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A review by booksaprilreads
Searching for You by Jody Hedlund
5.0
Searching For You is the third and final book in Jody Hedlund’s Orphan Train series. In this final installation, we learn more about Sophie Neumann’s story. We also find out whether or not Sophie is reunited with her sisters Elise and Marianne.
The story begins in New York with Sophie involved with a gang member and still caring for Olivia and Nicholas. For those not familiar with the series, Olivia and Nicholas are two orphans that the Neumann sisters began caring for in book one. Sophie and her friend Anna are witnesses to a crime and must leave the area. They decide to take advantage of the orphan placement program through the Children’s Aid Society, and find themselves in Illinois.
Sophie, Anna, Olivia and Nicholas end up with different families, and Sophie begins the process of trying to reunite Olivia and Nicolas with her, regardless of the danger or personal cost. Along the way, she and Anna are also reunited. We watch Sophie grow in so many ways and learn all of the ways she had to grow up faster than any child should in order to survive with two little ones in tow.
The twists and turns in this story were unexpected to an extent and yet I must applaud Ms. Hedlund for a job well done. I imagine weaving history and fiction is not an easy thing to do, and showing less pleasant sides to situations must pose even more challenges. Ms. Hedlund did all of the above and concluded this series in such a heartfelt way that she has yet again made it so hard for me to pick a favorite series or book by her. This book could be read by itself, but I truly feel that to appreciate it and all of the story lines that are concluded, reading the series in order is the best way to go about reading any of them. I was sad to have to say goodbye to these characters, but cannot wait to see what journey Ms. Hedlund takes her readers on next.
The story begins in New York with Sophie involved with a gang member and still caring for Olivia and Nicholas. For those not familiar with the series, Olivia and Nicholas are two orphans that the Neumann sisters began caring for in book one. Sophie and her friend Anna are witnesses to a crime and must leave the area. They decide to take advantage of the orphan placement program through the Children’s Aid Society, and find themselves in Illinois.
Sophie, Anna, Olivia and Nicholas end up with different families, and Sophie begins the process of trying to reunite Olivia and Nicolas with her, regardless of the danger or personal cost. Along the way, she and Anna are also reunited. We watch Sophie grow in so many ways and learn all of the ways she had to grow up faster than any child should in order to survive with two little ones in tow.
The twists and turns in this story were unexpected to an extent and yet I must applaud Ms. Hedlund for a job well done. I imagine weaving history and fiction is not an easy thing to do, and showing less pleasant sides to situations must pose even more challenges. Ms. Hedlund did all of the above and concluded this series in such a heartfelt way that she has yet again made it so hard for me to pick a favorite series or book by her. This book could be read by itself, but I truly feel that to appreciate it and all of the story lines that are concluded, reading the series in order is the best way to go about reading any of them. I was sad to have to say goodbye to these characters, but cannot wait to see what journey Ms. Hedlund takes her readers on next.