Những Cô Gái Mất Tích Ở Willowbrook

by Ellen Marie Wiseman, Minh Nguyệt (Translator)

Không khí có vị như cái chết.

Những bóng người lảo đảo qua lại, chậm rãi và có hệ thống, nhanh chóng và điên cuồng.

Những tiếng kêu xé ruột, những tiếng rên khóc khác người phát ra từ thứ gì đó nghe như tiếng kêu dưới lòng đất của một sinh vật cổ đại đang hấp hối.
…
Sage Winters đã “đi tìm” người em gái song sinh tội nghiệp trong bối cảnh như thế. Để rồi khi những điều vượt quá giới hạn dồn dập xảy đến, cũng là lúc Sage phải đấu tranh cho sự tỉnh táo của bản thân và phải vật lộn để giải thoát mình khỏi CƠN ÁC MỘNG mang tên WILLOWBROOK.

Dựa trên một sự kiện có thật về vụ bê bối chấn động tại New York vào thế kỷ trước, Ellen Marie Wiseman đã tận dụng một cách khéo léo những tư liệu sẵn có về Trường Công lập Willowbrook để tạo nên sự đa tầng đầy cảm xúc trong tác phẩm của mình.

Quy tụ đầy đủ các yếu tố làm nên một cuốn tiểu thuyết xuất sắc, với lối đặc tả chân thực đến đau lòng được cài cắm vào mạch văn dồn dập qua từng trang sách, “Những cô gái mất tích ở Willowbrook” sẽ gián tiếp đưa độc giả vào thế giới của tội ác vô nhân đạo, thức tỉnh họ về những sự thật kinh hoàng ở “một thị trấn ngầm” sâu thẳm dưới lòng đất.

Dung hòa giữa hiện thực và hư cấu, câu chuyện về cuộc hành trình đấu tranh vì sự sống đầy quả cảm của Sage Winters hứa hẹn mang lại một cuốn tiểu thuyết hấp dẫn từ đầu đến cuối.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Audiobook, Book Club, Historical

384 pages, Paperback

First published August 30, 2022

About the author

Ellen Marie Wiseman is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author known for writing novels based on real historical injustices, including THE LIES THEY TOLD, THE ORPHAN COLLECTOR, WHAT SHE LEFT BEHIND, THE PLUM TREE , COAL RIVER, THE LIFE SHE WAS GIVEN, and THE LOST GIRLS OF WILLOWBROOK, which was an Indie Next selection, an Amazon Editor's Pick and the B&N “Our Monthly Pick.” Born and raised in Three Mile Bay, a tiny hamlet in northern New York, Ellen is a first-generation German American who discovered her love of reading and writing while attending first grade in one of the last one-room schoolhouses in New York State. Since then, her novels have been published worldwide, translated into more than twenty languages, and sold nearly two million copies in the United States alone. They have also been named to "best of" lists by Reading Group Choices, Good Housekeeping, Goodreads, The Historical Novel Society, Great Group Reads, and more. A mother of two and grandmother to six, Ellen lives on the shores of Lake Ontario with her Husband.

Reviews

[Canadian Jen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Is it me or is it this story? It’s shocking the treatment used on those who had mental illness. Shocking more the fact this took place in the early 70’s. I don’t doubt the reality of this one- the abuse -physical, mental, emotional.

What didn’t work for me was the simplistic nature of the writing and the story. It read too much like YA. Was too drawn out in parts. Cropsey the clown killer? Was too convenient how Sage got confused with Rosemary and bam! The administration has locked her up. Too too much.

Wiseman has disappointed me with this one.
I’m not finishing it but will rate it based on the historical facts.
2⭐️

[Rosh ~catching up slowly~ · Rating 2 out of 5]

In a Nutshell: So, so disappointing! I expected an exposé, which is partly present and mostly accurate. What I didn’t expect was that exposé to be so badly penned. Repetitive writing, poorly developed characters, silly plotting. This is an outlier review.

Story Synopsis:

1971. Staten Island. Sixteen-year-old Sage Winters has just discovered that her twin Rosemary, who Sage had been told was dead, has been a resident at the Willowbrook State School since the past six years. Rosemary is now missing. As their mother is already dead and their stepfather has no interest in their upbringing, Sage decides to travel to Willowbrook and join in the search efforts. When she reaches there, she realises that Willowbrook isn’t a school but a strange place that seems to hold deep secrets within its doors. What she also didn’t count on was that she would be assumed to be the missing Rosemary. The life she took for granted won’t ever be the same.
The story comes to us in the third person perspective of Sage.

The book combines fact (the Willowbrook angle), fiction (the Sage Winters experience), and an urban legend (Cropsey the serial killer.) The first was the only one that worked somewhat well.


Where the book worked for me:
✔ The conditions in which the ‘residents’ of Willowbrook were housed and treated would come as no surprise to those who know the true story. However, this will still not prepare you for the horrendous situation. This content is definitely not for sensitive readers. I thought the author went over the top in describing the filthy life, but online searches reveal her information to be accurate. The content made my stomach churn, but I valued learning so much about the institution and its inhumane practices. The author has researched this content well.

✔ It stays true to the era in which the story is set, right down the vocabulary which uses some words that won’t pass muster in today’s society.


Where the book could have worked better for me:
❌ The title suggests a greater focus on the girls of Willowbrook. However, this is primarily Sage’s story, with Willowbrook and Cropsey relegated to the background. I don’t think the title represented the story well.

