Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.05 AVERAGE
4.05 AVERAGE
I loved Grace and The Forever Bridge and so I was very happy to receive a digital copy from St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley. It is a good story and a good book, but I didn’t love it as I did with the previous T. Greenwood novels.
Even though I think that the author succeeds in describing the atmosphere of the late sixties and the different mindset about disabled the characters seem stereotypical described as “good” (Ginny and her friend), “bad” (the father in law and mother in law). Finally, sometimes “the road trip” appears a little unbelievable.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Even though I think that the author succeeds in describing the atmosphere of the late sixties and the different mindset about disabled the characters seem stereotypical described as “good” (Ginny and her friend), “bad” (the father in law and mother in law). Finally, sometimes “the road trip” appears a little unbelievable.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review!
In today's society, women are still trying to get rights in the eyes of the law, the right to birth control, the right to abortions, and the right to equal wage.This historical fiction is still relevant today because it's about a woman struggling for the right to keep her child.
The story centers on Ginny, who only wants the simple things in life, a husband, a couple children, and a quaint little house in the country. Unfortunately for Ginny, she marries Ab, a upper-class man whose parents are rich and influential. They already have Ab's life planned out to join the family firm.
Ab's family do not accept her with open arms as they see her as beneath them. So when Ginny's second child is born with Down Syndrome, Ab's father decides that she should be sent away to a home for the mentally challenged and Ab complies without Ginny's consent.
When Ginny discovers the horrific conditions of the home, she decides to take Lucy and go on the run with her friend Marsha and her two children. In Ginny's travels, she discovers strengths that she never knew had and regains her sense of individuality.
This story is full of action and tugs at your heartstrings. It makes you root for Ginny and cry for Lucy. It is a wonderful story that you can't wait to finish.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the book.
The story centers on Ginny, who only wants the simple things in life, a husband, a couple children, and a quaint little house in the country. Unfortunately for Ginny, she marries Ab, a upper-class man whose parents are rich and influential. They already have Ab's life planned out to join the family firm.
Ab's family do not accept her with open arms as they see her as beneath them. So when Ginny's second child is born with Down Syndrome, Ab's father decides that she should be sent away to a home for the mentally challenged and Ab complies without Ginny's consent.
When Ginny discovers the horrific conditions of the home, she decides to take Lucy and go on the run with her friend Marsha and her two children. In Ginny's travels, she discovers strengths that she never knew had and regains her sense of individuality.
This story is full of action and tugs at your heartstrings. It makes you root for Ginny and cry for Lucy. It is a wonderful story that you can't wait to finish.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the book.
A somewhat Thelma and Louise-esque tale of a woman whose child was placed in an institution shortly after birth because she had Down syndrome rescuing her child and running away from the institution, her husband, and his controlling parents. I so wanted everything to work out for this mom and the child. I really enjoyed this book.
It was riveting, infuriating, empowering, and beautiful. I was immediately invested in Ginny’s and Lucy’s story within the first few pages.
Ginny, wife of wealthy lawyer Ab, gives birth to a Down Syndrome baby girl and barely gets to touch her before the baby is whisked off to Willowridge, a special school for the “feeble-minded." Ginny has no say in the matter and is heavily medicated so she can't even give voice to the fact that she wants to keep and raise her baby. Ab's rich, big time lawyer dad manipulates the entire situation so that the problem of Lucy is swept under the rug and Ginny's mother in law takes it upon herself to tell Ginny and Ab's four year old son that his sister is "with the angels" now.
Ab allows Ginny to think that they will visit the baby after she's been at Willowridge for thirty days but that never happens and Ginny gradually accepts the fact that she'll never see her daughter, who she thinks has heart problems and will not live long. Still, Ginny thinks of her daughter every day and her life has a huge hole in it, with little Lucy missing and Ginny not being able to even mention her name to her husband, who feels they should just put Lucy in the past.
Ab works long, long hours while Ginny keeps house and tends to their son Peyton. When Lucy would be reaching her second birthday, Ginny's best friend Marsha shows her an ongoing expose of Willowridge, detailing the horrible conditions of the facility. Ginny and Marsha go to the school to check Lucy out for a long weekend and that's when they see for themselves that the expose is true and just touching the surface of the abuses that the children residents endure. Ginny lets Ab know what is happening at the school but finds out that his dad's law firm is representing the school in a lawsuit against it, due to the abuses. Ab sides with his dad and the law firm and demands that Lucy be taken back to the facility. This is when Ginny and Marsha take off on a road trip with Peyton and Lucy in tow, to avoid sending Lucy back to her squalid and abusive life at Willowridge.
Ginny has always been so passive and accepting of her lot in life, a rich life but a life that allowed her to have no say in what happened. So I admire her for taking charge and deciding that she will be raising Lucy from now on...this was a baby that was taken from her without her permission and now she is turning things around. Ginny is ill prepared for this battle since she has never driven, never had any money of her own, and about the only decision she was ever allowed to make her in marriage was what to buy at the grocery store.
