A bittersweet reunion becomes a time for looking back and starting over in a heartwarming new novel from New York Times bestselling author Carolyn Brown.
Miss Janie is at the end of a long and full life, but she has no intention of crossing that finish line until she’s found her girls… Texas, went their separate ways, and never looked back. Apart from their foster mom, Miss Janie, they don’t have many fond memories of their hometown. Or of each other. Still, neither can forget the kind woman who opened her home and heart to two teenagers in need.
When a private investigator—who just happens to be Miss Janie’s handsome nephew—tracks them both down and tells them Miss Janie is dying, Teresa and Kayla know deep down that they’ve got to be there for her as she had been there for them.
With Teresa and Kayla together again under the same roof, old tensions may flare, but with Miss Janie’s help, they might rediscover that home is the perfect place for new beginnings.
more
This is such a touching novel that shows love and forgiveness can heal all broken hearts. Surviving a big loss as a teenager, Miss Janie became the foster mother of two young girls who were removed from an abusive and negligent home. After being diagnosed with Alzheimers and Cancer, Miss Janie knew her time was coming to an end. With the help of her great nephew Noah, her girls Teresa and Kayla, were finally coming back home. Will being with Miss Janie again help the girls forget their hurtful pasts and move on to a wonderful future or will they lose their one chance of happiness? Author Carolyn Brown has such a magical touch with her writing! I felt all of the emotions in this beautiful novel!
Miss Janie’s Girls by Carolyn Brown
This book touches on lots of things that are special to me and pull on my heart strings. Loss of a child. Foster care. Dementia/Alzheimer’s disease.
Love makes a family. Families are formed in lots of ways, not always by blood. The experience of losing child, having the child taken at birth because in those days you did not have sex outside of marriage and you certainly did not have a child out of wedlock. You were sent away before anyone knew or could find out. So later in life, Janie fostered two teenage girls who were as different as night and day. Fast forward several years. Miss Janie is dying and she knows it. She wants to see her “girls” again before she dies. Her nephew tracks them down. They return to take care of Miss Janie as she had for them all those years ago. And maybe discover some things about themselves along the way.
There are many great underlying topics that are dealt with in this book. Love. Loss. Forgiveness. Family.
This was a great read!!! Wish I had read it sooner!! Pick it up. You won’t be disappointed.
An old woman is dying of cancer and suffering from dementia, she needs her girls to come home. And, though its been years and miles from that home, both the women need to be found and brought back to remember what family and home are all about. And, just maybe, they’ll find what has eluded them is right back where they started.
Miss Janie’s Girls is a heartwarming standalone women’s fic full of country charm, feels, and some Texas two-stepping for a pair of feisty foster sisters and the woman who gave them unconditional love and home while suffering her own private pain. The heart of this story is the women’s lives.
Janie who was a teenage mother who was forced out of her home and to give up her babies by cruel parents leaving a shadow on her soul until she could foster two abandoned girls. Now, her mind skips times and she jumps around in her memories even while her body deteriorates. I’ve not been around, but one or two folks suffering dementia, but the descriptions and character’s portrayal rang true. My heart is now so sympathetic to those who must suffer this and those who love them.
Teresa is the oldest of Janie’s foster girls. She is half Mexican and her mom was a drunk and known through the community for her revolving rusty trailer door to the men. She left Miss Janie’s with stars in her eyes and determination to show all those people who looked down on her, but instead she was deceived by a cheating, lazy man and quit school to get married. Now, with her certificate to work in assisted care, she finds herself feeling guilty for no contact with Miss Janie all these years, but ready to come home and take care of her. If only she didn’t have to see her arch-enemy former foster sister. Miss Janie’s handsome great nephew Noah Jackson who as a PI was the one to track her down, still manages to make her skin tingle with just a touch. He is carrying his own personal burdens, but there is a spark between them if she can ever learn to trust again.
Kayla spent her teenage years full of anger and bitterness and couldn’t wait to see the back of Birthright, TX. Too bad the boy she ran off with wasn’t the bad boy rebel and more of a dead beat good-for-nothing. When her mom and step-dad rejected her because she was half-black and she was abused for everything that went wrong at home, she wasn’t too worked up when they moved the family out to California and abandoned her as unwanted. Miss Janie gave her a home and stability, acceptance, and family. Too bad she had to run away and hit rock bottom before she appreciated it. Now, she is home and eying Teresa with suspicion and Miss Janie with a broken heart because she let so much time go by. Her bright spot is the high school nerd who now has a brilliant smile and a warm friendly support she needs about now.
