Wayward Girls by Susan Wiggs

 

My thoughts

This was a very compelling story. Based on true events but is fiction. It's very realistic and heartfelt. It's so obvious the author did great research into this. A tough subject matter too. Fiction but based on the truth. Based on what happened way to often by Nuns in the Catholic churches. In the homes they kept for girls who needed love and understanding, not abuse and shame. 

I've said it many times after reading this kind of book but will say again: I do not understand how NUNS can be so mean and cruel. So horrible to young girls and teens. For that matter how can priests do the things they have done. It's heartbreaking what happened between the pages of this novel. But it happened and I'm sure it still happens now in many places. We are suppose to protect the innocent but demean and demoralize them. Abuse them. 

This is the story of a group of teens in a home run by nuns. Sent there for different reasons they are all treated the same. Not in a good way either. The main character, Mairin, was sent because her stepdad tried to molest her. Her mother it seems sided with the stepdad. That hit me right straight in my heart. I almost could not continue this book while reading that part. If not for Mairin's brother there is no telling what the stepdad would have done. Yes, Mairin was sent to the Good Shepard house because she was an innocent fifteen year old who needed protecting. 

There are six girls you read about in this book. Each has a story. Some are worse then others. But they are all bad. The nuns were so abusive. Using these girls like slaves. Locking them in a small closet if they dared so much as speak to each other. No schooling. No exercise. No good food. There was some abuses that happened that made my blood boil. A girl gets pregnant and the nuns accuse her of being a seductress. Of luring a delivery man or a worker into a relationship. They didn't care that she was a child and that it was one of their own, in a way, that caused this. And then took away the baby because she was doomed forever because she was an unwed mother. 

There is a lot. A lot of tears. A few chuckles in places when you see some of the antics from Mairin. She was so strong willed. So determined to get away. But also so caring toward her friends at the home. She tried to teach them some things to help them. 

These girls were lifelong friends. They agreed to meet again on a certain date but Mairin was the only one to show up year after year. Until she wasn't. When one came along. Then when others emerged. When there was a chance at getting back at the nuns for what they did. There was one nun that some I'm sure liked or felt sorry for. Not me. I despised her as much as the others. Sister Bernadette. She was not so innocent. She wasn't much older than they were so she should have been more understanding. I didn't like her until the end. At the end I finally decided she was ok. But it's because of something she did. 

How can a religious group treat human beings this way. There are ways to discipline that does not include abuse. There are things besides slave labor for profit. There are other ways to help girls who are unwanted, abused, pregnant, angry, unruly, and just there because the system has turned on them. Treating them as human beings would be a good start.

This book made me have so many feelings. Anger was a big on. Sadness and horror too. I cried my eyes out in places. I loved the ending though. It was great. This author has a new fan now. I'll be reading more of her books.

Thank you to the publisher for this ARC.  

About

From New York Times bestselling author Susan Wiggs, a wrenching but life-affirming novel based on a true story of survival, friendship, and redemption when six girls come together in a Catholic reform school in 1960s Buffalo, NY. Perfect for fans of Before We Were Yours, Orphan Train, and The Berry Pickers.

It was a place frozen in time, an ancient fortress haunted by echoes that whispered against the gray stone in a mysterious, heavy rhythm, as though this place was entirely separate from the rest of the world. A sign by the inner door read Our Lady of Charity Refuge and Sisters of the Good Shepherd.

Mairin’s breath caught in her throat as comprehension crept over her. This place was the one mentioned in scandalized whispers from the older girls at school. It was the one people gossiped about when a girl suddenly stopped showing up to class. It was the place angry parents—like her own mother—threatened their daughters “I’ll send you to the nuns, just you see if I won’t.”

Amid the turbulence of the Vietnam Era, in the all-American city of Buffalo, New York, teenage girls were condemned to forced labor at the Good Shepherd, a dark and secret institution controlled by the Sisters of Charity nuns.

In 1968 we meet six teens thrust into confinement at the Good Shepherd—merely for being gay, pregnant, or simply unruly.

Mairin— free-spirited daughter of Irish immigrants was committed to keep her safe from her stepfather.

Angela—denounced for her attraction to girls, was sent to the nuns for reform, but instead found herself the victim of a predator.

Helen—the daughter of intellectuals detained in Communist China, saw her “temporary” stay at the Good Shepherd stretch into years.

Odessa—caught up in a police dragnet over a racial incident, found the physical and mental toughness to endure her sentence.

