everything, leave her home for an unknown future, and push on no matter what stands in her way.

In this blog I offer a different type of book review­—one that’s combined with vocabulary building. I loved The Four Winds and, although caught up in this story of hardship, I found a few interesting words I’ll share here.

From The Four Winds:

Lorada felt horror rise up and turn into a tremulous terrifying anger directed at her mother.

tremulous: adjective—shaking or quivering slightly / timid; nervous

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From The Four Winds:

Mama sat down on the edge of the bed. Her hair, dyed black, was drawn back into a chignon that heightened the severity of her features.

chignon: noun—a knot or coil of hair arranged on the back of a woman’s head.

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From The Four Winds:

At church, she wore a cloche over her scandalously short hair and made the excuse she didn’t feel well and was left alone.

cloche: noun—(cloche hat) a woman’s close-fitting, bell-shaped hat / a small translucent cover for protecting or forcing outdoor plants.

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Definitions are typically from the dictionary that comes with my Mac or The New Oxford American Dictionary.

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What interesting words or terms have you found in your recent reading?

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To connect or learn more about Kristin Hannah, find her at KristinHannah.com.

“The word is only a representation of the meaning; even at its best, writing almost always falls short of full meaning. Given that, why in God’s name would you want to make things worse by choosing a word which is only cousin to the one you really wanted to use?” ― Stephen King, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft