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3.62 AVERAGE
3.62 AVERAGE
While this was well written, the story of Rachael left me mad. The ENTIRE BOOK, it's all feel-sorry-for-me-woe-is-me bull and then the ending? Like, I just don't get it. FINISH THE STORY or DON'T WRITE IT ALL.
I just didn't think the "ending" fit the rest of the detailed story. Makes me mad that the rest of the story was so original and unique, and then BAM - you are left with NOTHING.
I just didn't think the "ending" fit the rest of the detailed story. Makes me mad that the rest of the story was so original and unique, and then BAM - you are left with NOTHING.
Eh....I suppose it was ok. I at least finished it. Liked the references to Denver being that I am from there. Found the story to be disturbing, disjointed, and really incomplete in my opinion.
I love the cover on this one, and doesn’t the synopsis pull you right in? I have to admit that during the first chapter, I was a little worried that I would struggle to finish, but pretty quickly that changed! This one really kept me turning the pages!
As the story begins, we meet Rachel, a four year old with a temper, and her brother, Sam, who knows how to calm her. When tragedy strikes and family circumstances change, the siblings find themselves orphaned and sent to different orphanages. The book reminded me a little of Orphan Train with the setting and the hardships placed on the orphans. There is a compassionate social worker who really tried hard to help these kids, much like the social worker in Necessary Lies.
As in Orphan Train the story is told in alternating time periods, which really worked well for me! We follow Rachel and Sam as they experience many of the historical events of the first half of the twentieth centure; the orphanage, the depression, WWII, and now the post-war period. Grown-up Rachel is a nurse working in a home for the elderly on floor 5, where it is understood patients come to spend their final days. When Dr. Mildred Solomon appears as one of her patients, Rachel recognizes her as the doctor who ‘treated’ her at the orphanage. Meeting the doctor again triggers painful memories for Rachel and leads to ethical decisions she must make as she faces her past.
This book will make a fantastic book club selection! There are so many discussion points a group can touch on; medical experimentation, gay marriage, foster care, the Holocaust and Nazis, and Israel and Palestine, to mention just a few. The book touches on many of the same issues that were touched on in All I Know and Love, but in my opinion, this one did it so much better! The author has background information and discussion questions on her website.
I don’t give out 5 star reviews very often, and almost NEVER two in a row, but try as I might, I can’t find anything I didn’t like about this one….so 5 stars it is! Enjoy!
This book review is included in a tour by TLC Book Tours. I was provided a copy for review purposes.
As the story begins, we meet Rachel, a four year old with a temper, and her brother, Sam, who knows how to calm her. When tragedy strikes and family circumstances change, the siblings find themselves orphaned and sent to different orphanages. The book reminded me a little of Orphan Train with the setting and the hardships placed on the orphans. There is a compassionate social worker who really tried hard to help these kids, much like the social worker in Necessary Lies.
As in Orphan Train the story is told in alternating time periods, which really worked well for me! We follow Rachel and Sam as they experience many of the historical events of the first half of the twentieth centure; the orphanage, the depression, WWII, and now the post-war period. Grown-up Rachel is a nurse working in a home for the elderly on floor 5, where it is understood patients come to spend their final days. When Dr. Mildred Solomon appears as one of her patients, Rachel recognizes her as the doctor who ‘treated’ her at the orphanage. Meeting the doctor again triggers painful memories for Rachel and leads to ethical decisions she must make as she faces her past.
This book will make a fantastic book club selection! There are so many discussion points a group can touch on; medical experimentation, gay marriage, foster care, the Holocaust and Nazis, and Israel and Palestine, to mention just a few. The book touches on many of the same issues that were touched on in All I Know and Love, but in my opinion, this one did it so much better! The author has background information and discussion questions on her website.
I don’t give out 5 star reviews very often, and almost NEVER two in a row, but try as I might, I can’t find anything I didn’t like about this one….so 5 stars it is! Enjoy!
This book review is included in a tour by TLC Book Tours. I was provided a copy for review purposes.
While I appreciated the history of the New York Jewish Orphanages in the turn of century into post-WWI, albeit stunned by the medical studies performed on children, the book made me dizzy. Usually stories which hop between flashbacks and current day keep me engrossed, but this one jumped a bit too much for me. I was expecting to be more engrossed than I was. Quick read, however - just a few days. I just wanted to love it more.
I enjoyed this story! A good read exploring questions surrounding vengeance. Who gets to seek it? And how long after we have been wronged can we still hold others accountable? I also loved learning about the orphan homes that were so prevalent in the past. I sympathized with Rachel and her experience as a young woman coming to terms with her sexuality, one that could get her in legal trouble. And I appreciated that the author didn't try to fit too much into one story.
Really disliked this book. Poorly written, shallow characters, story line that moved back and forth thru time was confusing, predictable. Skimmed the last 100 pages.
This blew me away--a fictionalized account of real events...the resource list in the back, the explanation of where elements of the story came from...just ... wow...
Abandoning the book. I wish that the lesbian storyline had been disclosed in the book description. After reading reviews (which I wish I had read before purchasing the book) I don't see where the remaining storylines would redeem the book.
I would have given this book 2.5 stars if that was an option. I did learn a lot about a time in history that I knew nothing about. This book goes back and forth between a young Rachel and a 40 year old Rachel, I had a very hard time relating the two. To me, it was like two different characters. I read this book for my book club nd I am looking forward to hearing other people's thoughts.