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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
The Forgotten Home Child was a heart-breaking and emotional novel, but one that I highly recommend.
When I read novels about orphans, such as this one, I am deeply affected by them and the stories stay with me for a long time. My heart aches for these poor children and what they have endured. What makes them even more special and memorable are when an author is able to tell the story as wonderfully and beautifully as Genevieve Graham has.
This is the first novel written by Genevieve Graham that I have read, and her skills and talent in writing The Forgotten Home Child impressed me so much that I am eager to read more by her. It is quite clear that she must have spent many hours performing research and I bet she gobbled all of it up eagerly. She was able to capture the characters and the settings from each time period spot on and was able to bounce back and forth between them easily. She added the historic pieces into the novel seamlessly, in exactly the right places, and with just the right amount of it at a time. I was caught up in the story and her writing made the reading more enjoyable and smooth.
Fantastic book and writing!
When I read novels about orphans, such as this one, I am deeply affected by them and the stories stay with me for a long time. My heart aches for these poor children and what they have endured. What makes them even more special and memorable are when an author is able to tell the story as wonderfully and beautifully as Genevieve Graham has.
This is the first novel written by Genevieve Graham that I have read, and her skills and talent in writing The Forgotten Home Child impressed me so much that I am eager to read more by her. It is quite clear that she must have spent many hours performing research and I bet she gobbled all of it up eagerly. She was able to capture the characters and the settings from each time period spot on and was able to bounce back and forth between them easily. She added the historic pieces into the novel seamlessly, in exactly the right places, and with just the right amount of it at a time. I was caught up in the story and her writing made the reading more enjoyable and smooth.
Fantastic book and writing!
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Physical abuse, Suicide, Trafficking, War
Moderate: Blood, Alcohol
Minor: Rape
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
The Forgotten Home Children is a more conventional, straightforward novel. We meet Winny as a 97 year old who, prompted by questions from her granddaughter and great-grandson, is finally willing to share the story of her life, especially her experiences as a Home Child, something she’s never shared with her family before. The story then goes back in time to follow Winny and Jack, a friend from England. Mary, Jack’s sister and Winny’s best friend, also features prominently. This novel includes many graphic and upsetting details on the types of abuse and mistreatment suffered by Home Children, and shows how that affected them for the rest of their lives and how that trauma could be passed on to their children.
Because it followed the characters into adulthood this book was able to incorporate an adult perspective and level of analysis, such as Jack learning about communism and linking it with the fact that even those who were supposedly helping them made money from them. This book acknowledged the fact that some children were treated wonderfully by their Canadian families and were beloved family members rather than workers, by including a minor character who had such an experience. It also recognised some of the good intentions behind the scheme, while highlighting specific ways it fell short of those intentions. The author’s note provided a lot of context and is well worth the read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Rape
Too predictable, too many stereotypes. Too many other better books cover the same period and issues.
I have been a fan of Genevieve Graham's books for a few years now so of course when I received The Forgotten Home Child ARC I was so excited and of course I just had to read it right away even though the book didn't come out for a few months.
I just absolutely loved this heart-wrenching book. It is so well written and so well researched. I didn't even know about the forgotten home children until I heard of this book.
I just couldn't put this one down at all that I actually ended up staying up one night just so that I could keep reading this book.
I do highly recommend.
I just absolutely loved this heart-wrenching book. It is so well written and so well researched. I didn't even know about the forgotten home children until I heard of this book.
I just couldn't put this one down at all that I actually ended up staying up one night just so that I could keep reading this book.
I do highly recommend.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
THIS BOOK WAS SO SAD!!! I cried so much, probably the most I’ve cried from all the books of this year!!
Bittersweet ending, but so terrible that it’s based off of real events.
I’m so shocked we never heard about or learned about Home Children in school.
Writing was a little simple but this would make a great book for middle schoolers to learn about Canadian history.
Bittersweet ending, but so terrible that it’s based off of real events.
I’m so shocked we never heard about or learned about Home Children in school.
Writing was a little simple but this would make a great book for middle schoolers to learn about Canadian history.
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
https://cdnbookworm.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-forgotten-home-child.html
I have heard about the Orphan Trains but up until I read this story I never knew about the British Home Children.From 1869 more than 100,000 British Children ages 3 to 18 were taken from streets, orphanages and shipped too other countries forced to work.
This is a book that all Canadians, and all readers whom are interested in Historical Fiction should read.
I do not want to give this story away, as it is one that I think anyone who enjoys Historical Fiction will enjoy. What I will say is that it was an emotional read. I became attached to these characters and I felt their pain. I am ashamed to say that this is not a proud moment in Canada's history, but one I think we should all know about.
I was not left saddened in the end, but I definitely needed tissues throughout this story. I felt like I was sitting with the characters and having them share this story with me. I definitely recommend this story
This is a book that all Canadians, and all readers whom are interested in Historical Fiction should read.
I do not want to give this story away, as it is one that I think anyone who enjoys Historical Fiction will enjoy. What I will say is that it was an emotional read. I became attached to these characters and I felt their pain. I am ashamed to say that this is not a proud moment in Canada's history, but one I think we should all know about.
I was not left saddened in the end, but I definitely needed tissues throughout this story. I felt like I was sitting with the characters and having them share this story with me. I definitely recommend this story
I have nothing but praise for Genevieve Graham. The Forgotten Home Child was so captivating I finished in one day, and is a topic I didn’t know much about the history of.
She tackles a chapter of Canadian history here and weaves a stories of triumph, and heartache, mixed with the reality of hard and haunting times. Winny stole my heart entirely. There’s family dynamics that pull your heart strings and great loves (without it taking from the story -romance in historical fiction can sometimes take focus away from the topic at hand- but instead this was adding to the depth.)
I’ll also take the time to plug a favourite by Graham.... be sure to check out At The Mountains Edge.
I was lucky the last few books of her’s that I reviewed here on Good Reads she read/liked my reviews, so if you read this one: what a job well done, I loved it! I am a huge fan.
She tackles a chapter of Canadian history here and weaves a stories of triumph, and heartache, mixed with the reality of hard and haunting times. Winny stole my heart entirely. There’s family dynamics that pull your heart strings and great loves (without it taking from the story -romance in historical fiction can sometimes take focus away from the topic at hand- but instead this was adding to the depth.)
I’ll also take the time to plug a favourite by Graham.... be sure to check out At The Mountains Edge.
I was lucky the last few books of her’s that I reviewed here on Good Reads she read/liked my reviews, so if you read this one: what a job well done, I loved it! I am a huge fan.