Miss Janie’s Girls is one emotional ride. It’s not hectic as to pace, but gentle as it progresses through Miss Janie’s last days and the family all together again. Each person including Noah has a tragic past and came from broken home situations, but family can be who you make it. Miss Janie’s legacy is obvious and it’s a good one. This was bittersweet, but also full of hope as the younger women healed and embraced a second chance.
The author opened my eyes to the earlier time person of recent past generations and what it was like for unwed girls who got pregnant and how they didn’t have a lot of recourse for many things including birth control like now.
This was my first time with Karissa Vacker for a narrator. I know she has done at least one other Carolyn Brown book. She has a sweet voice that matches the tone of the story. She gives warmth and emotion, even the earlier anger in the women, so well. Her men voices were good. She doesn’t really do the twang like some narrators do for books set in Texas, but I didn’t mind.
All in all, this was a sleepy gem that lagged a little in places, but was sweetly, and sassily, triumphant in the end. I recommend it to those who enjoy a bit of country charm with their women’s fiction and romance.
Miss Janie’s Girls by Carolyn Brown is a charming tale of second chances. Janie had the misfortune of getting pregnant when she was 16 years old. Instead of allowing her to become an embarrassment to the family, her mother sent her to a home for unwed mothers where she gave birth to twins and was immediately sent to live with Aunt Ruthie. Aunt Ruthie turned out to be a gift and she lived with her until she died. Aunt Ruthie told her she had tried to convince Janie’s parents to let her have the baby there, but no go. The book opens 60 years later when Janie is dying of bone cancer and has Alzheimer’s. Her great-nephew, Noah has taken care of all her end-of life-wishes except for finding the two girls she had fostered late in life and considered her own. He found Teresa first and discovered she was a nurse’s aide, which made her the perfect person to care for Aunt Janie. He found Kayla next and she was there within a day. They picked up their divisive relationship immediately, and Noah wondered if this was for the best.
This is a lovely story of coming home when a person is ready for home. Noah, Teresa, and Kayla had all left home years earlier, believing it help nothing for them. Upon returning to Aunt Janie’s arms, they discovered the truth and then grew into it. This story is exemplary of so many lives. People make decisions when they are very young that are not the ones that will hold them for a lifetime. A couple months of Aunts Janie’s time living with Alzheimer’s is a pretty true rendition of the toll the disease takes on the person with the disease and with those around as well. The personalities in this story were well defined and the characters each are reminiscent of someone you know. They have all become who they were meant to be and it was a joy to make the journey with them. I cried. I laughed. This is a terrific book. I recommend it.
I was invited to read a free ARC of Miss Janie’s Girls by Netgalley. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #missjaniesgirls
This was definitely a bittersweet book…Miss Janie’s days are numbered and the days that she does have left are complicated by pain (due to the cancer) and confusion (due to the Alzheimer’s). Miss Janie gets her last wish when her great nephew, Noah, is able to track down her two foster daughters – Kayla and Teresa. I didn’t particularly like Kayla or Teresa at first, but I thought the author did a really nice job developing their characters as the story unfolded. The reader gets a better sense of each woman and the experiences that led them to become who they are. As they spend Miss Janie’s final days with her, they learn a lot about themselves (and one another). I think one of my favorite things about this book was that, now that Kayla and Teresa are older and more mature, they were able to see just how much Miss Janie truly cared about them, giving them a sense of family and belonging.
Thank you to Montlake Romance and NetGalley for providing a copy for review.
I loved this book. Carolyn Brown has written another book that’s a fantastic read! This book reiterates that families are not all perfect. It is a story of love, life, hardships, bad beginnings but also about a hope for the future. This book is about two young girls named Teresa and Kayla who are in foster care. They are sent to live with Ms. Janie and reside there until they are old enough to leave the system. Upon leaving, they had no desire to ever return. Ten years later, they are contacted and told Ms. Janie is ill and she is dying. They agree to back out of respect for her. Once there, “home” takes on a new meaning and they realize that leaving home does not erase who you are or how you got where you now are. I received an ARC copy of this book in exchange for a honest and unbiased review.