Denise—sentenced for brawling in a foster home, dared to dream of a better life.

Janice—deeply insecure, she couldn’t decide where her loyalty lay—except when it came to her friend Kay, who would never outgrow her childlike dependency.

Sister Bernadette—rescued from a dreadful childhood, she owed her loyalty to the Sisters of Charity even as her conscience weighed on her.

Wayward Girls is a haunting but thrilling tale of hope, solidarity, and the enduring strength of young women who find the courage to break free and find redemption...and justice.

Finding Grace by Loretta Rothschild

 

My thoughts

For a debut this is really good. I was pulled right into the story. It has the best first chapter ever. The end of the first chapter literally made me gasp out loud. I didn't see it coming. 

This is a story of love. Also a story of loss. It's the story of a family. Tom, Honor and their daughter Chloe. They are on vacation in Paris. Honor promised to be there for her family but she can't stop wondering if the surrogate they hired is pregnant yet. She wants a baby so bad. A sibling for Chloe. Tom is so aggravated that he tells her he doesn't want another baby with her. But does he mean it? What will she do?

I can't say to much about this story or I'll give away things that you need to read for yourself. I will say that I think the author did a fantastic job of writing this book. She captured my attention and my heart. Made me shed some tears and even gave a laugh or two. It has some intense parts and some parts that aggravated me to know end. 

I did not like Tom. Not at all throughout the whole book. He was, in my opinion, a weak man. Somewhat of a sissy boy. He was a liar and whined to much. I understand his reasons for holding back some things from Grace but good grief. He just grated on my nerves. I adored Honor. I was all set to hate her mother until something comes out about her. Then I understood. So did Honor I do believe. 

This book starts out around Christmas time. It takes you through a lot. There are a few secondary characters. Some I liked and one I really detested. I mean she just did her thing out of the blue it seemed. That needed more work. Maybe she had a mental problem. Yes, that is what was wrong. Maybe. I really liked the Sunday Blues brigade too. A group of women who were widows. 

Now I wonder if: When Tom first met Grace if he had been honest where would things have gone. Nowhere and fast. I understand him holding back. But he also had so many chances much later. 

Good story. Emotional, funny, aggravating, happy, in love. So many emotions. I did like this story a lot. I hated Lauren and Tom but the rest of the characters I liked a lot. Even Honor's mother. I also adored Henry. 

This story is basically told by Honor and goes from before Paris to while in Paris. 

Thank you #StMartinsPress, #Macmillianaudio for this ARC. 

Four stars and well worth reading 

About

Honor seems to have everything. She adores her daughter Chloe and her husband Tom (even if he does work one hundred hours a week). But her longing for another baby threatens to eclipse all of it―until a shocking event changes their lives forever.

Years later Tom makes a decision that ripples through their families' lives in ways he could not have foreseen. As the consequences of that fateful choice unfold, two women's paths become irrevocably intertwined. But when old love clashes with new, who will be left standing? And what happens when your secrets come back to haunt you?

Lightning In A Mason Jar by Catherine Mann

 

My thoughts

This book was a pleasure to read. It had a tough subject matter but overall it was a beautifully written story of women, friendships, being there for each other, and moving pass abusive relationships. It is in two different time periods that eventually meet. I enjoyed this book so much. Even the hard parts were good. Not hard to read. 

Back in the early seventies women were still predominantly reliant on men. To have a home. Money. Children. Everything. Who wants to go back to that? Uggg 

When Winnie goes missing and is presumed dead Bailey Rae is devastated. Winnie had been the best thing to ever happen to Bailey Rae. Even though they were not blood relations they loved each other like they were. Bailey Rae was like the daughter Winnie never had. 

Winnie had fled an abusive marriage. Her husband had put her in an institution. Not because of losing a child. Not because she was mental in any way. Because he could. She was just in his way. When she managed to escape she faked her death and went to South Carolina. Once there she was able to get help to start her life over. She met several ladies who had come there for the same reason. Made some friends. Deep friends. Ones that understood what she had endured and why she fled. 

This book will make you shed some tears. It will also have you rooting for the women. For them to get past things that happened. These women had gone through so much. Some way worse than others. But still it was the ultimate sacrifice to lose your name and start over with a whole new identity. To leave behind all that you once thought would be such a good and happy life. To make new memories. New dreams. A whole new life. And in most cases, never look back.

This book was tough but also it was filled with so much love. I throughly enjoyed reading it. I loved getting to know the women and the dog. Yes I loved that dog. When it grabbed that bullies leg I cheered. 

