What's The Top Rated Historical Fiction Pick From Read With Jenna's Book Club?

Historical fiction has always been a popular genre among celebrity reading groups, with a history-set novel even landing on our list of the best book club picks of 2024. Jenna Bush Hager, former first daughter and "Today" host, has selected her own share of history-based titles for her book club, Read With Jenna. "I love books that are propulsive and fun and people can't put them down, but also are conversation starters," she told The New York Times. Still, if you're looking to only pick up one Hager-recommended novel, then you can look no further than the highest-rated historical fiction title from Read With Jenna. 

Out of all of the reading group's historical sagas, Kristin Hannah's "The Four Winds" boasts the highest average rating on Goodreads with 4.30 stars. Avid fans of the genre will recognize Hannah as the author of "The Nightingale," a 2015 release that ranks as the highest rated Reese's Book Club pick of all time. "The Four Winds" was a Read With Jenna member pick, with the book being selected for February 2021 alongside "Send For Me" by Lauren Fox. "Choosing two historical fictions for February was not intentional but it definitely emphasizes our readers' desire to explore this genre," Hager told Today. 

Nominated for Readers' Favorite Historical Fiction in the 2021 Goodreads Choice Awards, "The Four Winds" by Kristin Hannah is an intense drama set against the devastating Dust Bowl of the 1930s. The novel centers around Elsa Martinelli, a hardworking farmer and mother who's faced with abandoning the life she has built on dying Texas land or enduring the drought and unbearable living conditions. While her story is one of courage and perseverance, it's also one of heartache and tragedy. In this way, prospective readers should be prepared for an emotional read, but one that comes with Jenna Bush Hager's stamp of approval.

"'Four Winds' is a beautiful book," Hager said on "Today With Hoda & Jenna." "This character, Elsa...she's strong, but she also suffers, she's vulnerable, and I love her." Goodreads reviewers appreciated how the novel provides insight into an often underexplored era of history, with the narrative depicting the poverty and suffering that occurred during the Dust Bowl and Great Depression. If you're a fan of historical fiction and emotional, hard-hitting tales, then this is the Read With Jenna pick to add to your TBR.