❌ Willowbrook might have been a pathetic place in reality, but I am sure there would have been certain employees who did well by the patients. You don’t get to see them in this story at all. Everyone is portrayed as vile. It looks like a very one-sided portrayal.

❌ The real life whistleblower on Willowbrook, Dr. Wilkins, hardly gets any focus. One of the actual whistleblowers in the Willowbrook case was a resident named Bernard Carabello, who suffered from cerebral palsy (a developmental disorder) but admitted to Willowbrook as a patient with mental health issues. Carabello doesn’t even get a mention in this story. The “saviour” is Sage, the only “able-minded and able-bodied” person among the residents. C’mon!

❌ Sage’s story was highly unrealistic, and not just because of her experiences. She is sketched very inconsistently: too smart at times, too naïve on other occasions. She makes for a poor lead character.

❌ The character development is hopeless. Not a single person comes across as believable. The detective was the worst-sketched. I can’t, for the life of me, figure out why an experienced detective would take an underage girl and leave her alone overnight in a shady institution, that too with a serial killer running rampant on the premises!

❌ The writing is irritatingly repetitive. I lost count of the number of times Sage saw someone, gave us a soliloquy on that person, and then discovered that it was someone else altogether. Words and situations keep recurring at regular intervals. Scenes are stretched out like anything. The book has plenty of internal rambling, even though it isn’t even in first person!

❌ The book didn’t feel like adult fiction at all, except for the R-rated events occurring on the Willowbrook premises. The writing is quite YA in style, though the content makes it unsuitable to that age range. It might work as NA fiction.

❌ The plotting is so predictable that you can see upcoming events coming a mile away. Everything is spoon-fed to the reader; there’s nothing left to the imagination. This also ensures a very convenient paint-by-numbers kind of story. The few supposed twists are illogical while still guessable. There are also instances where the content misleads quite obviously on purpose.
(I can’t help compare this book to the one I read prior to this. ‘Wishtress’ was also conveniently plotted, but the writing was so smart that the twists were still a surprise and the loopholes, plugged effectively. This book, in contrast, ignores whatever can’t be explained and makes a mess of what it does explain.)

❌ The urban legend of Cropsey the serial killer is woven into the Willowbrook story. The real life Cropsey was supposedly an orderly at Willowbrook for a short term. The identity of Cropsey in this book does a huge disservice to those with mental health issues.


The audiobook experience:
The audiobook clocks at 13 hrs 13 minutes. While it was still a decent way of going through this book, I wasn’t a fan of the narrator. She read the book in a very flat way. Even when characters were supposed to be crying or yelling, she sounded the same. Expressive reading is a must for such a story, and that doesn’t happen.
Moreover, as usual, the author’s note was missing from my advanced audio copy. Other reviewers have indicated that this content is an eye-opener. I’ll never know.


Right from the second chapter, the poor and predictable writing disappointed me. I was hoping the story would get better but it gets more and more annoying as it progresses. I wanted an exposé on Willowbrook; what I got was a poorly-written historical fiction masquerading as a thriller.

I am stunned to see this book get so many 4 & 5 star reviews. I peeked through some of them and saw that most reviewers are impressed by the light this book sheds on Willowbrook. I am, too; that’s the best part of the book. However, this story isn’t just about Willowbrook’s shenanigans, and other than that single positive point, there is nothing to redeem it.

I do admire the author’s research and the intention to highlight this sad part of history. The stars are mainly for that. If you do pick it up, remember that it is a dark story based partly in reality; strengthen yourselves mentally before beginning it. Not to be read while eating.

2 stars.

My thanks to RB Media and NetGalley for the ALC of “The Lost Girls of Willowbrook”. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the audiobook. So sorry this worked out badly.




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[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

If there's a living nightmare, this is it......

Things that go bump in the night, during the day, and everything in between. And nothing can prepare you adequately enough for the real in life. Actual events that occured from 1947 to 1987 at Willowbrook State School for the intellectually challenged on Staten Island in New York. Ellen Marie Wiseman presents her fictional novel lined in part with truism. Eyewitness News reporter, Geraldo Riviera, did a revealing documentary in 1971 that brought things to light and in focus.

Sage Winters, all of sixteen years old, has stumbled upon the truth about her identical twin sister, Rosemary, quite by accident. Sage is living with her stepfather, Alan, after the death of her alcoholic mother. She overhears a conversation in which the uncaring Alan is being told that Rosemary is "missing". Rosemary was supposed to have died of pneumonia six years ago. The truth bears out that her twin was committed to Willowbrook when she was ten years old by Alan and her mother.

Shocked and betrayed, Sage sneaks out of the apartment and takes a bus to Willowbrook to find out what happened to Rosemary. Her purse is stolen. Sage still decides to enter the building and make inquiries. She'll get to the bottom of this. Lordy.....Sage is mistakenly identified by the staff as the missing Rosemary and sent to the ward against her will. What transpires here out will bump up your goose bumps by and large. Wiseman won't let you set this one down. It begins to take on a life of its own. How do you convince the unconvinced? And where will this all lead for the forgotten Sage?

The actual Willowbrook School encompassed 350 acres with 40 buildings. There were over 5,300 patients. Robert Kennedy visited in 1965 and was shocked at the institutionalization of so many. It was the standard procedure for those with mental illness that went on far too long.

Ellen Marie Wiseman has done her research and incorporates those bits and pieces into her story of Sage. It is a hard and raw look into the sins of the past under the umbrella of "care". The character of Sage is a remarkable one and her persistence is jaw-dropping. Not for the faint of heart, but certainly not to be disregarded. The Lost Girls of Willowbrook is eyes wide open.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Kensington Publishers and to Ellen Marie Wiseman for the opportunity.