Great book. Well written. A real page turner with lots of intense scenes and, yes, a love story too. 

Thank you to the publisher for this ARC. 

About

In South Carolina, a woman discovers her aunt’s profound secrets in an emotional novel spanning decades about trauma, survival, and the bonds of female friendship by a USA Today bestselling author.

Since Bailey Rae Rigby’s adoptive aunt Winnie passed, Bent Oak, South Carolina, doesn’t have much of a hold on her anymore. So it seems.

Bailey Rae aims to settle the small estate and, armed with her aunt’s inspiring personal cookbook, buy a food truck with an ocean view in Myrtle Beach. Everything goes awry when a distraught young mother arrives in town clutching a copy of that same cookbook. Embedded inside is a code that promises a safe place in Bent Oak for desperate women on the run. For Bailey Rae it opens up a world of questions. Who really was the beloved aunt she’s known most of her life?

Winnie Ballard’s story reaches back fifty years—one of a Southern debutante’s harrowing marriage, of her escape and reinvention, and the galvanizing friendship of three resilient women who overcame their traumas, created a shelter, and found purpose. But there’s more to Winnie’s deliverance and long-held secrets than Bailey Rae imagines.

With each revelation, Bailey Rae draws on her aunt’s courage to find purpose herself. For now, whatever threats may come, Bailey Rae isn’t going anywhere.

The River is Waiting by Wally Lamb

 

My thoughts

I gave this book five stars. Not because I loved it. I hated it. I think the author did a fantastic job of writing it. I think he did a fantastic job of making it emotional. It was such a sad book though. I cried so much while reading this book. It is definitely a heartbreaking tearjerker. It's definitely shattering. 

If you have lost a child do not read this book. If you have a loved on in prison maybe don't read it. If you love a good hard gut wrenching read, read it. I finished this book but good grief did it hurt. 

You meet Corby and Emily along with their two twin children. A boy and a girl. Corby lost his job and is a stay home dad taking care of the children. What a wonderful thing for him to do. Except that Corby has secrets. Bad secrets. He's addicted to prescription drugs and alcohol. He drinks during the day in hopes that his wife, Emily, won't know. Then a tragedy strikes and Corby is sent away to prison. He only got five years, to serve three, and three years probation. Not nearly enough for what he did. 

While in prison you get to see what life is like for Corby now. It's not pretty but still it's much easier than he deserves. I absolutely hated him but I did feel sorry for him in places and for certain reasons. I hated him for what he did. For the drinking and drugs and driving. For what to me seemed he didn't consider other people's feelings enough. He was so selfish. But still this book is very well written and the feelings it causes are so real. You truly will feel the emotions and sorrows and sadness that you should. Like you are part of this families lives.

Emily on the other hand was understandably filled with so much anger towards Corby. I didn't much like her either though. I think she should have gone to see Corby more and taken their child to see him. Yes she had every right to be angry. Every right to hate him. Though she didn't hate him. I would have. I did actually. She was just a bit selfish though. Both were. I do understand Emily more though. I felt bad for her. I can't say that she lost so much without acknowledging that they both lost so much. It was Corby's fault though. Yes Emily should have said something when she had her suspicions. But she was not his keeper exactly. Though if she did know or suspect she certainly should have made sure her children were not allowed in a vehicle with him. Period!!!

This is a very emotional book. It's sad. It's horrible. But it's also a good story. It's well written. It had an ending that gutted me in so many ways. And the letter from Corby's dad.... That was so so sad also. Good book but way to sad. 

Thank you to the publisher, #SimonElemont for this ARC. It is also a BOTM choice for me. 

About

Corby Ledbetter is struggling. New fatherhood, the loss of his job, and a growing secret addiction have thrown his marriage to his beloved Emily into a tailspin. And that's before he causes the tragedy that tears the family apart.

Sentenced to prison, Corby struggles to survive life on the inside, where he bears witness to frightful acts of brutality but also experiences small acts of kindness and elemental kinship with a prison librarian who sees his light and some of his fellow offenders, including a tender-hearted cellmate and a troubled teen desperate for a role model. Buoyed by them and by his mother's enduring faith in him, Corby begins to transcend the boundaries of his confinement, sustained by his hope that mercy and reconciliation might still be possible. Can his crimes ever be forgiven by those he loves?

Bury Our Bones in the Midnight Soil by V. E. Schwab

 

My thoughts

When I requested this book I didn't notice that it was just a sneak peek. I would not leave a review until I listened to the whole thing so went and bought an audio of it. 

