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joypouros 's review for:
The Girls with No Names
by Serena Burdick
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book sneaks up on you and is so incredibly sad.
Two sisters, the younger one with a heart defect, sneak to meet nearby gypsies. After a summer of sneaking and becoming more discontent with her own life, the eldest runs away to be with the gypsies forever. She leaves a note for her sister, Effie, but the parents find it first and decide not to tell Effie about it or where her sister went.
Effie wrongly assumes her parents sent her away to the House of Mercy. This is a true historical place, where girls were sent by the courts or their own families for infractions ranging from major crimes to premarital sex. The conditions were harsh, and these were essentially prisons/labor camps sponsored by churches and endorsed by society.
Effie knows her parents are softer on her, so she finds a way to be sent to the House of Mercy and leaves a note saying she won't come back unless they bring her sister back too. Of course, her sister isn't there and her parents think she must know the sister went with the gypsies and thus they cannot find her and Effie is now at the House of Mercy indefinitely.
There, she meets Mabel who comes from a very different walk of life. They eventually escape, the runaway sister returns home stricken with grief that this is her fault, and their mother finally has the courage to leave their father due to his infidelity.
It's a hard read because the women have such few choices and despite it being a work of fiction, the lack of options and the horror of places like the House of Mercy are very much true.
There are multiple perspectives, which make it very interesting. I read it very quickly. I love the acknowledgement at the end, where the author discusses her use of the word gypsy and how she decided to write about the Romani.
Two sisters, the younger one with a heart defect, sneak to meet nearby gypsies. After a summer of sneaking and becoming more discontent with her own life, the eldest runs away to be with the gypsies forever. She leaves a note for her sister, Effie, but the parents find it first and decide not to tell Effie about it or where her sister went.
Effie wrongly assumes her parents sent her away to the House of Mercy. This is a true historical place, where girls were sent by the courts or their own families for infractions ranging from major crimes to premarital sex. The conditions were harsh, and these were essentially prisons/labor camps sponsored by churches and endorsed by society.
Effie knows her parents are softer on her, so she finds a way to be sent to the House of Mercy and leaves a note saying she won't come back unless they bring her sister back too. Of course, her sister isn't there and her parents think she must know the sister went with the gypsies and thus they cannot find her and Effie is now at the House of Mercy indefinitely.
There, she meets Mabel who comes from a very different walk of life. They eventually escape, the runaway sister returns home stricken with grief that this is her fault, and their mother finally has the courage to leave their father due to his infidelity.
It's a hard read because the women have such few choices and despite it being a work of fiction, the lack of options and the horror of places like the House of Mercy are very much true.
There are multiple perspectives, which make it very interesting. I read it very quickly. I love the acknowledgement at the end, where the author discusses her use of the word gypsy and how she decided to write about the Romani.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Forced institutionalization, Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Rape