[Sujoya - theoverbookedbibliophile · Rating 5 out of 5]

Happy Publication Day! (August 30,2022)

In 1971, sixteen-year-old Sage Winters overhears her stepfather Alan and his friend Larry discussing the recent disappearance of Sage’s twin sister Rosemary from the premises of Willowbrook State School in Staten Island, New York. Unbeknownst to Sage, her mentally disturbed sister had been sent away to Willowbrook six years ago. Sage had been told by her now-deceased mother that Rosemary had died from pneumonia. Sage is shocked by the revelation that her sister, whom she loved and still grieves for, is alive. Concerned for her sister’s well-being, she travels alone to Willowbrook to assist in the search efforts. She has also heard rumors of a serial killer who kidnaps and kills his victims and is said to commit his crimes in and around the area. However, upon her arrival, things do not go as planned. Mistaken for her absconding twin sister, Sage is institutionalized and what follows is nothing less than a nightmare. Sage soon realizes that this is no School but a “dumping ground for the broken and insane and the unwanted”. She witnesses firsthand the neglect, abusive treatment and horrific living conditions within the closed walls of the facility.

What happened to Rosemary? Is there anyone in Willowbrook she can trust? How can Sage prove her true identity before it’s too late? Is the rumored serial killer with ties to Willowbrook more than just an urban legend?

Informative, fast-paced and suspenseful, I found The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman hard to put down. The author brilliantly combines fact and fiction in this hard-hitting, gripping and intense novel.

Please note that this is not an easy read.
In reality, Willowbrook State School was a state-supported facility for the treatment of developmentally disabled children that was in operation between 1947 and 1987. Though there were rumors of questionable medical practices and unsanitary living conditions (Senator Robert F. Kennedy called it a "snake pit" after touring the facility in 1965), Willowbrook garnered national attention after an expose by investigative journalist Geraldo Rivera in 1972. The atrocities inflicted upon the vulnerable residents of Willowbrook are unimaginable and the author does not hold back in describing the depravity and inhuman conditions the patients of Willowbrook had to endure including the physical and sexual abuse, experimental treatments and filthy living conditions. The author also incorporates the urban legend of the serial killer “Cropsey” with the narrative of Willowbrook. The author’s note at end of the book is quite informative and tells us more about the facility, its history and the aftermath of the scandal. Readers interested to know more can go through the news articles, documentaries and reports on the overpopulated and understaffed Willowbrook State School and its survivors, to get a more historically accurate picture of what went on behind the closed doors of the infamous facility and the events following Rivera's exposé till the facility was finally closed down in 1987.

Many thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for providing a digital review copy of this exceptional book. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This book is due for release on August 30, 2022.

[Kristine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Update 10/13/25: I love Ellen Marie Wiseman’s Books and Just Read her Latest One: The Lies They Told Another Story Based on True Events of Legal Immigrants and Coming to US and then Faces Eugenics movement. Excellent. Review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

This is one excellent book by Ellen Marie Wiseman. I love the way she uses true events about people often forgotten about, especially children and makes you learn important history but also welcomes you to a really fascinating story.

Sage Winters learns her sister has been staying at the Willowbrook Institute, in Staten Island. It is called a school, but most definitely is not; it is a place of horror. Sage hears her identical twin sister, Rosemary is missing. When she shows up at Willowbrook, no one believes she is Rosemary’s sister. They think she is Rosemary and has become delusional. Sage is then forcibly drugged and locked up at Willowbrook. She try’s to keep her wits about her and figure a way to get out of there and also to find her sister. She is terrified, and I was there with her all the way. I just had to find out what would happen to Sage and all the residents staying there, who had no control over their lives. It was very dangerous to look into what was going on, and really hard to know if you could trust anyone. Sage just keeps going, both for herself and her sister, Rosemary.

A riveting read, filled with suspense and a page turner. It also was a book that made me want to learn more about Willowbrook and other such Institutions that were supposed to help the Mentally Ill and Mentally Disabled. It was an eye opening revelation and a great look at Social Justice. In 1971, Geraldo Rivera really exposed how awful Willowbrook was. I do remember this was a huge story and changed policy about warehousing individuals considered sick, disabled, or just inconvenient. I felt for those people so much. I was unaware that it was the Willowbrook Institute though. I grew up most of my life in NY and was aware of some of the atrocities that occurred. I had seen some of the TV Coverage. This book brings the personal human element alive and makes you invested in people others may decide do not matter. They do matter and reading this book, I think you will feel the same way.

I highly recommend this book.

[Sandysbookaday (taking a step back for a while) · Rating 2 out of 5]

EXCERPT: As she neared the double doors of the bus station, she slowed. Help wanted ads, business cards, and what seemed like a hundred missing kid flyers covered a bulletin board next to the door - row after row of innocent smiling faces lined up like faded yearbook photos. She'd always hated those photos: the word MISSING all in caps knocking you between the eyes, the grainy photos taken on happier days before the kids were abducted, when everyone was still blissfully unaware that they'd be stolen from their families some day. The flyers were plastered all over Staten Island, inside the grocery stores and post offices, outside the bowling alleys and movie theaters, on the mailboxes and telephone poles. Something cold and hard tightened in her chest. Would her twin sister's face be on one of those damn flyers too? And where were all those poor innocent kids? What horrible things had they endured? Were they dead? Still suffering? Crying and terrified, wondering why their parents, the people who had promised to love and protect them forever, hadn't saved them yet? She couldn't imagine a worse fate.

