The Pink Bonnet

I loved this story but it was very difficult to read bc it portrays real events that occurred. I can’t imagine being Cecile or any of the other mothers who had their children stolen from them. Ms. Tolsma has great word building and story-telling abilities. There are quite a few twists and turns in this story that makes it unpredictable. Just when the reader thinks they know what is about to happen, NOPE! However, it’s just enough to keep the reader glued to the pages of this story. Ms. Tolsma does a wonderful job of telling about a very difficult time, and the story does end with a HEA.

This book is tagged as fiction based on strange-but-true history. Based on what little I know of this subject, I’d say that is a totally true description. I recommend this story to anyone who loves history. There is a Christian element to it, which makes it easier to get through such a hard subject.

The first thing that caught my interest about this book was the cover, the stark dark background, the homemade looking wooden rocking crib. The only colour on the cover being the pink bonnet which plays an important part in this story. I think the cover definitely does its job by pulling you in making you want to know where the child is and what has happened. The blurb then goes on catching and pulling you in more, which consequently pushes you into having a grave concern for the child who the crib and bonnet belong too. This book is also based on a true story and I admit I have watched a film based on the true events that inspired this book.

The main characters in this book are single mum Cecile Dowd, and her much loved three year old Millie Mae. Cecile’s husband sadly died and that means she is on her own looking after Millie Mae. Cecile’s family fell out with her over her choice of husband. Despite the fact he has now died and so no longer in her life they still return her letters unopened. Cecile has a part time job at a nursery but her savings and rapidly being used and her wages just aren’t enough for her and Millie to live on.
Cecile has to look for other jobs but then that means asking for help taking care of Mille Mae whilst she attends the job interviews.

Mrs Ward, her neighbour is a mixed blessing, she is a bit of adult company for Cecile and she will watch over Millie Mae whilst Cecile attends the job interviews, but she also has an opinion on everything and is nosey too. It is on one of these occasions that Mrs Ward is caring for Millie Mae that the old lady signs the three year old off to Miss Georgia Tann who runs the Tennessee Children’s Home. When Cecile returns home after her interview Mrs Ward reveals what she has done. Cecile cannot believe it and is naturally beside herself with a mixture of emotions. Cecile’s first thought is to get to the offices of Miss Georgia Tann and ask for Millie Mae back, but when she arrives the offices are closed.

Cecile tries numerous ways to gain an audience with Miss Georgia Tann to ask, plead and then beg for Millie Mae back. Miss Tann’s attitude is that Millie Mae will be much better off adopted by a two parent family who have a better financial standing than Cecile. It seems lots of people agree with Miss Georgia Tann and seem willing to turn a blind eye to the methods she uses to gain access to these children that she then sells to new parents. Cecile of course refuses to give up on Millie, and after trying to learn more about Miss Georgia Tann realises she is not the only parent to have her child stolen and sold on!

My favourite character within the whole book was of course Cecile, the way she continues to fight relentlessly to get her daughter back. Her persistence in seeing Georgia Tann. The way she eventually gains help from someone close to Miss Tann. Though Cecile is not rich in a monetary way she has overwhelming love for her daughter and that’s what keeps her going over the days, weeks etc it takes to find her daughter. I did also like the character of Percy Vance, who helps with all the legal paperwork needed to transfer the child from parent to orphanage and then to their new parents. It is Percy who uses his “inside” knowledge and his work acquaintance’s to trace the children Georgia Tann has literally ripped from their own biological parent to then sell to whomever she sees fit to sell them to. Percy Vance puts not only his job on the line but his life too! Miss Georgia Tann and her important friends are not eager to be found out and are not adverse to underhand tactics to get rid of anyone making a fuss about what they are up to.

Even though I had seen a film based on Miss Georgia Tann and her exploits, this book was still fascinating and intriguing, yet horrifying and implausible at the same time. It also makes you ponder what goes on behind closed doors nowadays. For if this harsh practice of removing children from their biological parents and then re-homing them with “better off” parents with “better homes” could happen back in the thirties it could quite well be happening these days too!

“She’ll never forget you. Don’t forget about her.”

Leaving her daughter with a neighbor in order to hunt for a better paying job, single mother Cecile Dowd returns home to an empty house; to her horror, the person she had entrusted with her child had given Millie away to none other than Georgia Tann. Desperate to prove to the authorities that her child had been unlawfully snatched, Cecile commandeers reluctant assistance from Tann’s young attorney, whose own doubts about Tann’s tactics would serve to ignite a firestorm around them both.

Where is Millie Dowd?