Patricia Fayo Reviews
Novels N Latte
Hudson Valley girls
Another great book by Carolyn Brown! She always seems to capture the small town community of Texas, where neighbors show up to support you no matter what is happening in your life. Carolyn Brown also reiterates that family can come in plenty of styles and sizes.
Miss Janie welcomed two children into her home when they were in their formative years. Will they return when she needs them the most?
I received an advanced copy of this book from Carolyn Brown and Netgalley but these opinions amd review are my own.
This was another great read from the Carolyn Brown.
Miss Janie’s Girls is the story of family, not family by blood, but a family made by the actions and love of each other. Like most of Mrs. Brown’s books this one was full of emotion and at times despair but when needed the most, love brought it all together.
The characters were well written and the story tackled a hard hitting topic, but overall this book was magical. I can’t wait to read more of Mrs. Brown’s work.
I do not get to read this author as often as I would like but was happy I saw this one. This one is kinda the opposite of a foster mom’s story that I have read before because in this one they took off not to look back. Even though Miss Janie was there for them which I found unusual so she has her nephew look for them. Teresa and Kayla are the girls and as this gets in deeper we fall deeper in love with this story. Emotional is just one way to describe the story but it also has highs and lows. Rediscovery I think is what the author tried to portray and did a fabulous job of doing it. This one will come alive off the pages with us not pulling back until we are finished.
I don’t think that is possible for Carolyn Brown to write I book that I don’t love, love, love!
Miss Janie’s Girls is an emotional roller coaster! If you’re looking for a heartwarming book about forgiveness and friendship this is the perfect book. As with all of Ms. Brown’s titles, you won’t want to put it down!
Ten years have past, and Miss Janie can’t pass to the great beyond without reconciling with her foster girls, Teresa and Kayla one last time…it’s time that burnt bridges are rebuilt and that the girls rekindle their friendship/family before more time escapes.
One of the best reads by a wonderful author, Carolyn Brown. Her books never fail to keep my interest from front to back. The characters are so real, you feel like you are right there with them living their story.
Carolyn Brown is well known for her historical and reunion novels. Miss Janie’s Girls deals with foster sisters Teresa and Kayla having a a bittersweet reunion. With Miss Janie deathly ill and suffering from Alzheimer’s, the girls are summoned by Janie’s nephew Noah. Beautifully written with thought of how to explain past mistakes and hopes for all three, the story of love within a family is told. This one is worth keeping.
Miss Janie knows she doesn’t have much more time in this life, but she can’t leave until she’s found Her Girls. Miss Jannie had been the loving foster mother to two tempestuous, stubborn, endearing young women who came to her when no one else would have anything to do with them. Now she wants to find them, and with the help of her nephew a private investigator, she gets the opportunity to spend some of her last days with them.
A story of complex relationships among remarkable people who’ve managed to survive their difficult circumstances to become who they were meant to be. I love Carolyn Brown and her amazing characters. Just when I think she can’t top the book I just read, she comes up with another one. She’s written 100 books and, while I haven’t even scratched the surface of her list, I’m going to keep reading and appreciating every book.
This is a story of four people in two different generations, Janie is a victim of parental abuse after her teen pregnancy when forced to give up her twin daughters then abandoned by her parents to her great-aunt. She fosters two girls, Teresa and Kayla, both who have been emotional abused and abandoned by their parents but are unwilling to give up their rights to let them be adopted. Janie also gives emotional support to her nephew Noah during his crucial years of emotional abuse by his father. On Janie’s deathbed she wants to see them one last time together, as she hasn’t seen the girls seen for a long time. Can they resolve differences come together?
I enjoyed this story; it was emotional and beautifully written with well-developed character.
I was captivated from beginning to end of this one! Miss Janie was born at the time when if you were under age and pregnant your parents could send you away and take away your baby and that is what happened to Miss Janie. She had twin girls when she was 16 and then she was sent to live with her Aunt in Birthright, Texas, and ended up as secretary of the school system and fostering two teens later in life. Now, 60 years later, she is dying of cancer and Alzheimer’s and she has asked her nephew Noah to find her girls and bring them home. Theresa and Kayla left after they graduated and never looked back but when they are found they do end up coming back and we are treated to everyone’s story, past and present, and find something they all are missing…love.