This book is very good. While it can't hold a candle to The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue, it is good. It held my attention and kept me wanting more. While it does start out just a bit slow it picks up quickly. There are three narrators and two were excellent. One didn't hold up quite as well and since I have no idea whose voice was for each person I can only say that it was the voice of Alice that was a bit of a let down. Other than that you can't go wrong if you love a good vampire story in audio. 

This one deals with basically three characters. Each has a story and a reason. Their stories start out with the year they died. You learn all about them and how they are turned. What sadness and happiness they each hold. How they are turned. 

The ending was very good. I think the author is excellent. She seems to give her books so much structure and feeling. I can't wait for a new book by this author.

Thank you #MacmillianAudio and #NetGalley for this audio arc. So good I highly recommend it. 

I also made it my BOTM choice and added it along side Addie LaRue to my personal library. 

About

From V. E. Schwab, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue: a new genre-defying novel about immortality and hunger.

This is a story about hunger.
1532. Santo Domingo de la Calzada.
A young girl grows up wild and wily—her beauty is only outmatched by her dreams of escape. But María knows she can only ever be a prize, or a pawn, in the games played by men. When an alluring stranger offers an alternate path, María makes a desperate choice. She vows to have no regrets.

This is a story about love.
1827. London.
A young woman lives an idyllic but cloistered life on her family’s estate, until a moment of forbidden intimacy sees her shipped off to London. Charlotte’s tender heart and seemingly impossible wishes are swept away by an invitation from a beautiful widow—but the price of freedom is higher than she could have imagined.

This is a story about rage.
2019. Boston.
College was supposed to be her chance to be someone new. That’s why Alice moved halfway across the world, leaving her old life behind. But after an out-of-character one-night stand leaves her questioning her past, her present, and her future, Alice throws herself into the hunt for answers . . . and revenge.

This is a story about life—
how it ends, and how it starts.

The Stolen Life of Colette Marceau By Kristin Harmel

 My thoughts

This book will definitely be in my top ten book of the year. It was perfection. A story that kept me turning the pages. Kept me in tears and even a laugh or two. Mostly it made me believe in life. As hard as things are now and were back then, there is always hope for the future. Never give up...

This is the story of a family. Or a mother and her daughter. Colette is so young when her mother, Annabel, starts teaching her about the family "tradition." They are descendants of Robin Hood. We have all heard of him right? They steal from the rich. The ones that do harm and have little regard for others, and use it to help the underprivileged. The ones who need it most. In this case it's the underground helping the Jews to escape the Germans. 

This story is told in two timelines. Back in the early/mid 1930s/1940s, and then in 2018. Told before and during the time Colette's mother is captured by the Germans for stealing. When Colette's little sister is taken by someone and murdered. When she herself and her father are also arrested. The guilt that follows Colette. She blames herself for Liiane's abduction and subsequent death. 

This is also a story of much hope. Of a love story that was never allowed to blossom. Colette met a boy named Tristan when she was only fourteen and it seems they fell in love. What an innocent age. Tristan was a Jewish boy though. When the Nazi's came and put the Jews in prisons and shipped them off to concentration camps, Tristan was one of them. Colette lost him. She dedicated her life to helping the weak and finding the man who took her sister.

This book is so emotional and so good. It's about a family and shows that blood is not always what makes a family. Sometimes it's being there for others. Though blood family is very much at the center of this story too. Colette was a strong woman. She never gave up trying to find the man who took Liliane. It all starts with a bracelet. The exacte twin to the one Colette has. Whoever own it had to be the one who took Liliane. 

This book is one of the best I have read. This author can write a story that always pulls you in and captures your heart. Her research is impeccable.  She puts her whole heart in each story she writes. 

Please read the AUTHOR'S NOTE at the ending too. It's well worth it. I'm so glad Kristin Harmel got her writing abilities back. So very glad. 

Don't forget to get those mammograms ladies. They can be lifesaving. May 21st was mine. Please get them every year!!

Thank you to #NetGalley, and #GalleryBooks, for this ARC. 

About

Kristin Harmel, the New York Timesbestselling author who “is the best there is at sweeping historical drama” (Kelly Harms, author ofThe Seven Day Switch), returns with an electrifying new novel about two jewel thieves, a priceless bracelet that disappears in 1940s Paris, and a quest for answers in a decades-old murder.