ABOUT 'THE LOST GIRLS OF WILLOWBROOK': Sage Winters always knew her sister was a little different even though they were identical twins. They loved the same things and shared a deep understanding, but Rosemary—awake to every emotion, easily moved to joy or tears—seemed to need more protection from the world.

Six years after Rosemary’s death from pneumonia, Sage, now sixteen, still misses her deeply. Their mother perished in a car crash, and Sage’s stepfather, Alan, resents being burdened by a responsibility he never wanted. Yet despite living as near strangers in their Staten Island apartment, Sage is stunned to discover that Alan has kept a shocking secret: Rosemary didn’t die. She was committed to Willowbrook State School and has lingered there until just a few days ago, when she went missing.

Sage knows little about Willowbrook. It’s always been a place shrouded by rumor and mystery. A place local parents threaten to send misbehaving kids. With no idea what to expect, Sage secretly sets out for Willowbrook, determined to find Rosemary. What she learns, once she steps through its doors and is mistakenly believed to be her sister, will change her life in ways she never could imagined...

MY THOUGHTS: I am torn by this book and may revise my rating once I have thought on it some more.

I honestly think a better title may have been 'The Lost Souls of Willowbrook'.

I worked in a government mental institution in New Zealand in the 1970s and I am happy to report that it was mostly nothing like Willowbrook. There was the occasional 'old school' attendant or nurse who could be cruel and uncaring, but mostly we were bright young men and women who had learned respect and were intent on improving the lot of the residents by providing the best care possible. The only 'locked wards' were the ones that housed the criminally insane or the extremely violent. Our wards, even the old ones, were bright and clean, the residents well fed and, where possible, their independence nurtured. It wasn't perfect, but it was 'home' to many long term residents, and a welcome refuge for acute admissions.

So Willowbrook came as a bit of a shock to me. After I finished listening to the audiobook I read some of the archived articles and examined the photos. I couldn't get over the sheer size of Willowbrook, and the design of the building made it eminently unsuitable for housing the disabled, the 'feeble-minded'. Mr Dewey, what were you thinking? There was obviously a demand, a need for accommodation and care; but just as obviously Willowbrook was not the answer.

Now, onto the book that I am reviewing. While I admire what the author set out to do, it just didn't resonate for me. I didn't like the plot and failed to feel anything at all for the characters. I think that I may have enjoyed this more had Sage been a more likeable character.

The language used to describe the conditions Sage encounters in Willowbrook is repetitious. I felt like the author was trying too hard to shock me, and it all felt 'over-exposed'. And y'all that know me know that I prefer not to be belted about the ears with a piece of 4 x 2 when you're trying to get your point across. Less is more.

There are numerous holes in the plot amongst them is Eddie. If he had been incarcerated in Willowbrook since the age of nine, where would he have learned to drive a car, and how would he know the name of the all-night diner, let alone how to get there?

This should have been an atmospheric and chilling read but, sadly for me, it felt mostly flat.

⭐⭐

#TheLostGirlsofWillowbrook #NetGalley

I: @ellenmariewiseman @kensingtonbooks

T: @EllenMarieWise @KensingtonBooks

#comingofage #historicalfiction #humanrights #mystery #murdermystery

THE AUTHOR: A first-generation German American, Ellen Marie Wiseman discovered her love of reading and writing while attending first grade in one of the last one-room schoolhouses in NYS. Ellen lives on the shores of Lake Ontario with her husband and two spoiled Shih-tzus, Izzy and Bella. When she’s not busy writing, she loves spending time with her children and grandchildren.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Kensington Books for supplying a digital ARC and to RB Media for supplying an audio ARC of The Lost Girls of Willowbrook written by Ellen Marie Wiseman and narrated by Morgan Hallett for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

For an explanation of my rating system please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

This review is also published on Twitter, Amazon, Instagram and my webpage https://sandysbookaday.wordpress.com/...

[Dorie - Cats&Books :) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the audiobook of this novel which I obtained through Hoopla via my library.

Sage is a 16 year old living with a stepfather who was left to care for her after her mother died. There is no love shared between these two and her stepfather ignores her for the most part.

She had a twin sister, Rosemary, who died at a young age.

Rosemary finds out that what she had been told for all of these years was a lie. Rosemary did not die, she was confined to a home for the mentally disturbed and disabled and has been living there for 6 years. When Sage finds out the name of the institution, Willowbrook – on Staten Island - she quickly sets out to find her twin.

She travels via bus to Willowbrook and unfortunately her purse is stolen en route. When she arrives she finds that Rosemary has been missing and now they think that Sage is really Rosemary!!

What ensues is an eye opening and extremely troubling view of an institution that is so corrupt, filthy and understaffed that it’s hard to believe it’s true. (In the afterword you will find statistics that reveal that this was indeed a real place and many of the crimes against humanity did really occur there)

There is not an easy book to get through, there is a lot of repetition of the terrible abuse these poor individuals suffered. There were also many that were listed as “lost” or “missing” when in fact they had died.

I do recommend this one, it’s a great story woven around true facts. I enjoyed the narration of this one!

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Get ready to be disturbed!

