An informal group of writers who enjoy reading books & sharing feedback |
Wow-Wow-Wow... This is one of those books that rate high on my favorites' list, close to The Help and Where the Crawdads Sing, both excellent stories. (I hope there is a movie in the near future!) I love to read a fiction book that actually opens my eyes to facts that I never knew about. This book does exactly that. Oh my gosh, how awful for all those children and for the parents who lost them, many thinking their kids had died or kidnapped. I looked up the orphanage online and was aghast by what had gone on from the late 1920s thru 1950. I'd never heard of Georgia Tann and now I will never forget her. How can a human being stoop so low? It was basically human trafficking. What gets me is, she continued to get away with it all these years. Rill/May's character was my favorite. I could only get the book on audio, and that's because I joined Audio for a free month trial. My library and Libby App, both had long waiting lists for this book, and now I know why. It was excellent! The narrators, Emily Rankin and Catherine Taber, were exceptional. I cannot say enough good things about this audiobook. I loved every moment, grasped onto every word... The Foss family living on the riverboat, the orphanage experiences, the family who took May and Fern in, the run-away voyage back to the Arcadia to only discover loss, and the journey back to the loving family who wanted to adopt them. The ending was sweet! And I'm glad the author didn't get into details with the break-up of Avery and her fiancé`. It seemed to me, they weren't really in love anyway and there was no need to drag the reader through the details since it didn't really matter anyway. But the biggest thing about the ending, was when May and Judy reunited again. After the story finished, the author talked about her book and the real orphanage-- Tennessee Children’s Home Society and Georgia Tann. Very interesting. This was definitely a page-turner... Heart-wrenching, eye-opening, and a story you will never forget. A must-read. |