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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
Books like The Forgotten Home Child remind me of exactly why I love historical fiction. Well-written historical fiction novels sweep me away with a powerful story and teach me about a time or place or perspective in history that I may not have otherwise known. The Forgotten Home Child by Genevieve Graham does exactly this.
This is the story of the British Home Children, a child relocation program where approximately 100 000 children were shipped from the United Kingdom to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. These were poor or orphaned children who were sent away in an effort to clean up the impoverished streets in the UK.
The Forgotten Home Child focuses on three friends sent to Canada in the 1930s. Jack, Mary, and Winny were purchased by families looking for cheap labour. While their agreements were to treat the children well, and be sure they were given time to go to school, many Home Children suffered heartbreaking abuse while they worked as indentured servants.
Recently, Canada has been going through a period of facing the hard facts of its history. Importantly, the truths of Indigenous residential schools are being exposed. Exploring the history of these Home Children is another uncomfortable truth in Canada's history that could use more light. The Forgotten Home Child is that light.
It marries fiction and reality in a bittersweet story of friendship, family, and resilience. Told in dual timelines, 97-year-old Winny knows she doesn't have many days left ahead of her, and when her great-grandson asks about their family tree, she decides it is time she told her family the truth of their history.
The Forgotten Home Chid is a powerful story that will stay with you long after you finish reading.
This is the story of the British Home Children, a child relocation program where approximately 100 000 children were shipped from the United Kingdom to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. These were poor or orphaned children who were sent away in an effort to clean up the impoverished streets in the UK.
The Forgotten Home Child focuses on three friends sent to Canada in the 1930s. Jack, Mary, and Winny were purchased by families looking for cheap labour. While their agreements were to treat the children well, and be sure they were given time to go to school, many Home Children suffered heartbreaking abuse while they worked as indentured servants.
Recently, Canada has been going through a period of facing the hard facts of its history. Importantly, the truths of Indigenous residential schools are being exposed. Exploring the history of these Home Children is another uncomfortable truth in Canada's history that could use more light. The Forgotten Home Child is that light.
It marries fiction and reality in a bittersweet story of friendship, family, and resilience. Told in dual timelines, 97-year-old Winny knows she doesn't have many days left ahead of her, and when her great-grandson asks about their family tree, she decides it is time she told her family the truth of their history.
The Forgotten Home Chid is a powerful story that will stay with you long after you finish reading.
This book started off a little bit slow, but when it picked up, I could not put it down. I had never heard of the Home Children, so it taught me the horrifics of a system that should have been good, but ultimately was so terrible for millions of kids. My heart hurts for these characters, and for all of the children forgotten about from that time. I praise Graham for writing this heartwrenching novel and for working to teach people about these kids that should never be forgotten.
This book was not only an incredible educational tool, but it was such a beautiful novel. It made me laugh, cry, yearn, and mourn. The characters were fierce and strong and relatable and I fell in love with all of them and hated their enemies. Kudos to Graham for this incredible work.
This book was not only an incredible educational tool, but it was such a beautiful novel. It made me laugh, cry, yearn, and mourn. The characters were fierce and strong and relatable and I fell in love with all of them and hated their enemies. Kudos to Graham for this incredible work.
A beautifully written story, based on the very real plight of the thousands of British children sent to Canada at the turn of the century. Winny, Mary, Jack, Cecil, Edward, Charlotte and Quinn represent approximately 120,000 children who were placed with Canadian families, after being taken from the streets and orphanages of England between the late 1880s and late 1940s. These children were often indentured slaves on Canadian farms, during the war and
Depression era, and lived extremely difficult lives. Graham has done a stellar job in bringing this topic to the forefront and offering a platform to educate people about this significant part of Canadian history. Her characters are realistic and compelling, and I was entirely absorbed in their stories.
Depression era, and lived extremely difficult lives. Graham has done a stellar job in bringing this topic to the forefront and offering a platform to educate people about this significant part of Canadian history. Her characters are realistic and compelling, and I was entirely absorbed in their stories.
The Forgotten Home Child is about children getting sent to Canada, the only country I've ever called home, from England, a country where my family comes from. I had no idea any of this ever happened and I want to thank Genevieve Graham for opening my eyes to such a heartbreaking topic. that took place in the country I call home. The research she conducted to write this novel, using real life experiences from her research, was a huge eye opener to the Canadian history I was taught in school.
This book is told from the perspective of Winny in 2018 and Winny and Jack in their younger years when they first arrived in Canada. After living on the streets, in orphanages, homes for children and eventually being sent to Canada to become "Home Children", Winny, Jack and his sister, Mary, and brothers Edward and Cecil, learn the hardships no child should ever have to endure. This novel takes you throughout their lives, following Winny and Jack's journeys as they grow and battle the hand they were dealt in the only way they knew how.
I felt every emotion reading this book. I ugly cried more than once and full on blubbered at the end. While it as quite obvious how the novel would play out, my heart still twisted and turned with everything that happened. The writing was beautiful, not sugarcoating the things these children had to endure, but helping you understand what they went through and how they made it through it. I loved these characters, feeling heartache, heartbreak and pure happiness for each of them. I believe this book is going to stick with me for quite a long time and I highly recommend this one to everyone.
This book is told from the perspective of Winny in 2018 and Winny and Jack in their younger years when they first arrived in Canada. After living on the streets, in orphanages, homes for children and eventually being sent to Canada to become "Home Children", Winny, Jack and his sister, Mary, and brothers Edward and Cecil, learn the hardships no child should ever have to endure. This novel takes you throughout their lives, following Winny and Jack's journeys as they grow and battle the hand they were dealt in the only way they knew how.
