Winter Garden by Kristin Hannah

This is the first book by Kristin Hannah that I have read, although I had heard her praises sung before. I had always sort of classified her, in my mind, as a Barbara Delinsky sort of writer. I have read a few of Delinsky's books and enjoyed them... but they aren't what I would normally gravitate toward. So I guess this is why I hadn't really picked up any of Hannah's books before either. I kept hearing about this particular book and how wonderful it is, though, and the historical part of it is what finally drew me in.

This is a story about two sisters, Meredith and Nina, and the mother that they never had much of a relationship with... at all. Their mother is a Russian immigrant who was not only emotionally distant from her two daughters but almost never even looked at the two girls. As children, the only time that they felt close to their mother is when she would tell her fairy tales to them. Eventually, though, even the stories stopped.

The year that Meredith is 40 and Nina is 37, their father passes away. Before he dies, he asks Nina to promise him that she will make their mother tell the fairy tale again, and tell the whole thing this time. She almost lets this promise get away from her, but eventually she is able to get her mom to tell the story and both sisters learn the truth about their mother's past and what made her the woman that she is. They also learn a lot about themselves in the process.

As I mentioned, there is a historical backdrop to the mom's story; specifically Russia during World War II. Hannah obviously researched very thoroughly for this story and she paints a very clear and very heartbreaking picture. I don't tend to get too emotional over books, but I shed a few tears over this one. The character development is also wonderful here and the growth of all three of the women through the book (and through the mother's story) is very well done. I really didn't want to put this book down once I had started it, even before the mother's story started to be told! I will admit the ending was a little too neatly tied in a bow for me... but I am willing to look beyond that because the rest of the book is so wonderful.

I think I will read more of Kristin Hannah's books in the future.