Step back into one of the most heinous miscarriages of justice, as Tolsma crafts a fictitious representation of Georgia Tann’s reign over Memphis, Tennessee in the 1930’s; hiding a corrupt enterprise behind the curtains of the Memphis Tennessee Children’s Home Society, while dozens of children were kidnapped and sold under the guise of philanthropy.

The Pink Bonnet by Liz Tolsma is part of Barbour Publishing’s True Colors series, fiction based on strange but true history.

Set in Memphis 1933, The Pink Bonnet tells the true story of Georgia Tann, the director of the Memphis Children’s Home Society, through the eyes of fictional character, Cecile Dowd, a recently widowed young mother.

The year 1933 was an exceptionally difficult year for many, people are starving, homeless, and begging for work. Cecile Dowd has managed to keep a small apartment in a run down building, providing housing for her young daughter. She works part time and a neighbor looks after her daughter. Upon her return home from work one afternoon, she finds her young daughter gone. Vanished.

Thus begins a young mother’s journey to learn where her daughter is, along with the children of other mothers she meets during her search. A search that will bring much danger to many, including Cecile, the children or anyone else who threatens Georgia Tann’s very corrupt business practices.

Georgia Tann was real, she was not fiction, no matter how much I and hundreds of others wish it could be so. The Pink Bonnet is a well written fictional account of how the parents of hundreds of children must of despaired of ever seeing their children again. Sounds strange perhaps, but I could almost hear Cecile Dowd’s young daughter crying for her mother.

Highly recommend.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher and am under no obligation to write a positive review. All thoughts and opinions therein are solely my own, and freely given.

If you are looking for a feel good happily ever after book, this is the wrong book. What you will find is a story based on a true crime by a sinister, heartless and ruthless woman named Georgia Tann. I could not dislike a person more than this horrible woman. I was angry throughout the book that innocent children and parents were victimized by a woman who wanted nothing but power and money.

Cecile was raising her young girl alone since her husband passed away. She struggled with bills, but her child was well taken care of. I loved her devotion to her child Millie and how much love she showed her. When a series of events take place, Cecile finds her daughter taken away from her home and put up for adoption. I still can’t understand why her neighbor didn’t seem to think it was suspicious that Millie was being taken away knowing how much Cecile loved her. I think the neighbor was led to believe that the child was in danger and not being taken care of properly.

I won’t go into a lot of the story because it needs to be read so readers can feel the agony that Cecile went through trying to find her daughter. I will say that many children fell through the cracks due to Georgia Tann and not all were returned to the rightful parents. I can’t imagine what torture it would be to know your child had been taken and you had no idea where they were.

The author has written a very emotional story that captivated my full attention. I could not put it down and read it in a few hours. The details are painful to read at times and you can feel the adrenaline rush as the search for Millie starts to escalate. Cecile finds someone to help her and their lives are put in danger as they get closer to the truth. It is an intense read that will have you on the edge of your seat. Get ready for a powerful story written with depth, emotion and an ending that won’t be forgotten.

I received a copy of this book from Celebrate Lit. The review is my own opinion.

My Thoughts:
This book. Wow. I could not put it down. Book one in the series was equally amazing as I was able to review it. I cannot wait for the next one now! Each is by a different author so the style of writing is different but the true crime aspect is chilling.

I kept asking myself how? How could this have gone on? Who knew and didn’t stop it? How could people just turn a blind eye? If it had just been for the year the book takes place that’s one thing but this woman had a long crime spree. She did this for literally decades!

Great read. I could not put it down. Worry for Millie Mae, compassion for Cecile, and a good heaping dose of fear for Percy. These people have no qualms about taking what they want and hurting those who stand in the way.

I was nail biting! For real here. I stayed up way too late while it was storming outside to read this book. It was that riveting.

Fear filled me as more mothers lost their little ones. Would they ever see them again? What if that were me? Oh, my mama’s heart.

Be prepared for fear, and tears, and anger, and love. So much emotion in this book. Amazing read. The characters just suck you in. You want to just give Miss Tann what for and save all the little babies in the cribs.

Do yourself a favor. Get this book. Make sure you get to book one in the series too. Then get on the list for books three and four and all the others to come. This series is spellbinding and you won’t want to miss one.

I’m off to go see what else I can find by Liz Tolsma now. Her writing style is phenomenal so I want to know if she has any more mysteries that are going to have me on the edge of my seat.

I have voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from Celebrate Lit. All views expressed are only my honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. All opinions expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC regulations.