Yowser, this is one intense story that had me climbing the walls! The walls were in a mental institution called Willowbrook, which really existed for decades on Staten Island, New York. Damn right I was climbing the walls. The author, Wiseman, set me down right in the middle of a place that abused its patients with such cruelty, it tore my guts out. I remember the wails and the smells as well as the sights, she described it all so vividly. Patients had mental illness or developmental delays, though orphans and “difficult” children ended up there, too. Few patients ever got out. Wiseman did a lot of research and supposedly, the place was as awful as she described. Ha, “awful” is such an understatement. You really have to read this to get an idea of how bad it was. Just let me say this: feces, naked patients, a “pit,” and lobotomies (which totally freak me out) are just some of the horrors.

The star of the show is Sage, a teenager, who is searching for her identical twin, Rosemary, who has been gone for six years. The only funny thing about this book is that the kids are a couple of herbs. Did Wiseman love Simon and Garfunkel’s “Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, and Thyme” and decide to honor the song with characters she made up? Thank god she didn’t name them Parsley and Thyme, because I’m sorry, those herbs just don’t have the same ring to them.

Okay, back to being serious. Please please please don’t read the blurb, because it will ruin one big, jaw-dropping surprise that happens early on. I had not read the blurb, and man, I’m glad I hadn’t. The surprise jolted me and sent me to squirm-land immediately, and from there the pace never let up.

-Inside Willowbrook is a relentless horror show and it’s very graphic. Yet I couldn’t stop watching. Hm… I wonder why? I think it’s because I was rooting for Sage, who was so likeable, feisty, and determined. Plus I felt like I should know about something so unjust in history; it opened my eyes to an atrocity. I haven’t had such a visceral reaction to a book since The Last Thing to Burn a couple of years ago, where a psycho tortured a woman he held prisoner.

I thought I was signing up for historical fiction, but turns out, the book is also a thriller—it’s a two-fer. I don’t get why it isn’t marketed that way. For me, the fact that it’s a thriller made it even better. It was edge-of-your-seat all the way.

There are a few things I didn’t like. I thought Wiseman made us witness the horrors for way too long. We get it; it’s awful beyond words there. I also had trouble with the fact that Sage trusted various people so much and thought they would help her; she’s super naïve. Also, she asked the same questions over and over. Enough already. Sage is a cool teen; seems like she would have been a little more savvy. Also, there are a couple of corny, childish phrases, like “begging the fairies and whoever was in charge of magic to bring him home.” I just don’t trust that kids actually think of fairies and magic saving them, but maybe they do. My last complaint: there’s nothing jazzy about the language. It’s straightforward, but it doesn’t have style. Despite that, the story is well told.

Naturally, I had to Google Willowbrook. I can’t believe a place like that existed. And for decades! Creepy and horrifying! There’s a fair amount of info about it, and it was interesting.

Don’t go near this book if reading about a lot of abuse is too disturbing. But if you’re like me—a little queasy but not usually traumatized by abuse—you’ll probably like the book. I couldn’t put it down.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

[Danielle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I finished this book in a day- I just couldn’t put it down. 🤓 A living nightmare, is the best way to describe this thriller. The edge of your seat, think you know, but don’t- screaming frustration- and all the crazy… 😳 If you enjoy a good thriller- I’d highly recommend picking this one up!

[Debra - can't post any comments on site today grrr · Rating 4 out of 5]

"It smelled of filth, it smelled of disease and it smelled of death. The sound, the smell, the sights of it is something that is branded on my soul." "That sound, the mournful wail that the kids were making is the soundtrack of my nightmares," Rivera said through tears. "


Sage always believed that her twin sister, Rosemary, died from pneumonia. But after hearing her stepfather, Alan talking about Rosemary and how she had gone missing from Willowbrook State School, Sage set out to find her twin. Sage knows little about Willowbrook, a place shrouded by rumors and mystery, but she is determined to help find her sister.

Upon arriving at Willowbrook, Sage is mistaken for her twin sister, Rosemary. No one believes her when she tells them who she is and why she is there. Sage finds herself trapped, drugged, mistreated and in danger. Will she ever learn what happened to her sister? Will she ever get out of Willowbrook? Will anyone believe her when she tells them that she is not Rosemary but Sage?


**In 1965, Willowbrook State School was the biggest stat run institution in the United States. Designed to hold 4,000 at that time it held 6,000. Robert Kennedy described it as a 'snake pit' and Geraldo Rivera did an exposé showing the horrors, mistreatment and abuses of Willowbrook.

Ellen Marie Wiseman uses Willowbrook as the setting for her heartbreaking and sad tale. It was evident that she did a tremendous amount of research in preparing to write this book. This book grabbed my attention from the very first page and had me glued to the pages wanting to know if Sage would learn the truth, would she ever be free, and would justice be served?

I enjoyed how the author used historical facts about Willowbrook in the writing of this book. I found this book to be captivating, well written and heartbreaking. It is very sad and shocking to think about how those institutionalized were treated.

This is a powerful book that is not an easy read. Yet, it was gripping and had me swiping those pages.


#TheLostGirlsofWillowbrook #NetGalley

Thank you to Kensington Books, and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.


Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com

[Angela M · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up.

From a dysfunctional family for sure, Sage describes life as “chaotic, messy, uncertain” early on in the novel. This is a huge understatement given what she learns about her twin sister Rosemary, and the school she was sent to and what she endures as she tries to find out what happened to her. This is not easy to read. It’s one that will haunt long after the last page is read . We early on discover that Willowbrook was not a school but a horrific place of depravity, cruelty, brutal treatment. It’s so disturbing. I felt sick to my stomach.

