A review by efirer
The Forgotten Home Child by Genevieve Graham

5.0

A moving story based on real events, we meet Winny, Mary, Jack, Edward and Cecil, “home children”. These children were poor, often orphaned and on the streets of London. Over 100,000 were sold as indentured to families in Canada, most on farms and used for labor. Often brutalized, but with nowhere to turn, they were able to leave at 18, if they made it through sleeping in barns and treated like chattel. I loved Winny’s strength, not just to plow through but to make something of her self, become a nurse, and keep promises. The home children program started in 1869, and went on until 1948, with the promise of better lives often false. The author researched this part of Canadian history that was not well known, and this novel is the result. I highly recommend this novel, for its historical perspective and the characters.