This book is heavy and heartbreaking, made all the more intense by the fact that it’s based on true events. The characters and their experiences felt really real to me and it was hard for me to put the book down. 

I wanted to know how the present timeline and the past timeline met up in the end. I’m not usually one for multiple timelines and POVs, but Wingate handled it really well in this story. Typically I tend to want to focus on just one story line more than the other, and while I did find the past more interesting than following Avery around, I didn’t mind the bits and pieces of the present that added to the rich story from the past.

I have to mention that I love Wingate’s author’s note and guide in the back of the book. It was really interesting to read about how the Foss family came to fruition in her mind and how the characters found their voices.

I would recommend this book to most people, if they can handle the heavy trigger warnings and reality of this novel.

This is a heartbreaking fictionalized account of what happened during the terrorizing reign of Georgia Tann and the Tennessee Children's home in the 1920s-1950. I wasn't aware of this situation and now I must go read all the things about this subject.