Colette Marceau has been stealing jewels for nearly as long as she can remember, following the centuries-old code of honor instilled in her by her mother, take only from the cruel and unkind, and give to those in need. Never was their family tradition more important than seven decades earlier, during the Second World War, when Annabel and Colette worked side by side in Paris to fund the French Resistance.

But one night in 1942, it all went wrong. Annabel was arrested by the Germans, and Colette’s four-year-old sister, Liliane, disappeared in the chaos of the raid, along with an exquisite diamond bracelet sewn into the hem of her nightgown for safekeeping. Soon after, Annabel was executed, and Liliane’s body was found floating in the Seine—but the bracelet was nowhere to be found.

Seventy years later, Colette—who has “redistributed” $30 million in jewels over the decades to fund many worthy organizations—has done her best to put her tragic past behind her, but her life begins to unravel when the long-missing bracelet suddenly turns up in a museum exhibit in Boston. If Colette can discover where it has been all this time—and who owns it now—she may finally learn the truth about what happened to her sister. But she isn’t the only one for whom the bracelet holds answers, and when someone from her childhood lays claim to the diamonds, she’s forced to confront the ghosts of her past as never before. Against all odds, there may still be a chance to bring a murderer to justice—but first, Colette will have to summon the courage to open her own battered heart. 

Before Dorothy by Hazel Gaynor

 

My thoughts

This was such a fun book. Yes it was intense and in places it was very emotional. But it was still a fun one. You get to know about Auntie Em. From when she was young and single. To when she met and fell in love with Uncle Henry. How Dorothy came to live with them. What happened to Dorothy when she went to Oz.... If she did.

This book if full of Easter Eggs from The Wizard of Oz so be sure and look for them. They are placed throughout and I enjoyed them.

Auntie Em was born in Ireland. Her parents and two sisters traveled to the US as immigrants. Both parents died and the oldest sister married and moved to California. Emily and her sister Annie stayed together and were very close. Then Annie married. Annie's husband was a cousin to Uncle Henry and that is how Auntie Em met him. Annie was also Dorothy's mother. 

When Henry and Em go to Kansas to make a home they have no idea what awaits them. For a few years they are successful and prosperous. But then the tornadoes and dust storms come at them hard. No rain for such a long time. And they had to take in Dorothy when her parents were killed in an accident. Not that they considered Dorothy as anything less then a blessing. They tried hard to make a go of things. Together they could do anything. Almost.

You really get to know Emily and Henry. What they struggled with and the many losses. How much they love each other and how much they cherish Dorothy. She was the child they couldn't seem to have. 

There are a few secrets in this story. Annie has one major one and Emily keeps it. Emily also has a few secrets. Sometimes there just are just some secrets you have to keep to yourself. 

The people in the town of Liberal, KS are so nice. Very friendly and Emily fits right in with the ladies there. There is one who is a bit of a mean witch but what town doesn't have one of those, right. 

This story takes you on a trip through Auntie Em's life. Through the things that she and Uncle Henry go through. And the life they gave Dorothy. The love. Dorothy had a great life with them. 

I loved this book. The history that was told throughout was wonderful to read about. Though it was sad and showed what a hard life people had during the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. The author kept those true to form. Do not skip the Historical Note and the Author Note at the end. Some good info there.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #Berkley,  for this ARC. It was wonderful.  

About

Long before Dorothy visits Oz, her aunt, Emily Gale, sets off on her own grand adventure, leaving gritty Chicago behind for Kansas and a life that will utterly change her, in this transporting novel from New York Times bestselling author Hazel Gaynor.

As featured in People ∙ Us Weekly ∙ Woman's World ∙ and more!

Chicago, 1924: Emily and her new husband, Henry, yearn to leave the bustle of Chicago for the promise of their own American dream among the harsh beauty of the prairie. But leaving the city means leaving Emily’s beloved sister, Annie, who was once closer to her than anyone in the world.

Kansas, 1932: Emily and Henry have established their new home among the warmth of the farming community in Kansas. Aligned to the fickle fortunes of nature, their lives hold a precarious and hopeful purpose, until tragedy strikes and their orphaned niece, Dorothy, lands on their doorstep.

The wide-eyed child isn’t the only thing to disrupt Emily’s world. Drought and devastating dust storms threaten to destroy everything, and her much-loved home becomes a place of uncertainty and danger. When the past catches up with the present and old secrets are exposed, Emily fears she will lose the most cherished thing of Dorothy.

Bursting with courage and heart, Before Dorothy tells the story of the woman who raised a beloved heroine, and ponders the what is the true meaning of home?