The Pink Bonnet is a riveting novel of faith that grabbed me from the first page and held my attention throughout. It is based on a real woman who plotted crimes similar to those in this tale. It is at once heartbreaking and intriguing, most characters are appealing, and the type of crimes committed part of a terrible crime spree spanning almost 30 years of the early 1900’s in and around Memphis, Tennessee. I appreciate the author sharing some of the historical background and who the real-life characters were.

Cecile has been widowed for about a year in the summer of 1933. Disowned by her family when she married her late husband, she has only her beloved three-year-old, Millie Mae. She has been looking for a full-time position in lieu of the part time one she has in a nursery school, but jobs are few and far between in the Great Depression. Mrs. Ward, the senior who lived in the apartment underneath hers, suggested that Cecile take her daughter to the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. She said Georgia Tann did remarkable things for children, and when Cecile is better on her feet and able to handle the precocious Millie, she could bring her home again. Horrified, Cecile refuses to give up her precious child.

One day when going out on job search, Cecile left Millie with Mrs. Ward. When she returned for Millie, she learned that. Mrs. Ward contacted Georgia Tann, who came and took Millie away. Later she learned that her signature was forged on the forms to relinquish her daughter. Cecile met Miss Tann and was told she was an unfit parent with an unfit home. Miss Tann would find a home for Millie where she could be given all that her mother couldn’t, and Cecile would never see her again.

Percy Vance is the legal assistant to Miss Tann. He came from poverty and now enjoys the things his wealth accumulates. He talked to Miss Tann about Cecile’s case and wonders about the situation. Percy contacted Cecile to meet with her about her daughter. He then begins to help her find Millie, who was last seen wearing the pink bonnet Cecile bought when pregnant with her.

This slice of history is well-written and an excellent novel in Barbour’s series, True Colors: Historical Stories of American Crime. The suspense builds throughout, making it difficult to put down. Many of the children stolen would never be traced. Some went to homes where they were genuinely loved and cared for, while others were abused. The more Cecile and Percy close in on Georgia Tann, the more their lives, and the life of Millie, are at risk. Tann clearly did not take these children out of love and concern for them; instead, she took them to further her own lifestyle and agenda. The depth of corruption in Memphis at that time spreads further than the kidnappings into many layers of society. I very much appreciated the demonstration of faith in the Lord and demonstrating how He can change even those whose lives are built on the shifting sand of wealth. I highly recommend it!

From a thankful heart: I received an e-ARC of this novel from CelebrateLit and NetGalley, a positive review was not required.

When I first heard about this series, True Colors: Historical Stories of American Crime, I was intrigued. When I started reading The Pink Bonnet, I was immediately captivated by this riveting story of the ugly crime that affected so many families for so many years. While Cecile Down and Percy Vance are fictional characters, their story reflects the heartache that was inflicted by Georgia Vance and the corrupt politicians that were complicit with the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. Vance is thought to have been involved with the disappearance of thousands of children. The reader needs to realize this is a fictional story that revolves around this horrendous crime.

This is my favorite book by Liz Tolsma to date. She expertly draws her readers into the story from the very first page. Her attention to historic detail, expert pacing in an action-packed, emotionally charged story will keep her readers glued to the page.

One of my favorite quotes:
“…there was nothing like a mother’s love, other than God’s love for His own children. Fierce. Determined. Protective.”

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book from the author/publisher. I was not required to write a review. All opinions expressed are my own.

This was a very fast paced story of the discovery of the horrors of this time in Memphis! It is deep and gritty with the reality of having your child stolen. Cecile and Percy are focused on the mystery and the story is very plot-driven. I would have liked more character depth, but I understand it was more about the corrupt city of this time. So many suspense moments and danger that I was gripping the edge of my seat wondering what would happen next. Heart wrenching when you feel the pain of this. Such an eye opening story of a time when this happened way too easily.
I got this from Barbour Publishing. This is my own opinion.

A stirring story about parenthood and a mother’s determination to overcome evil in order to get her daughter back, this story had my heart racing for the last several chapters of the book! I was familiar with the despicable crimes of Georgia Tann from reading Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate, and this book brought out even more about her, as Cecile and Percy both come face-to-face with her. She is not in the background in this story at all, and she is downright scary! The story also brings attention to questions about the rights of parents, the care of children who are potentially at risk and how/when best to help them, and who should make decisions about parents and their children. Tann took advantage of so many, in her pursuit for money, and I quite honestly cannot help but despise her. So, yes, if you read this book, you’ll feel many emotions and hold on tight as the plot thickens and the story races to its conclusion!