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Stolen Lives
Ali Monroe's first ten years are spent with a mother who is an alcoholic and whose income is earned from male visitors to their home. After tragedy strikes, the moral pendulum in Ali's home-life swings to the opposite extreme when she's forced to live with her religious aunt who appears to love her but is unable to let Ali live a regular life due to her beliefs and fear of her father's wrath. At the age of 13, Ali becomes involved in a scandal she can never live down, and for which she is severely punished. She becomes a teenage girl in modern times struggling to endure a life that includes dressing in 19th century clothing, restrictions on food and drink, and no social life. In addition to the challenges she faces in present time, she's haunted by the mysteries of the past, not knowing who her father was, or why her aunt and grandparents refuse to answer any questions about him. Ali never knows what's in store for her from one day to the next as her aunt fluctuates between empathizing with Ali's desire for a normal life and her own fear of stepping outside the bounds of what her church insists is right and proper, even if it means making a child suffer, all in the name of love and obedience to their version of God. When Ali is 18, she discovers dark, hidden family secretes. Thus begins her journey that takes her to another world that she isn't prepared for.
224 pages, Paperback
First published August 8, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
December 30, 2013
Joy Redmond writes books that are so realistic, I find myself thinking "this has to be a true story, at least to some degree."
You get to know the main character so well, it almost feels like a biography. I came away from this book with the feeling that I know more about what life is like for some people that I wouldn't have known if I never read this book. I bet there are people who have lived, or are living a life like the one that the poor girl in this story lived.
It's a great, emotionally compelling story that will have you believing it. The only reason I couldn't bring myself to give it 5 stars is due to the proofreading, which gets pretty bad at times after the 65% mark, but don't let that stop you from enjoying this reading experience that will take you back in time to another place. Once you're there, you'll get an up-close and candid look into a life that unfortunately, is probably real for some people.
You get to know the main character so well, it almost feels like a biography. I came away from this book with the feeling that I know more about what life is like for some people that I wouldn't have known if I never read this book. I bet there are people who have lived, or are living a life like the one that the poor girl in this story lived.
It's a great, emotionally compelling story that will have you believing it. The only reason I couldn't bring myself to give it 5 stars is due to the proofreading, which gets pretty bad at times after the 65% mark, but don't let that stop you from enjoying this reading experience that will take you back in time to another place. Once you're there, you'll get an up-close and candid look into a life that unfortunately, is probably real for some people.
July 7, 2019
A must read, especially if you've had your life stolen
A beautiful story about a girl and her mama and what happened to the both of them that started Ali on a path she never expected. It's a good read and well worth the money! Full of laughter, tears, joy, hatred, friendship and all the every day happenings both good and bad as well as surprises.
Highly recommended
A beautiful story about a girl and her mama and what happened to the both of them that started Ali on a path she never expected. It's a good read and well worth the money! Full of laughter, tears, joy, hatred, friendship and all the every day happenings both good and bad as well as surprises.
Highly recommended
July 18, 2019
Excellent read......a coming of age novel. It's about losing and learning to live! A book and a story you can believe and feel very much a part of. Another good one from Joy Redmond. Moving, emotional, loving and about LIFE!
April 4, 2014
Ali learns on her sixth birthday that the woman raising her is her mama rather than a friend of her mama's. She also discovers she has grandparents and an aunt, but anger and old problems keep her from truly learning everything until they're all dead and gone, leaving her one person to find – her father. Can Ali come to grips with the secret her family hid? Will she reconnect with her father?
Stolen Lives is a coming of age story that grips the reader from the first page. The reader will want grow with Ali as she loses her mama in a fire and moves in with her aunt. The issues she faces resonate with everyone, who at one point or another has yearned to break free of the strictures they've lived under.
Redmond's story of a child raised by a mama with less than perfect morals during the fifties and sixties brings back the turbulence of those times without delving into problems outside the life on one girl confused and attempting to create her own identity. There are a few issues, such as words used out of context, but all in all this is an enjoyable story that I'd recommend.
Stolen Lives is a coming of age story that grips the reader from the first page. The reader will want grow with Ali as she loses her mama in a fire and moves in with her aunt. The issues she faces resonate with everyone, who at one point or another has yearned to break free of the strictures they've lived under.
Redmond's story of a child raised by a mama with less than perfect morals during the fifties and sixties brings back the turbulence of those times without delving into problems outside the life on one girl confused and attempting to create her own identity. There are a few issues, such as words used out of context, but all in all this is an enjoyable story that I'd recommend.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews