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19paws's review
5.0
I devoured this book over a few days. It’s both heartbreaking and uplifting. It's a story of tenement life in the mid-1800s, the orphan train, and the lack of choices -- and overwhelming sense of helplessness-- that affected women with no "protective" male or source of income. The story is based on the author’s own family history. Her note at the end of the book speaks to her personal experience as a bereaved parent and added a sense of poignancy to the story. Highly recommended.
beesreadingnook's review
4.0
"Count me now as a blackmailer as a jezebel, but I may as well be hanged for mutton as for lamb. I am perhaps a nobody, but I was his victim no longer."
tw: light spoilers, child abuse, sexual assault
Well, that was a rollercoaster.
The first two-thirds of this book were phenomenal. It was anything I could have ever wanted out of a historical fiction novel. But then the last third caught me off guard, and it just... ruined what could have been a five star read for me.
Pacing is extremely important. That's pretty common knowledge, but it's something that I struggle with myself in my writing. Because of my own susceptibility, I can get pretty nit-picky about it when I'm reading others' writing. The pacing in the first two-thirds was what made it so good; nothing felt rushed and everything felt very thorough and fleshed out. I started getting worried when I was around page 150 of 296 and the second half of the given summary had not yet begun to take place. Luckily, it was right there that it began to transition into the second part, so I relaxed. Unfortunately, I don't think this was timed correctly. The last third felt rushed and the ending, though quite happy for the most part, almost felt forced because of how quickly everything happened. Martha got her children back in less than a hundred pages... she had spent more time wondering whether she should put them in a home in the first place.
It's really unfortunate, because it's not that I even dislike the ending—I think it's a fine ending and I'm glad that (almost) everything worked out for Martha and her children. I liked how we learned about what happened to them and their descendants. It was a very neat ending, tied up with a little ribbon. But it feels off because of the fast-approaching ending in the last chunk of the book.
Other than that, the rest of the novel was wonderful. As previously stated, the first two thirds of the book were wonderfully written. I adored the imagery and how it painted such a clear picture in my mind. There was so much description that I could really see everything that was happening; it brought the story to life. It was delightful to read as well; I found that I really like Tracey's writing style.
The characters were a delight as well. Martha was an amazing, inspiring woman, and each of her children had such a distinct personality and I liked all of them, even the baby Homer. The villains in the story were realistic and well-done too, especially Montgomery. The sad reality of sexual harassment and how rich people (especially rich men) can worm their way out of sticky situations is presented really clearly in this book. As much as I wanted to see Montgomery get what he deserved, him disappearing from Martha's life was as much of a victory as we were gonna get.
Lastly, I wanted to mention the author's note / explanation at the very end of the book. It was a surprise to see that this was based off of her relatives, and it was really interesting to hear about their real versions compared to their characters. It's really cool that the author turned her family history into a compelling historical novel.
Thank you to Netgalley, Sibylline Press, and Julia Park Tracey for the ARC!
tw: light spoilers, child abuse, sexual assault
Well, that was a rollercoaster.
The first two-thirds of this book were phenomenal. It was anything I could have ever wanted out of a historical fiction novel. But then the last third caught me off guard, and it just... ruined what could have been a five star read for me.
Pacing is extremely important. That's pretty common knowledge, but it's something that I struggle with myself in my writing. Because of my own susceptibility, I can get pretty nit-picky about it when I'm reading others' writing. The pacing in the first two-thirds was what made it so good; nothing felt rushed and everything felt very thorough and fleshed out. I started getting worried when I was around page 150 of 296 and the second half of the given summary had not yet begun to take place. Luckily, it was right there that it began to transition into the second part, so I relaxed. Unfortunately, I don't think this was timed correctly. The last third felt rushed and the ending, though quite happy for the most part, almost felt forced because of how quickly everything happened. Martha got her children back in less than a hundred pages... she had spent more time wondering whether she should put them in a home in the first place.
It's really unfortunate, because it's not that I even dislike the ending—I think it's a fine ending and I'm glad that (almost) everything worked out for Martha and her children. I liked how we learned about what happened to them and their descendants. It was a very neat ending, tied up with a little ribbon. But it feels off because of the fast-approaching ending in the last chunk of the book.
Other than that, the rest of the novel was wonderful. As previously stated, the first two thirds of the book were wonderfully written. I adored the imagery and how it painted such a clear picture in my mind. There was so much description that I could really see everything that was happening; it brought the story to life. It was delightful to read as well; I found that I really like Tracey's writing style.
The characters were a delight as well. Martha was an amazing, inspiring woman, and each of her children had such a distinct personality and I liked all of them, even the baby Homer. The villains in the story were realistic and well-done too, especially Montgomery. The sad reality of sexual harassment and how rich people (especially rich men) can worm their way out of sticky situations is presented really clearly in this book. As much as I wanted to see Montgomery get what he deserved, him disappearing from Martha's life was as much of a victory as we were gonna get.
