Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
Before We Were Yours is a compelling story told through the eyes of present day, Avery Stafford, and also from the perspective of Rill, a child in the 1930's. Rill and her siblings were the victims of Georgia Tann and the Tennessee Children's Home Society who stole children from poor families and sold them for profit.
When modern Avery comes home to help her ailing father keep his political career afloat, she discovers that her grandmother is keeping a secret. Grandma Judy is now dealing with dementia so uncovering the demons she's been hiding all her life is not going to be easy. Avery's well to do and well connected family has no interest in bearing their souls to the rest of the world therefore are no help to Avery's search.
This story is one of those pieces of history that we find utterly disgusting in every way. The author didn't sugar coat any of the situations Rill found herself in. The child abuse and even murder of helpless children made me angry. Rill fought to keep her family together until she couldn't fight any more. And that made me sad. I always love books that evoke multiple kinds of emotions.
The thing that I didn't enjoy was how the story was told from Avery's viewpoint. That she deciphered a typewriter ribbon which led her to the Tennessee Children's Home Society seemed out of place. I grew up using a typewriter and I doubt reading the ribbon would be that easy. I tend to tune out when things I don't find plausible are part of the story. I thoroughly enjoyed the historical part of this book but I didn't need the present day sleuth, Avery, to make the story complete.
Before We Were Yours is a compelling story told through the eyes of present day, Avery Stafford, and also from the perspective of Rill, a child in the 1930's. Rill and her siblings were the victims of Georgia Tann and the Tennessee Children's Home Society who stole children from poor families and sold them for profit.
When modern Avery comes home to help her ailing father keep his political career afloat, she discovers that her grandmother is keeping a secret. Grandma Judy is now dealing with dementia so uncovering the demons she's been hiding all her life is not going to be easy. Avery's well to do and well connected family has no interest in bearing their souls to the rest of the world therefore are no help to Avery's search.
This story is one of those pieces of history that we find utterly disgusting in every way. The author didn't sugar coat any of the situations Rill found herself in. The child abuse and even murder of helpless children made me angry. Rill fought to keep her family together until she couldn't fight any more. And that made me sad. I always love books that evoke multiple kinds of emotions.
The thing that I didn't enjoy was how the story was told from Avery's viewpoint. That she deciphered a typewriter ribbon which led her to the Tennessee Children's Home Society seemed out of place. I grew up using a typewriter and I doubt reading the ribbon would be that easy. I tend to tune out when things I don't find plausible are part of the story. I thoroughly enjoyed the historical part of this book but I didn't need the present day sleuth, Avery, to make the story complete.
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