I felt every emotion reading this book. I ugly cried more than once and full on blubbered at the end. While it as quite obvious how the novel would play out, my heart still twisted and turned with everything that happened. The writing was beautiful, not sugarcoating the things these children had to endure, but helping you understand what they went through and how they made it through it. I loved these characters, feeling heartache, heartbreak and pure happiness for each of them. I believe this book is going to stick with me for quite a long time and I highly recommend this one to everyone.
I don't know why I resist reading historical fiction so often, because so many times when I do read a book in this genre I absolutely adore it!
The Forgotten Home Child was informative and important, while also emotional and gripping and sadly wonderful. I just adored it.
I knew nothing about the story of British Home Children before reading this book, and I love when a work of fiction can also be a learning opportunity.
A similar book is Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate which is a fictionalized story of the Tennessee Home Children. The Forgotten Home Child is the Canadian/British equivalent in a sense and I would recommend it to any Canadian reader interested in historical fiction.
I will certainly read more by Genevieve Graham going forward!
The Forgotten Home Child was informative and important, while also emotional and gripping and sadly wonderful. I just adored it.
I knew nothing about the story of British Home Children before reading this book, and I love when a work of fiction can also be a learning opportunity.
A similar book is Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate which is a fictionalized story of the Tennessee Home Children. The Forgotten Home Child is the Canadian/British equivalent in a sense and I would recommend it to any Canadian reader interested in historical fiction.
I will certainly read more by Genevieve Graham going forward!
So many experienced are similar to those of the children of the Orphan Train. The story is pulls you in and keeps you rooting for a happy ending.
A mostly feel-good story based on the historical cases of the British children who were sent to Canada to serve as farm workers in the 1920s. The focus of the story is a group of children who survived together on the streets before being placed in children's homes; the author gives them each unique lives and ultimately reunites several in different ways. the story is framed by a narrative of a woman finally telling her granddaughter and great-grandson the story of her life. A bit milksop and obvious. Content warnings for rape (which the author never plainly names, which I find ridiculously squeamish and a disservice to the many young women and girls who were raped during their service) and suicide, PTSD, alcoholism, and brutality.
A beautifully written story, based on the very real plight of the thousands of British children sent to Canada at the turn of the century. Winny, Mary, Jack, Cecil, Edward, Charlotte and Quinn represent approximately 120,000 children who were placed with Canadian families, after being taken from the streets and orphanages of England between the late 1880s and late 1940s. These children were often indentured slaves on Canadian farms, during the war and
Depression era, and lived extremely difficult lives. Graham has done a stellar job in bringing this topic to the forefront and offering a platform to educate people about this significant part of Canadian history. Her characters are realistic and compelling, and I was entirely absorbed in their stories.
Depression era, and lived extremely difficult lives. Graham has done a stellar job in bringing this topic to the forefront and offering a platform to educate people about this significant part of Canadian history. Her characters are realistic and compelling, and I was entirely absorbed in their stories.
This book was amazing. I was interested in reading more about this time in Canada and boy did it deliver. I loved it so much that I bought it, even though I received this as a digital ARC from Netgalley. :)
The characters were endearing andI fell in love with Winny, Mary, Jack, Edward and Cecil. They were well fleshed out and their stories told with such care and tenderness. I could feel the banter, love and loyalty this band of urgents from the streets of London had for each other. The author passed back and forth gracefully through the past and present. I looked forward to seeing the reaction of Winny's grandson Jamie to her story and him wanting more.
Don't get me wrong this book had a lot of hard times mentioned but the author handled those times brilliantly.
Huge thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for giving me a chance to read this story and teaching me something new about this country I now make my home in.
The characters were endearing andI fell in love with Winny, Mary, Jack, Edward and Cecil. They were well fleshed out and their stories told with such care and tenderness. I could feel the banter, love and loyalty this band of urgents from the streets of London had for each other. The author passed back and forth gracefully through the past and present. I looked forward to seeing the reaction of Winny's grandson Jamie to her story and him wanting more.
Don't get me wrong this book had a lot of hard times mentioned but the author handled those times brilliantly.
Huge thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and the author for giving me a chance to read this story and teaching me something new about this country I now make my home in.
I DEVOURED this audiobook. This book came at the perfect time and filled a historical fiction gap in my reading life.
Between 1869 and the late 1930s, over 100,000 orphaned and destitute children were sent to Canada from Britain to be basically indentured servants. Many of those children were treated poorly in their new circumstances. Dubbed the British Home Children and overlooked by, their stories are being brought to the public’s attention in part thanks to this novel.
Following the fictionalized Winny’s story from 1938 to 2018, the author weaves the highs and lows of a girl who had to make her own way when life kept providing her with terrible circumstances. This book asks the questions: What is family? What is the power of a promise? How do you find the will to survive?
Readers who love stories of found family, hope in hopeless circumstances, unknown historical fiction, and dual timelines done well will enjoy this one. It reminded me of Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for a free digital copy that I read in partnership with the audio.
Between 1869 and the late 1930s, over 100,000 orphaned and destitute children were sent to Canada from Britain to be basically indentured servants. Many of those children were treated poorly in their new circumstances. Dubbed the British Home Children and overlooked by, their stories are being brought to the public’s attention in part thanks to this novel.
Following the fictionalized Winny’s story from 1938 to 2018, the author weaves the highs and lows of a girl who had to make her own way when life kept providing her with terrible circumstances. This book asks the questions: What is family? What is the power of a promise? How do you find the will to survive?
Readers who love stories of found family, hope in hopeless circumstances, unknown historical fiction, and dual timelines done well will enjoy this one. It reminded me of Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for a free digital copy that I read in partnership with the audio.