This is not the first book that Ellen Marie Wiseman has written about a place like this. She’s not afraid to write about the dark and horrific things that happened at these institutions. Horrific in their treatment of people and even more so because these novels are based on places that actually existed. As with What She Left Behind I had to put it down at times, but couldn’t stay away too long wanting to know what would happen.

I wanted to read it because I was so moved by What She Left Behind , but the thriller/mystery aspects of this one took away from the book for me - just not a genre I enjoy reading. I also thought the ending felt a bit contrived. Having said that, it was an eye opening experience and it’s horrifying to learn that these things are based on truth. I appreciated knowing the real people involved and the things that really happened.

I received a copy of this book from Kensington through Edelweiss.

[Marialyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tragedy comes in many forms. For the people who were confined to an institution called Willowbrook, it was a place of horror, of imprisonment, and of a story that shocked the world. In 1972, an investigative reporter, Geraldo Rivera and his crew discovered the many ills of Willowbrook, including overcrowding, inadequate sanitary facilities, and physical and sexual abuse of residents by members of the staff. It was a living nightmare. It was titled as a school for the mentally challenged, but it was far removed from that! Finally shut down in 1987, it sparked an era where the mental institutions were put to a more stringent process.

In this story Ms Wiseman, depicts what life was like by the protagonist, Sage Winter in Willowbrook. Learning that her twin sister, Rosemary was not dead, but was confined to Willowbrook, sent Sage on a perilous journey into the ills of this supposed school. Mistaken for her twin, Sage becomes an inmate going through the torture of her environment and the fact that no one believed her story.

With many moments of tense action and the horror of this setting, Ms Wiseman has created a mystery with Willowbrook as its background and it was a terrifying one indeed. The author includes facts that were eventually discovered in this house of horrors.

Many thank to Ellen Wiseman, Recorded Books, and NetGalley for a copy of this riveting story.

[Sharon Orlopp · Rating 2 out of 5]

I listened to The Lost Girls of Willowbrook on audiobook and moved it to the DNF pile after listening to 30% of the book.

The true story about Willowbrook School in Staten Island, NY is harrowing and horrific. I wanted and expected more from this book. It read like a YA book and didn't hold my attention.

I encourage readers to read many reviews because there are many terrific reviews.

I am planning on reading Ellen Marie Wiseman's The Orphan Collector.

[Ellen Wiseman]

In her most powerful novel to date, New York Times bestselling author Ellen Marie Wiseman masterfully viscerally evokes the real-life Willowbrook State School, the infamous Staten Island, New York, mental institution that shocked a nation when exposed in the 1970s as a dumping ground for unwanted children. Girl, Interrupted meets One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest in this gripping narrative of social injustice, survival, and a young woman determined to find her sister.

Sage Winters always knew her sister was a little different even though they were identical twins. They loved the same things and shared a deep understanding, but Rosemary—awake to every emotion, easily moved to joy or tears—seemed to need more protection from the world.

Six years after Rosemary’s death from pneumonia, Sage, now sixteen, still misses her deeply. Their mother perished in a car crash, and Sage’s stepfather, Alan, resents being burdened by a responsibility he never wanted. Yet despite living as near strangers in their Staten Island apartment, Sage is stunned to discover that Alan has kept a shocking secret: Rosemary didn’t die. She was committed to Willowbrook State School and has lingered there until just a few days ago, when she went missing.

Sage knows little about Willowbrook. It’s always been a place shrouded by rumor and mystery. A place local parents threaten to send misbehaving kids. With no idea what to expect, Sage secretly sets out for Willowbrook, determined to find Rosemary. What she learns, once she steps through its doors and is mistakenly believed to be her sister, will change her life in ways she never could imagined...

[Marilyn (not getting notifications) · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman took a close look at the institute that was known as Willowbrook State School. It was located in Staten Island, New York was still in existence during the 1970’s. Although the characters were fictional, much of the descriptions of how the residents were treated, cared for and how they lived were based on truth. Ellen Marie Wiseman was able to blend enough accurate facts with the right proportion of fiction and known legends about the school to deliver a compelling yet heartbreaking novel. Her talent as a masterful storyteller was easily recognized throughout the pages of this novel. I have read several of her books and have enjoyed them. The Lost Girls of Willowbrook was no exception.

Sage Winters was your typical sixteen year old teenager. She enjoyed hanging out with her girlfriends and sneaking behind her stepfather’s somewhat watchful eye to do things he probably wouldn’t have approved of. Sage’s mother had died in a car crash several years ago. Her stepfather drank a lot and left her to her own devices most of the time. Sage also had had a twin sister, Rosemary, who had died of pneumonia. Six year’s after Rosemary’s death, Sage overheard her stepfather on the phone commenting to someone about his concern that Rosemary was missing. Had Sage heard her stepfather correctly? How could Rosemary be missing if she had died? Sage’s stepfather admitted to Sage that he and her mother had put Rosemary in Willowbrook State School but did not want anyone to know so they told everyone she had died instead. Sage was livid. How could her mother have blatantly lied to her? Sage was determined to go to the school and help look for her sister. There were lots of scary rumors about the school but Sage decided to take the bus there by herself to help find her twin sister. She decided not to tell anyone that she was going. Sage took the bus there but just as she was about to get off at the stop for Willowbrook she discovered that her pocketbook and wallet had been stolen. The bus driver took her name and phone number and said he would contact her if they were turned in. Sage got off the bus and entered Willowbrook State School. When she entered the building she explained why she was there. An attendant noticed her and went to get someone to help her. Sage was mistaken for Rosemary. As much as she tried to explain that she was Rosemary’s twin sister Sage, no one believed her. The doctor, nurse and attendant thought they had found Rosemary. What occurred next was something that Sage could never had imagined. She was mistaken for Rosemary and was confined at Willowbrook. The conditions and way she was treated was so much worse than anything Sage could have possibly imagined. She was met with cruelty, overcrowding and abuse. The residents were drugged and ignored. How could Rosemary have tolerated all this for six long years? Sage’s mission became to find her sister and save her. The time she was held against her will at Willowbrook haunted her throughout her life.

