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uncle_dunc's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Man this was depressing as hell. I had no idea this was based on true events, I’m shocked, what an awful time.
Really nicely written though, very good read, even if it was dark and depressing 90% of the time.
The romance withTrent felt a little unnecessary/unrelated, but also it was just about the only uplifting part of this book so maybe that was the important role it played hahaha
Really nicely written though, very good read, even if it was dark and depressing 90% of the time.
The romance with
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual violence
buniwuuu's review against another edition
4.0
Picked up this book randomly before a flight to New York and procrastinated on reading this until recently.
Turned out I absolutely loved this book. Very sad but also inspiring.
”Life is not unlike cinema. Each scene has its own music, and the music is created for the scene, woven to it in ways we do not understand. No matter how much we may love the melody of a bygone day or imagine the song of a future one, we must dance within the music of today, or we will always be out of step, stumbling around in something that doesn’t suit the moment.”
Turned out I absolutely loved this book. Very sad but also inspiring.
”Life is not unlike cinema. Each scene has its own music, and the music is created for the scene, woven to it in ways we do not understand. No matter how much we may love the melody of a bygone day or imagine the song of a future one, we must dance within the music of today, or we will always be out of step, stumbling around in something that doesn’t suit the moment.”
clay1914's review against another edition
4.0
I loved it! Another non-chronological format that tells both a heart-wrenching story of despicable treatment of children and heart-warming story of unwavering family bonds.
alisposato's review against another edition
2.0
Disclaimer: I did not finish this book. I do not enjoy reading about child abuse and dare I say torture, even if it did happen and it’s a story that needs to be told. I gave it three stars for the writing.
kimreadz's review against another edition
3.0
I love the cover and I enjoyed the book. It met my expectations for historical fiction—I learned about something I didn't know much about, and the book inspired me to do some online research to learn more. I may even pick up a non-fiction book about Georgia Tann. However, the book was not quite a 4-star read for me.
The story is told in two timeline. There is a historical story from 1939 narrated by Rill Foss, the oldest of a family of five children who were stolen away from their parent in order to be sold by Georgia Tann to parents desperate for a child. This story was good and I learned about sad event that I didn't know much about previously.
The second timeline is contemporary, told by Avery Stafford, and young engaged lawyer and daughter of a senator. Her Grandma Judy has recently been moved to a memory care unit due to her worsening dementia. Parts of this story were interesting, and necessary to fill in some of the details from the historical story. However, there were parts of this that I had issues with. The main issue is the 'romance' aspect. Avery is engaged, but feels an immediate attraction to another man. She then has a decision to make. It felt like a bad Hallmark movie, and was totally unnecessary to the story.
The book is worth reading. It just isn't going on my 'best reads of 2023'. Overall, I give the book 3½ stars.
If you read the book, you can find some good supplemental information on the author's website, including videos and discussion questions.
https://lisawingate.com/for-book-clubs/
The story is told in two timeline. There is a historical story from 1939 narrated by Rill Foss, the oldest of a family of five children who were stolen away from their parent in order to be sold by Georgia Tann to parents desperate for a child. This story was good and I learned about sad event that I didn't know much about previously.
The second timeline is contemporary, told by Avery Stafford, and young engaged lawyer and daughter of a senator. Her Grandma Judy has recently been moved to a memory care unit due to her worsening dementia. Parts of this story were interesting, and necessary to fill in some of the details from the historical story. However, there were parts of this that I had issues with. The main issue is the 'romance' aspect. Avery is engaged, but feels an immediate attraction to another man. She then has a decision to make. It felt like a bad Hallmark movie, and was totally unnecessary to the story.
The book is worth reading. It just isn't going on my 'best reads of 2023'. Overall, I give the book 3½ stars.
If you read the book, you can find some good supplemental information on the author's website, including videos and discussion questions.
https://lisawingate.com/for-book-clubs/
cuppasbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
bthuber's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0