Wow. Wow. Wow.

Historical fiction is my favorite especially when it gives you insight into something you did not know before. This is my first encounter with the knowledge about Georgia Tann and her horrid acts with the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. I cannot believe this is real.

My heart absolutely broke for the characters. I could not imagine finding out my child(ren) had been stolen from me or that I was lied to about their deaths. Like how DARE you steal babies away from their mothers?! And this was REAL. It went on for YEARS. All these poor families.

Camellia’s story broke my heart the most. She had so much fight and so much spirit. I cried when Rill found her hurt and even more when she “disappeared.” I can’t even fathom how the other siblings felt to lost her like that. And Rill tried SO hard to protect her siblings and keep them all together.

I would have liked to know where Lark had ended up in life.
Also NGL I was so hopeful when there were four sisters in the picture that one was Camellia.

I don’t think I’ll ever experience something like this read again.

This was a great read, and I would book talk it beside The Home for Unwanted Girls, or Orphan Train. Takes place in Tennessee and includes true historical details. Political corruption, child abuse, greed and poverty, sexual abuse, family connections, are all elements in this story.

This book was fascinating, giving some insight into the illegal adoptions through the Tennessee Children's Home in the 1920s-1950. It was hard to read at times!

Well-crafted fictional account of the fallout of the Georgia Tann adoption scandal. Apart from the occasional use of overwrought metaphors, an enjoyable read.

I absolutely love this book. It is amazing that the story is based on true events that happened in Tennessee. So sad for those families that had to go through this. I'm definitely wanting to read more about Georgia Tan and the adoption scandal.

I almost gave the book 4 stars because we never find out what happened with Camellia and Gabien, but I guess that would hold true to what really happened. Still, I really want to know what happened to Camellia!

Read-alikes:
Orphan Train

I liked this book quite a bit. It tells the story of a family of children that were taken away from their parents and then put into foster care. I liked the way the book was written. It tells you the story of the children and the harsh conditions they lived under, but it also let's you know what became of most of the girls later in life. There were a few adult topics in this book. I would recommend it for adults.

Beautifully written, heartbreaking story. The only way I made it through all the sad hopeless parts, was the story jumping from past to present, without Avery's narration, it would have been too difficult to finish. I now have multiple nonfiction books in my Libby queue about the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. So terrible this is based on true events (fictional characters, real event in Tennessee’s history).

This book had a very interesting story. It was slow at times and predictable but I thought it explained the story well of the children who were taken and sold to wealthy couples wanting children. Overall it was creative and kept my attention but I didn't love it. Very sad story but had a happy ending.