A wonderfully sweet and charming read that touched on a lot of important issues. The author did so delicately and with a heart and soul that comes from a lifetime of writing. The three women in the story grew up very differently, with different hurts and experiences yet the strength they show in overcoming them and learning to love and live again is awe inspiring. Miss Janies girls is a story of helping and family, the ones you choose not the ones your born too. It’s about friendships and giving back. It’s about grief and saying goodbye. It’s about life, it’s ugly sides and it’s beautiful sides
Carolyn Brown’s latest Women’s Fiction book, Miss Janie’s Girls is bittersweet, poignant and yet very inspirational.
Miss Janie has a heart of gold, a great accomplishment given her early life with her hell and brimstone preacher father and her domineering, abusive mother. Sarah Jane Jackson made the mistake of getting pregnant when she was fifteen so to protect the reputation of the family she was sent to a maternity home for unwed mothers where she was to give birth and her child would be adopted out. She had no choice even though she wanted to keep her baby. As things turned out she gave birth to twin baby girls. She got to hold them for an hour and then they were gone. Not a life event easily gotten over. Next thing she knew she was on her way to Great-Aunt Ruthie’s home in Birthright, Texas. Miss Janie was happy to go live with Aunt Ruthie, better than going back to her dismal life with her uncaring parents. Miss Janie and Aunt Ruthie got along just fine and she followed her aunt to a school job and ended up as school secretary. That was how she got to foster the two girls abandoned by their mothers. Teresa Mendoza and Kayla Green. What a blessing they were in her life. They left her ten years ago and never got back to Birthright, Texas. But Miss Janie needs them now and is calling them home. She has Alzheimer’s Disease and bone cancer and wants to be reunited with her girls before she dies. Her great-nephew Noah Jackson has been taking care of her while searching for Teresa and Kayla. She loves the three of them dearly and it is her fondest wish to have her loved ones with her.
Noah Jackson finds Teresa and Kayla and brings them home. Both young women have endured hardships and made mistakes after leaving Miss Janie but come home to care for her. Her love makes their lives better. The two foster sisters who did nothing but fight when they lived with Miss Janie as teenagers find they really can be friends and become true sisters.
Miss Janie’s Girls by Carolyn Brown is an emotional read. Any time Alzheimer’s Disease is involved there is bound to be sadness. Carolyn Brown weaves her tale as to make the sadness bearable because love and forgiveness is the major arc in this storyline. Teresa and Kayla do not trust men based on their past experiences. Ms. Brown leads both along the path to trust which makes all the difference in a loving, lasting relationship. This book is full of love and it made my heart happy to see Teresa and Kayla achieve happiness. I never finish a Carolyn Brown book without warmth in my heart and happiness to lift me up. Carolyn Brown’s books are like coming home again and feeling on top of the world.
Miss Janie’s Girl was such a touching book at times it was heartbreaking and at other times it brought a smile to my face. Two young girls brought too live with a elderly lady as foster children this book follows their journey. This book kept me turning from the beginning until the last page. I would definitely recommend this book to others.
I received a ARC of the book from NetGalley and Montlake Publishing, and this is my fair and honest review.
Miss Janie’s Girls is a beautifully written, emotionally charged story of how the events of childhood can affect the growth into adulthood and how love can help heal those wounds. Miss Janie was a teenage, pregnant girl forced to give up her twins for adoption and then banished to live with her aunt which turned into a blessing. Later in life, she took in two troubled, angry foster daughters and showed them the love they had been missing. Teresa and Kayla both left Miss Janie when they turned 18 and didn’t return because of their perceived shame with the shambles they have made of their lives. Miss Janie is battling cancer and Alzheimer’s and has asked her nephew, Noah, to track down the girls and ask them to come home. As Noah, Teresa and Kayla come together to take care of Miss Janie, they find forgiveness, healing and the family they need to continue on after Miss Janie is gone. They learn that love, compassion and understanding are the gifts that life has to offer and to share those will fulfill their hearts. This is a story filled with love, laughs, a lot of tears (keep the tissue box close).
I received an advanced reader copy from the publisher but all thoughts and feelings are my own.
Bring your tissues to this amazing book!
Be prepared to completely lose yourself in this amazing story. The emotions are beautifully portrayed, the characters are authentic and relatable, and the story moves along at just the right pace to make you feel like you’re living this life for real. This book showcases the full range of emotions as you follow Miss Janie and her heart-tugging journey. I voluntarily reviewed an ARC of this book.