Willowbrook State School existed in Staten Island, New York under deplorable conditions of uncleanliness, overcrowding and staff shortages. It was underfunded and mismanaged. The way the residents were treated was as bad as those that were in concentration camps. It was quite disturbing to read about the abuse the residents suffered and the lack of compassion they were shown. I had not known about the existence of Willowbrook and was appalled to find out how long it took to shut it down. In Ellen Marie Wiseman’s author note, she gave many details about the steps that were taken to change and rectify the treatment of these children. Although the subject matter of The Lost Girls of Willowbrook was heartbreaking and hard to read about, I thought it was well written and I highly recommend it.

Thank you to Kensington Books for allowing me to read this advanced copy of The Lost Girls of Willowbrook through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Publication is set for August 30, 2022.

[Karren Sandercock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sage Winters is a twin, she was told her sister Rosemary died six years ago from pneumonia and it’s a lie. Sage overhears her stepfather Alan talking to his friend, saying that Rosemary has gone missing from Willowbrook State School and she’s furious.

Sage knew Rosemary was different, she suffered from seizures and lived in a world of her own. Being twins they had a connection, Sage loved her sister, mourned her death, and she’s determined to find her. Sage is sixteen, she’s heard rumors about Willowbrook, all of them bad, and she decides to go there and find Rosemary. Sage is young, she doesn’t tell anyone where she is going, and when she arrives at Willowbrook they think she’s Rosemary and they lock her up.

Nothing could prepare Sage for the conditions in the ward, the residents are treated appallingly, and the place is absolutely filthy, the food is shocking, everyone is over-medicated, emaciated, and the staff are lazy and don’t care. Sage knows her best chance to find out what happened to her sister, is to try speak to anyone Rosemary knew, it’s not easy when they’re all drugged, unpredictable, and mentally unstable, and believe that she is in fact her sister.

In her attempt to discover what happened to Rosemary, Sage uncovers the shocking truth about Willowbrook State School, it’s a facility that houses children and adults with birth defects, mental problems, and adolescents who are too much trouble for their parents to handle.

I received a copy of The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman from Edelweiss and Kensington Publishing Corp in exchange for an honest review. The narrative seizes your attention, it’s about a young girl’s quest to find her sister, with elements of mystery, suspense’s and danger.

Through Sage’s traumatic experiences, you read about the culture of Willowbrook, the abuse, psychological torture, neglect, harm, violence, malnutrition, lack of hygiene, how patients were used to trial vaccines and the widespread medical mismanagement. Sage is a character that will stay with you, she’s transformed from a selfish teenager girl into a strong and resilient young woman and one that's determined to survive and get justice. I highly recommend this book, it gives a voice to all those poor souls that lived at Willowbrook from 1950 to 1980, and five stars from me.

[Rachel Hanes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of those books that the author truly did her homework on. I had never heard of Willowbrook State School in New York, until reading this novel. Willowbrook State School or Institution housed thousands of mentally and physically disabled children and adults. The institution was overpopulated and understaffed. The residents who lived there did not receive any type of schooling, they lived in filth, they were malnourished, and they were often used as lab experiments. If it wasn’t for Geraldo Rivera sneaking in to Willowbrook in 1972, this place may never have been shut down. (Thank you Geraldo!) I could go on and on about Willowbrook- but on to the story…

While ‘The Lost Girls of Willowbrook’ is a fictional story, it is based on factual events and even urban legends. In this book, we have our main character Sage, who goes off to Willowbrook to help find her twin sister Rosemary, who has been reported missing. This is news to Sage as she thought Rosemary had died several years beforehand. Sage’s home life is horrible, and she’s had a falling out with her friends, so she takes this trip all by herself. Of course a bunch of unfortunate events occur before she even enters Willowbrook, and it is all downhill from there.

Sage is mistaken to be that of her twin sister, Rosemary, and she is made a resident at Willowbrook. Forced to live in the filth, and put up with the horrible staff, Sage does not know how she will ever survive or ever find her sister. Sage does make a friend while she is wrongly institutionalized, but can anyone inside Willowbrook be trusted?

This story made me very sad, and it was often hard to read at times as some of the content was so disturbing. I often found there was a lot of repetition throughout the story when Sage was trying to prove who she was. It became a little redundant, but probably needed. I figured things out early on as well, but that didn’t ruin the outcome of this story.

I recommend reading this book because it was a great learning experience, and I really liked the author’s writing style. I especially appreciated the Author’s Note at the end, along with the Discussion Questions, as I felt they were very informative.

[Ruben · Rating 4 out of 5]

16-year-old Sage Winters finds out by chance her identical twin Rosemary didn't die 6 years before as her mother and stepfather made her believe. While trying to sneak out during the night to see her friends she overhears Alan (her stepfather) telling Larry he received a call from Willowbrook State School to let him know Rosemary has gone missing.

Why is it that not ever before had Sage realized about it? She makes a decision to go there and help find her as they had always had an unbreakable bond, which she now wants to recover, but her going there might not turn out as expected, after all, no one at Willowbrook had ever known Rosemary did have a twin.

