Sons & Daughters

by Ann Hanigan Kotz

With her husband freshly buried, Karoline Olsen now shoulders the twin burdens of raising her large brood of children, including the one she carries in her belly, and managing a difficult farm life by herself in the Loess Hills. Spanning 1905 to 1933, the second installment of the Olsen series brings major world events—WWI, the Spanish flu, prohibition, suffrage, and the Great Depression—to Iowa, impacting the lives of the Soldier inhabitants, including the Olsens.

Karoline struggles to keep her children safe and close to their Norwegian roots in the face of pressure to remarry again. She can only watch as one by one her adult children are forced to endure the difficult choices in life, love, marriage, and business, leaving each of them with scars that may never heal. The Lunatic, the Gambler, the Whore, the Teacher, the Entrepreneur, and the Farmer are all titles affixed to these once-innocent children of Kristoffer and Karoline Olsen.

A continuing chronicle of the Olsen family's survival, Sons and Daughters is the tale of a widowed woman fighting to preserve a legacy, carve her own path in the midst of tragedy and historic hardship, and guide six first-generation American children who are discovering their own identities in a rapidly changing world.

Ann Hanigan Kotz's second novel of love, loss, violence, and identity once again connects her own family's ancestors with a vision from the past.

416 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 7, 2023

About the author

Ann Hanigan Kotz was born in Denison, Iowa, and lived on a farm southwest of town with her parents and five siblings. During her summers, she spent time at the Carnegie Library, reading becoming a passion early in her life.

After high school, Ann attended the University of Northern Iowa and earned a Bachelor of Arts in English. She started her education career in 1988 and continued teaching high school English for 33 years, finishing at Waukee High School in central Iowa. She also received a Master of Arts in Education from Viterbo University.

As a teacher, Ann was passionate about making her students better writers and readers. She credits her writing ability to studying and teaching the craft. Later in her profession, Ann taught college-level classes to high school students who themselves wanted to become teachers. Ann considers teaching one of the most honorable professions.
Retired from teaching, Ann Hanigan Kotz currently resides in Adel, Iowa, with her husband John Kotz.

Reviews

[Angela Youngers · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this sequel even more than the first book as I was captivated by the different stories of Karoline Olsen's children. It was so interesting to see the children deal with different hardships of the time. The real-life horror stories of predatory brothels and barbaric mental institutions were especially moving and shocking. And the last few chapters are poignant and heartbreaking, capturing the hard decisions of a farming family during the Great Depression. The novel made me think about my own family and how life was for my grandparents and their large family. Overall, an informative and emotional read.

[MaryAnn Lockey · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this somewhat interesting. The death of the matriarch is was just thrown in as a sentence. This book and the last one were mostly centered around her so it surprised me there wasn’t more build up. There was a chapter toward the end on how she died. I wish there were names for the front cover picture. Even though it was mostly fiction I wanted to put a face to the name. Kudos to the author for venturing out to write this. Hope it does well.

[Kelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

My heart is absolutely shattered. The author did such a great job writing this story and making you feel it. Iowa in the 1900s was not easy and you become so connected with the characters throughout the book. Definitely recommend!

[Tammy Wicks · Rating 5 out of 5]

This family’s story is so heart breaking. I loved it but was so melancholy while reading it as well. Easy read.

[Cheryl Wolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this historical fiction by this Iowa author. This was book #2 and looking forward the next book. Easy read books that drew me into the story!

[Beth Hunsberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

central iowa author

[Danielle White · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have really enjoyed Ann Hanigan Kotz last two books! Looking forward to the third book she is currently working on! It is fun to break up my reading with some facts about Iowa’s history with a tie to her family. Great fictional story telling! I like how she has a blurb at the end about what did happen and what was fictional!

Only took me so long because I took nursing boards and started wedding planning… Otherwise, I would’ve finished it much sooner!

[Kristina Scott · Rating 1 out of 5]

Couldn’t finish this one. Character development was flat - the book read like a report, not a novel that gets you to turn 400 pages.

Most everything that happened to the characters was predictable and worst case scenarios. Ingrid’s husband dies, betsi is an addict, Gunda gets fired. It was the rape scene that had me finally putting the book away.