Little Lucy was full of parasites, internally and externally and I was frustrated that Ginny didn't make this situation a priority, instead trying to get her son in the bathtub with Lucy and making him sleep with Lucy, so that he soon has head lice too. I know I was overly distracted by the parasite situation but I think that it signified that little Lucy needed some kind of medical attention immediately. It is only later that we find out the extent of Lucy's medical problems.
I enjoyed the book and was so sad about the conditions that Lucy and others were forced to endure. This story just addresses Lucy's fate and I like the resolution of the story although it required a complete about face of a couple of people to pull it off. Still, I wouldn't have wanted the story to end any other way and it was great seeing passive Ginny pull out all stops for her little girl.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.
Ab allows Ginny to think that they will visit the baby after she's been at Willowridge for thirty days but that never happens and Ginny gradually accepts the fact that she'll never see her daughter, who she thinks has heart problems and will not live long. Still, Ginny thinks of her daughter every day and her life has a huge hole in it, with little Lucy missing and Ginny not being able to even mention her name to her husband, who feels they should just put Lucy in the past.
Ab works long, long hours while Ginny keeps house and tends to their son Peyton. When Lucy would be reaching her second birthday, Ginny's best friend Marsha shows her an ongoing expose of Willowridge, detailing the horrible conditions of the facility. Ginny and Marsha go to the school to check Lucy out for a long weekend and that's when they see for themselves that the expose is true and just touching the surface of the abuses that the children residents endure. Ginny lets Ab know what is happening at the school but finds out that his dad's law firm is representing the school in a lawsuit against it, due to the abuses. Ab sides with his dad and the law firm and demands that Lucy be taken back to the facility. This is when Ginny and Marsha take off on a road trip with Peyton and Lucy in tow, to avoid sending Lucy back to her squalid and abusive life at Willowridge.
Ginny has always been so passive and accepting of her lot in life, a rich life but a life that allowed her to have no say in what happened. So I admire her for taking charge and deciding that she will be raising Lucy from now on...this was a baby that was taken from her without her permission and now she is turning things around. Ginny is ill prepared for this battle since she has never driven, never had any money of her own, and about the only decision she was ever allowed to make her in marriage was what to buy at the grocery store.
Little Lucy was full of parasites, internally and externally and I was frustrated that Ginny didn't make this situation a priority, instead trying to get her son in the bathtub with Lucy and making him sleep with Lucy, so that he soon has head lice too. I know I was overly distracted by the parasite situation but I think that it signified that little Lucy needed some kind of medical attention immediately. It is only later that we find out the extent of Lucy's medical problems.
I enjoyed the book and was so sad about the conditions that Lucy and others were forced to endure. This story just addresses Lucy's fate and I like the resolution of the story although it required a complete about face of a couple of people to pull it off. Still, I wouldn't have wanted the story to end any other way and it was great seeing passive Ginny pull out all stops for her little girl.
Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.
Interesting take on motherhood and how we will stop at nothing to protect our children.
Keeping Lucy grabbed me from the very first sentence and I was totally captivated by the characters and the story-line. This was a book that I didn't want to put down—I became that interested in what was happening and wanted only the best for them.
What happened to Ginny and her daughter when she was born was fairly common during the time period that this story takes place. Ginny's strength takes her on the fight of her life, for herself sure, but most of all for her daughter and other's like little Lucy. I was cheering loudly for Ginny and Lucy as they tried to take down the system.
This was a wonderful, heartwarming story that will definitely stick with me for along time. What a beautiful story demonstrating the power of love.
What happened to Ginny and her daughter when she was born was fairly common during the time period that this story takes place. Ginny's strength takes her on the fight of her life, for herself sure, but most of all for her daughter and other's like little Lucy. I was cheering loudly for Ginny and Lucy as they tried to take down the system.
This was a wonderful, heartwarming story that will definitely stick with me for along time. What a beautiful story demonstrating the power of love.
This novel is loosely based on a true story and is set in the early 1970s. Ginny and her husband Ab are confronted with an impossible choice when, in 1968, Ginny gives birth to their second child, a little girl with Downs syndrome. Ab and his father convince Ginny that the best thing for all of them is to have Lucy committed to an institution where she can be cared for properly. Ginny is barely cognizant as she signs the paperwork to have Lucy taken away. Two years later, Ginny's friend sends her a newspaper article outlining the horrible conditions at the school where Lucy is living. Determined to rescue her daughter, Ginny goes to see for herself and is confronted with the neglect and abuse happening there. Ginny, her son Peyton, Lucy, and Ginny's friend Marsha go on the run to Florida. Soon, they become fugitives and face tremendous hardships along the way. It's a beautifully told story about the bond between a mother and her child, the power of female friendship, and the importance of being your own person and standing in your power. While some of it seemed a BIT far-fetched, the overall story was riveting and engaging. I really enjoyed it.
Loved the female friendships in this one. I was especially happy to see Brenda from TWO RIVERS again. However, some plot points felt a little repetitive and forced (like the car troubles multiple times). I almost wished there was more about the fight for custody and against the institution at the end instead of some of the road trip. But I'm never dissatisfied by a T. Greenwood book.
*ARC provided by Netgalley
*ARC provided by Netgalley