THE BLOCKBUSTER HIT—Over two million copies sold! A New York Times, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, and Publishers Weekly Bestseller“Poignant, engrossing.”—People • “Lisa Wingate takes an almost unthinkable chapter in our nation’s history and weaves a tale of enduring power.”—Paula McLain Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their … Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge—until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents—but they quickly realize the dark truth. At the mercy of the facility’s cruel director, Rill fights to keep her sisters and brother together in a world of danger and uncertainty.
Aiken, South Carolina, present day. Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all: a successful career as a federal prosecutor, a handsome fiancé, and a lavish wedding on the horizon. But when Avery returns home to help her father weather a health crisis, a chance encounter leaves her with uncomfortable questions and compels her to take a journey through her family’s long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or to redemption.
Based on one of America’s most notorious real-life scandals—in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country—Lisa Wingate’s riveting, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting tale reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong.
Publishers Weekly’s #3 Longest-Running Bestseller of 2017 • Winner of the Southern Book Prize • If All Arkansas Read the Same Book Selection
“Sure to be one of the most compelling books you pick up this year. . . . Wingate is a master-storyteller, and you’ll find yourself pulled along as she reveals the wake of terror and heartache that is Georgia Tann’s legacy.”—Parade
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Lisa Wingate based the book on a real, and tragic happening in the South. She gave this story a twist and came up with a very readable and captivating novel. It does have a happy ending.
A realistic, eye-opening look at the 1940’s welfare & class system & the resiliency of the human spirit.
Even though mostly fiction it was excellent as some was true. Great read for our book club.
This is a story that flips between present day and the 1930s. A family – the Floss’ family – live along a river in a boat. They are poor, and have 5 children and another on the way. But they are happy and close. The mother – who the children call Queenie – goes into labor and has complications and needs a hospital. Briny – the father – doesn’t know what to do, so runs for a neighbor to take her. The neighbor returns to the children to say that the there were twin babies and they both died during the birth. The eldest – Rill – is a young teenager, and is left in charge of her siblings until her mom and dad return from the hospital.
In the meantime, police come by and tell the kids that their parents have decided they can’t care for them any more and that they will now be placed in a children’s home and readopted. The kids fight, but are taken away and placed in the Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage. (which was a real place). The children are poorly treated here, and one by one are adopted off to rich people looking for children. Slowly Rill and her siblings are separated – possibly to never see each other again.
The other half of the book is about Avery who is an adult in Tennessee. She has come home to help her ailing father who is a Senator, and care for her grandmother who has recently been placed in a nursing home due to Alzheimer’s. While Avery is in town, she tours a nursing home with her father and meets an older woman named May who swipes a bracelet Avery is wearing. When Avery goes back to retrieve it, so talks with May and discovers that somehow May knows her grandmother. Thus begins a hunt to find out her grandmother’s past.
This was a fair book. I wanted to like it so much more – especially after 5000 reviews on Amazon. But it just seemed predictable. I knew what was going to happen and who the characters were going to be very near the beginning of the book. Maybe the author wasn’t trying to keep that from us, but I doubt it. The story of the orphanage was horrible -especially since that was real and those were real people who did terrible things to children. But the rest of the story was just okay.
the story just wasn’t well developed. We didn’t learn enough about the 5 Foss children between the time that they were adopted and then what happened later in their lives. There was too much glossed over that made it hard to get invested in the book. I was sad I didn’t like it more.
Bottom line – it is a decent book. It could have been better, but I am not sorry I read it.
A gripping tale of tragedy and a piece of American history that most of us have never heard about.
A fast read and thoroughly engrossing.
I would give this book a 3 1/2 – the narrative from the past is well written and compelling. The part set in the present day read more like a romance novel.
Wonderful book. A real page turner. Based on a true story of a woman who stole children from poor familes, then sold them to rich ones.
I loved this book. It became a page turner as it got closer to the end. When I got to the end, I was unhappy. I wanted to keep reading!
The story starts out hard to follow but once you have all the players in line you realize that is the way life really is. The story goes from 1939 to the present and is being told by two different people who are related but do not know they are related. This is a heartfelt story about parents losing the rights to their children for no other reason than someone can steal your child and profit from its adoption. Five children who are taking away from their parents are sent all over the USA. Only three of the five will ever find each other and two of those were adopted by the same couple. If you have ever read “Mommie Dearest” you will see exactly what Georgia Tann did to the poor families she stole children from.
One of my favorite books
All about family, perseverance and love.
Some books entertain … Some books inspire. This book does both. The amazing story line draws you in, and then the characters take over. By the end of the story you can barely make yourself say goodby to them. I will never forget this book.
Suspenseful twists and turns of survival and true love in a story set in Depression Era corruption
This book was amazing and I literally couldn’t stop reading. So sad that it is based on true events- but wow, did I really feel for those characters!!
Hard to believe that this could really happen – but it did.
This is one of the BEST books I by have ever read. It was so moving, tragic, heartbreaking, and realistic. I found myself caring deeply for the incredible children who had been so callously used. This book is a very deep look inside the terrible tragedies and abusive behavior of some twisted people in the past. You can’t help but be deeply moved by this amazing book.
This book is based on events that occurred in Tennessee around the 1940’s. Worth every moment spent reading.
After finding out this was based on a true story it was even more heartbreaking! The author really did a great job of portraying the feelings of the children in the book.
Such a great book. I recommend it highly. I never knew this really happened. You get to know the family living in a houseboat on the Mississippi River. Loving family, poor but happy. When the father has to leave the boat to take the mother to the hospital when the baby wasnt coming, the next events with the children forever change their lives.
It’s a must-read book.