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The entire time I was reading The Forgotten Home Child, I could not forget that the events in the fictional story, happened to over 100,000 children during the decades that poverty stricken children were sent from England to live and work in Canada. What was supposed to be a better life for these homeless orphans turned out to be a death sentence for many of them. The majority lived in worse conditions than they left, working as slaves and indentured servants, starved, beaten, abused in every wa...
Genevieve Graham writes important and absorbing historical novels, based on well researched Canadian past events. I have been informed and entertained by factual events described in her four previous books. During my 12 years of school in Nova Scotia, history lessons involved early world explorers, British history emphasizing past kings and queens, and much Ancient Greek and Roman history. Canadian history was barely mentioned, and we mistakingly thought it dull. Graham’s past books were based o...
This book reminded me of Orphan Train and Before We Were Yours. Here, the children were sent from London orphanages to Canada. It’s based on a true story, like these books usually are, of a program that existed for over 70 years and covered over 100,000 children. The book alternates between the present day, as 97 year old Winny finally tells her family about her history as a Home Child, and her earlier years. There was a lot of abuse in the program, with many of the children being treated more l...
Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for an egalley in exchange for an honest review. One of my favorite days of the year is when I get to read the new Genevieve Graham historical novel and I am so pleased to review this one today. In The Forgotten Home Child, Graham brings to our attention the overlooked history of the British Home Child. Children who were living in poverty in their home country and were promised better lives in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. According to an
This book has touch my heart. It made me cry, and I will never forget this book. I loved it so much, and I could not put it down. This book is a historical fiction book that is about Home Children which I know nothing about Home Children before reading this book. Starting in the 1800's London, England had to many orphanages, so starting in 1869 they sent some to Canada, and the last boat of Home Children came from England to Canada in 1948. This book takes place in 1936 to 2018. It follows a gro...
3.5 stars2018Winnifred (Winny), a former Home Child, is ninety-seven years old and when asked by her grandson, Jamie, begins to talk about her life. She has always been ashamed of being a Home Child and has never shared with her family what she or her late husband endured.1936Fifteen-year-old Winny has run away due to having an abusive stepfather, living on the streets by herself until she met brother and sister, Mary and Jack while living on the streets of Liverpool. When they are caught steali...
Wow! This is one of those books that you sit down after you have read it and take a deep breath, it has so enwrapped your soul. I cried, which is a hard thing to make me do. Children who were shipped from England to other countries from 1869- 1948 this one focuses on children sent to Canada. England had an overpouring of orphans at that time and thought this would give them a family and a good life. Sometimes this just wasn't the case. This book follows the lives of a few of these "Home Children...
4 stars! Heart wrenching and heart warming. Informative and insightful.Between 1869 and 1948, over 100,000 destitute British children were shipped from England’s streets, orphanages and homes to Canada in the hopes of starting better lives with more opportunity. Stripped of their heritage and personal background, these children were “bought” by Canadian families on farms and in homes in need of help. With no one to monitor the transition and follow up, these children were left in the hands of st...
4 heartbreaking and who-knew starsThis one features the popular dual timeline story – modern day and the past. For modern day, we have 97-year-old Winny, and her great-grandson who wants to know more about where she came from and his roots. Winny decides it is finally time to tell her story to her family.In the past storyline, we have a cast of young teens who are living on the streets in England before being sent to an orphanage. Some of the children truly were orphans but some were temporarily...
A wonderful fictional story based on Canadian history!Set in the 1930's The Forgotten Home Child takes us on a unforgettable journey to England where poverty surged due to lack of work and over-population. Children were sold and shipped to Canadian families to help alleviate the problem.What was promised to be a better life was anything but. These "home children" arrived to an unwelcoming Canada where most faced horrific abuse while working in harsh conditions on Canadian farms.The author has wo...
The Forgotten Home Child by Genevieve Graham based upon the author’s research of British Home children, who were sent to Canada with the promise of a better life. They are trusting, innocent and vulnerable. Upon arrival in Canada, they were treated as indentured servants on farms. These young children were despised by both the English and Canadians for no apparent reason. The cruelty that was inflicted on them was appalling. It is hard to imagine that less than 100 years ago, children were still...
A tear jerker.A fictionalized story of the British Home Children sent to Canada through Dr. Barnardo’s Homes.Barnardo’s idea was that children who were essentially orphans and certainly destitute would find a better life in a young country eager for healthy children who would find good homes and when they became of age – decent jobs. For too many of these children this was not the case.An unfortunate bit of Canadian history that is not well known, but certainly should be.It is not much different...