This was so well-written, telling the true and scandalous story of the Tennessee Children’s Home and how in the 1920’s-1950’s, children were stolen from families that were poor, and sold to rich childless families.

A difficult read once you know it is based on fact, but a fascinating insight into 1939 Memphis and the people who lived on the Mississippi and what life was like for them. I loved May and her sisters and was rooting for them all the way and found he book difficult to read in places and impossible to put down at other times. A great bunch of characters but I disliked Avery and her family, but I think that was the point, that the rich and privileged had no idea what the river people lived through, but I think as a piece of writing based on a terrible time in history, this book is one everyone should read.

Fabulous story. Really enjoyed. Not a story I usually read but it kept me hooked right until the end. I read this after reading crawdads as someone recommended it as along the same vein. Would definitely read more by this author

This was truly one of my top 10 best books ever

I could not get my nose out of it a total page turner full of heartbreak and hope

Cannot recommend highly enough

A heartbreaking novel, focusing on the true story of Georgie Tann and the Tennessee Children’s Society orphanage which kidnapped and sold thousands of poor children to rich families. Many of these children were subjected to abject horrors and abuse while Tann because a multimillionaire off the proceeds. Many of the children didn’t survive.

The majority of the novel follows the five Foss siblings, who at first spend an idyllic childhood on a boat on the Mississippi River with their parents during the Great Depression. When this is ripped away from them after they’re taken from their home, we see how each of the children cope in an incredibly hostile environment while trying to survive and find each other again. All of the Foss children are wonderful characters, full of life and a determination that makes me all admirable, but Rill is the real star here. As a 12 year old girl, she raises her younger siblings while her parents are away, before becoming the shining beacon that brings their story together. I found her extremely likeable, resilient and wonderful. I cared about her, and found her to be incredibly well written and multifaceted as a character. Her story, and that of her siblings, is well written, and feels believable.

The other half of the story follows a more contemporary approach, with Avery, a senator’s daughter brought home to care of her ailing father uncovering a secret from her family’s past. I found Avery less interesting than Rill, she’s not as well developed and has none of the fascinating backstory, however I found that the two stories intertwined well together. Rill’s at times could be extremely emotionally exhausting, and needed the injection of light relief from Avery’s story that has hints of romance, and in just generally more uplifting in tone.

Great piece of historical fiction that highlights a largely unknown aspect of American fiction in a deeply emotive, often traumatic, way.

A well-told and fascinating story about a dark period in American history. I was entirely unfamiliar with the Tennessee scandal before I picked up the book - and now I want to learn more. An excellent read

An interesting story, filled with drama and history. It was a very sad and uncomfortable read at times as it touched on some difficult issues.

This was a remarkable, fascinating though heartbreaking piece of historical history describing a period of history and a practice I knew nothing about. The author clearly has done her research and manages to fuse facts with fiction beautifully to tell the story of a truly dark period in America’s history.

The story follows two timelines, one in present day Memphis Tennessee follows a high ranking Congress official and his family, the other follows a family of five siblings who get taken from their home by Georgia Tann and placed into the Tennessee Children’s society. The two stories go back and forth really well and I found that, unusually for me, I enjoyed both threads of the story. There are plenty of hidden secrets to discover in both and the story kept my interest throughout the book as I was eager to discover what happens at the end.

I personally founding the children’s experiences in the children’s home and the abuse they suffered quite harrowing at times. I think it was worse for me when I realised how young all the children were and that some, although poor, had come from loving families. It’s difficult to comprehend how anyone thought it was ok to take children from their families and redistribute them the way they were. It must have caused a great deal of upset and anguish to both the children and their families.

This was a story that was easy to get absorbed in as I quickly fell in love with the child characters. I wanted to simultaneously keep reading to find out what happens to them and stop reading as some of the narrative was truly heartbreaking.

This is the first book by this author that I have read and I look forward to reading more from her in the future. If you like historical fiction based on real facts that is beautiful told and quite emotional you’ll love this book. It’s definitely one that will stay with me.

Huge thanks to Quercus for my copy of this book via Netgalley and to Milly Reid for inviting me onto the blog tour.

(Thank you to netgalley for allowing me to read this book for review.)
I finished this book yesterday afternoon after ploughing through it in 2 days. It broke my heart. Firstly, the mere thought that this sort of thing happened turns my stomach. Secondly, the author weaves a beautifully sad fictional story around the truths of such a dreadful time in our history.
The stories of the children of Arcadia, despite being fictional, will stick with me as they echo the despair of all the real children who went through such a traumatic time in their childhood.
5 🌟
I would give it more if I could.

I have never read any of Lisas books before but I will be looking for them now! This book was stunning and I didn't want to stop reading and I didnt want it to end. It is horrible to know that this was based around true events as well. Never in a million years have I ever thought about this happening.

I cannot say how much I enjoyed this book. So many vivid descriptions and scenarios you can imagine yourself being a fly on the wall.

Juat fantastic. One of my must reads for the year.

Very rarely am I so engrossed in a book that I find it impossible to put down. I can count those books on one hand and Before We Were Yours is one of those books. I was immediately sucked into the story and couldn’t tear myself away. I have not heard about the events in this book nor did I realize it was based on a true story until halfway through which made the story even more heartbreaking for me. Wingate gave me a story that I adored, that I thought about long after I closed the book. She provided me a glimpse into history and painted a beautiful picture of the innocent children victimized by this devilish woman. Thank you so much #netgalley and #quercusbooks for the wonderful opportunity.

I still maintain that The Heart's Invisible Furies and Pachinko were more deserving of the Goodreads Choice Award for Historical Fiction, but I can definitely see why Before We Were Yours has had such an emotional impact on readers.

Comparisons to Orphan Train make a lot of sense. The pacing and structure of both stories are similar, and they both use the alternating older/younger narrator format to link the present day with the past (a favoured technique by many historical fiction writers, which is also used in The Thirteenth Tale, The Alice Network, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo, and The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane).

But, most of all, Before We Were Yours stands out for doing one of my absolute favourite things in historical fiction: exposing a largely unknown and horrific pocket of history.

Alternating between the perspectives of privileged and successful Avery Stafford in the present, and twelve-year-old Rill Floss in depression-era Memphis, a story emerges linking Avery's grandmother to Rill and her four siblings, who were stolen from their riverboat home and their two loving parents. Through the dual narrative and Avery's digging into the past, a tale of unimaginable horrors is uncovered.

Obviously, some people will have heard of Georgia Tann and the mass kidnapping and trafficking of Tennessee children, but I hadn't and I would bet a lot of others haven't either. In this book, we see how Tann led a team in capturing children from poor families and selling them to the wealthy. The children were first taken to a kind of halfway house where they were starved, beaten and even molested. Fictional details have been added but, in the end, it is so especially horrific because most of it is true.

If I was to complain about anything, it would be the way the characters frequently have whole conversations without specific names, just to keep the reader guessing who is who, even when it doesn't make sense for them to withhold the person's name. This is a minor quibble, though, and I do understand the necessity for it.

Overall, I really "enjoyed" the book. Rill and her sisters feel real. Their fear feels real. Their love for one another feels real. It is a history lesson wrapped up in a powerful and emotive story. A fictional tale that reveals a hidden truth.