No Promises in the Wind

By: Irene Hunt

Narrated by: Charlie Thurston

Length: 5 hrs and 4 mins

Publisher's summary

From the Newbery Award-winning author of Across Five Aprils and Up a Road Slowly comes a tale of a brave young man’s struggle to find his own strength during the Great Depression.

In 1932, Americans’ dreams were simple: a job, food to eat, a place to sleep, and shoes without holes. But for millions of people these simple needs were nothing more than dreams. When he was just 15 years old, Josh had to make his own way through a country of angry and frightened people. This is the story of his struggle to find a life for himself during those turbulent times.

©1970 Irene Hunt (P)2012 AudioGO

When Times Seem Tough Someone Else Has It Tougher

Oftentimes in life we allow ourselves to wallow in self pity, criticize those around us be they friend or foe and create a fantasy land where life is grand because we know better so it must be true. Now in my forties so many teens and young adults I have wanted to scream at them how wrong they are. But you can't and it doesn't work.

At 17 I was such a teen and I put myself in the shoes of these two young men as I read this story and grimaced. I at my lowest could not even begin to imagine the trials and hardships had by all in the Great Depression. My great grandparents have told me stories some which align with certain moments in this book. It just made this story, the two young boys, their worried family and all the good and bad characters they encountered along the way that more real to me.

The narrator did an amazing job with just the right pace and cadence necessary for a story such as this. Other comments complaining about narrator...I have no idea what more they could have expected or wanted. This book is completely foreign to the genres I usually read that I'm surprised I even gave it a chance. I'm so very glad I did and will strive to do so more often in the future.

The story needed an epilogue

I would have loved to see where the boys were 5 years later as the depression came to an end.

An enjoyable story

A heart warming story of learning and overcoming, growing up, and the bond of family.

Wonderful Narration! Heartwarming and Emotional read!

The Narrator does a fantastic job with the differing voices and characters. Hunt tells the compelling story of brothers who leave their family home in Chicago to try to make it on their own when their father is stressed and angry about the depression and not being capable of feeding the boys properly. This is a journey story the boys face hardships, first loves, sad goodbyes, joys and perils of trying to make without their family. It is also one of redemption!

A great book!

Absolutely loved it! it is a hard story, because at time you want to laugh then cry! True to life, could have actually for all I know about it!

Beautiful Story!!

This book now tops my list of favorite reads!! Beautifully written and narrated. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened to this 2 young brothers. I rarely read about the Depression, however, I felt so close to my folks who would have been the age of the little brother and are no longer with me. So many experiences matched the stories they would tell me about growing up in Kansas during these trying times. I loved this book from beginning to end!!!

No Promises in the Wind

If you could sum up No Promises in the Wind in three words, what would they be?

Moving, realistic, heart-felt

What did you like best about this story?

The way Josh matured and came to realize that if you're human, you will make mistakes.

Which character – as performed by Charlie Thurston – was your favorite?

Howie - he seemed to catch Howie's personality in the little bit of time he had

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Howie's death was a shocker even though it was foreshadowed

Any additional comments?

I've done this as a novel study multiple times. This is the first time I've had the audible book. It really adds a lot to the study.

Riveting and beautiful story of survival and love

This story portrays the intense struggle for survival in two runaway boy in the Great Depression. A story of emotional distress, growth and redemption. The narration was at first a bit hard for me to warm up to but it paralleled the story perfectly. Ultimately the narration, character development and saga were amazing.

Poignant

This is a touching story of 2 boys, brothers, who take off on their own during the Great Depression. The older boy decides to leave home because of a difficult relationship with his father; his younger brother chooses to join him.

The story depicts their struggles, triumphs, and the challenges of growing up in harsh circumstances. Unlike some stories about run-a-ways, there are heroes who help these boys along their journey, making this story heartwarming.

Great story

The story was interesting and the narrator exceptional. I enjoyed and highly recommend this story.