Lastly, I wanted to mention the author's note / explanation at the very end of the book. It was a surprise to see that this was based off of her relatives, and it was really interesting to hear about their real versions compared to their characters. It's really cool that the author turned her family history into a compelling historical novel.
Thank you to Netgalley, Sibylline Press, and Julia Park Tracey for the ARC!
theoverbookedbibliophile's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.25
Set for the most part in the late 1850s and 1860s New York City and based on the author’s family history, The Bereaved by Julia Park Tracey follows Martha Seybolt Lozier, a young widow who flees her home in Newburgh after the death of father-in-law leaves her fate and those of four children in the hands of a lecherous lawyer with whose intentions are quite clear to Martha.
Martha struggles to make ends meet in New York City while keeping her children safe. The tenement where takes a room houses several families like her own and though she does find people willing to help out, the lack of work opportunities, her exhausting supply of belongings to pawn off and almost nothing left of the money she had brought with them, Martha and her children are forced to survive on less than the bare minimum. To keep her children from starving, Martha makes the difficult choice to leave her children, initially, her two sons one of whose is a special needs child and later her daughter, Sarah, who is her oldest and her baby, Homer, in the care of The Home for the Friendless, charitable society that offers food, lodging and education to children whose family could not afford better care. Assuming this to be a temporary arrangement that would allow Martha access to her children on visitation days, Martha signs the papers not fully understanding what “surrendering” her children to the care of the organization entails. Unbeknownst to her, the organization places children with families across the country by way of “orphan trains” – a fact she comes to know after it is too late and all her children have been relocated.
The narrative follows Martha through the Civil War period as she struggles to better her own situation, find her children and reunite her family.
The Bereaved by Julia Park Tracey is a moving story that revolves around family, sacrifice, motherhood and grief. The author does an excellent job of describing the setting in terms of time and place. The story is presented from Martha’s perspective in the first-person narrative format. Martha is an admirable protagonist and we can feel her pain and despair as struggles with poverty and faces fear and despair when her children are taken from her. In an era where women had few rights or opportunities, Martha’s determination and strength are inspiring. She faces poverty, harassment, ridicule, and much more but she does not give up in her search for her children. The characters are well-developed (even the unlikeable ones) and I was engrossed in the narrative from the very first page. I enjoyed the crisp writing and the structure of the narrative. However, I did feel the ending (and a large part of the second half of the novel) was a tad rushed.
In her Note, the author shares how she was inspired to research the history of her family (Martha’s youngest child was her second great-grandfather) and the facts that she discovered in the course of her quest and how those facts were combined with some fictional elements into the crafting of this beautiful novel.
Overall, this is an incredibly moving story that I would not hesitate to recommend. Just be prepared to shed more than a few tears.
Many thanks to Sibylline Press and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
Martha struggles to make ends meet in New York City while keeping her children safe. The tenement where takes a room houses several families like her own and though she does find people willing to help out, the lack of work opportunities, her exhausting supply of belongings to pawn off and almost nothing left of the money she had brought with them, Martha and her children are forced to survive on less than the bare minimum. To keep her children from starving, Martha makes the difficult choice to leave her children, initially, her two sons one of whose is a special needs child and later her daughter, Sarah, who is her oldest and her baby, Homer, in the care of The Home for the Friendless, charitable society that offers food, lodging and education to children whose family could not afford better care. Assuming this to be a temporary arrangement that would allow Martha access to her children on visitation days, Martha signs the papers not fully understanding what “surrendering” her children to the care of the organization entails. Unbeknownst to her, the organization places children with families across the country by way of “orphan trains” – a fact she comes to know after it is too late and all her children have been relocated.
The narrative follows Martha through the Civil War period as she struggles to better her own situation, find her children and reunite her family.
The Bereaved by Julia Park Tracey is a moving story that revolves around family, sacrifice, motherhood and grief. The author does an excellent job of describing the setting in terms of time and place. The story is presented from Martha’s perspective in the first-person narrative format. Martha is an admirable protagonist and we can feel her pain and despair as struggles with poverty and faces fear and despair when her children are taken from her. In an era where women had few rights or opportunities, Martha’s determination and strength are inspiring. She faces poverty, harassment, ridicule, and much more but she does not give up in her search for her children. The characters are well-developed (even the unlikeable ones) and I was engrossed in the narrative from the very first page. I enjoyed the crisp writing and the structure of the narrative. However, I did feel the ending (and a large part of the second half of the novel) was a tad rushed.
In her Note, the author shares how she was inspired to research the history of her family (Martha’s youngest child was her second great-grandfather) and the facts that she discovered in the course of her quest and how those facts were combined with some fictional elements into the crafting of this beautiful novel.
Overall, this is an incredibly moving story that I would not hesitate to recommend. Just be prepared to shed more than a few tears.
Many thanks to Sibylline Press and NetGalley for the digital review copy of this novel. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.
jodie_books's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
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