Is Willowbook really a school? She's heard lots of stories about the institution, they couldn't all be true, could they? What are the secrets behind Rosemary's disappearance. Will Sage be able to put two and two together and unveil the hidden facts? Will she get any help from within?

Willowbrook State School was anything but a school that held over 5,000 children and some adults with diverse mental illnesses and also was "home" to many unwanted children that were left behind by their unloving parents.

Due to being understaffed and lacked funding it was difficult to take proper care of so many "residents". It was not until Geraldo Rivera, a journalist, filmed a short documentary during the early 70s that people really knew about the terrible conditions in which patients lived, but it was not until the late 80s that Willowbrook finally closed.

Ellen Marie Wiseman did a great job collecting the facts that helped her achieve this historical fiction novel, and it is always important to keep history alive to help prevent repeating it again.

All in all, I really enjoyed the book, the development of the story, its climax, its ending. If you want to know what happens to the sisters, there's only one way to find out. If you're into historical fiction, I believe you will like it as much.

[JaymeO · Rating 3 out of 5]

The theme of social injustice is explored in Ellen Marie Wiseman’s historical fiction novel, The Lost Girls of Willowbrook.

The infamous Willowbrook State School in Staten Island, New York was the biggest state-supported institution in The United States for children with intellectual disabilities from 1947-1987. In 1972, it was exposed by Geraldo Rivera for being overcrowded, understaffed, and for having deplorable conditions. Coupled with a rampant Hepatitis outbreak, unethical experimentations, and accusations of prolific child abuse, Rivera brought media attention to the controversy, which led to its eventual demise.

The Lost Girls of Willowbrook is a fictional story about Sage and Rosemary, identical twins who find themselves committed to Willowbrook State School. Sage is sixteen years old when she discovers that her twin sister is not actually dead, as her family led her to believe. Instead, she was institutionalized six years prior, and has recently gone missing. Without telling anyone where she is going, Sage takes a bus to Willowbrook to help find her long lost sister. Unfortunately, instead of helping with the investigation, she is mistaken for her twin sister, and locked in the institution herself. How will she escape? Everyone thinks she is mentally ill and no one believes her!

When a serial killer named Cropsey starts murdering residents and staff at Willowbrook, Sage also finds herself in the middle of a police investigation. Is it just urban legend or does Cropsey really exist? Will she be his next victim?

While I am a huge fan of What She Left Behind, also by Wiseman, this book was not as successful. It is obvious that she did her research, however the atrocities that take place in Willowbrook School are so graphic and sensationalized, that it reads as an over-the-top caricature, diminishing its authenticity and believability. She mentions in her afterward that all of the abuses that take place in the novel actually happened at Willowbrook, just not during the same time period. Some creative liberties are taken by incorporating all of these details in this book.

This is a very graphic, uncomfortable read. Overall, I found the plot predictable and containing a YA tone. It is also missing a key detail that needs to be explored further.

However, I am still a fan of Wiseman and am looking forward to her next book!

Trigger warning: extreme abuse

3/5 stars

[Elizabeth of Silver's Reviews · Rating 5 out of 5]

Imagine finding out that your twin sister hadn't passed away but has been in an institution.

A horrible institution for the mentally challenged and an institution that tortured the patients and didn't take proper care of them.

Sage overheard her stepfather talking with a friend about how the school called and said Rosemary ran away again.

When Sage confronts him about it, he denies it. He then explains that he and her mother thought it would be better if Sage had thought Rosemary had passed away.

Sage was furious - knowing her sister was still alive and she could have visited her was heartbreaking.

Sage made a decision to go to the school and help find her sister.

She told no one her plans, got on a bus dressed in clothing not suitable for winter, had her purse stolen, and got pulled into the bowels of the institution with the doctors and nurses thinking she is her sister....the missing Rosemary.

What a nightmare, and to think this is based on a true story and where they put mentally challenged children for over 40 years until it was exposed by Geraldo Rivera.

Ms. Wiseman takes us inside to witness the treatment of these girls and of Sage's nightmare of trying to tell everyone she is NOT Rosemary.

They tell her that is part of her disease - Rosemary at times said she was Sage.

Reading this will appall you when you learn about the treatment of these men, women, and children.

You will also feel sorry for Sage as she sees it all and lives through it.

I was shaking as we followed Sage through everything she endured and witnessed.

THE LOST GIRLS OF WILLOWBROOK and what horrors happened inside come alive with Ms. Wiseman's detailed writing style and flowing story line. 5/5

This book was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley for an honest review.

[Stacey B · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was given a copy of this book, it's a shame I must return it.

Marilyn, I read your review on August 8th and had to read this book- so thank you.
I must say the feeling I was getting from the book was both a terrible nightmare and heart wrenching ache.
Wiseman writes a story about an institution on Staten Island for unwanted girls. Although this genre is historical fiction, Willowbrook was not fiction. I don't want to give away anything as this hasn't been released yet, but I can tell you that if you got anything out of Wiseman's other books, you will with this one.

[Tracey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a well-written novel based on true, disturbing events at Willowbrook State School in Staten Island, NY. It vividly describes the atrocious conditions, deprivation, pain and suffering of the residents, and has murder, mystery, and suspense. The clothing, shampoo, soap, and decor are right out of the 1970's. The author's note is informative and enlightening, and is truly appreciated.
I won this book from Kensington Books, and this is my honest opinion.

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wiseman is one of my go-to historical fiction authors, and her new release coming in August 2022, does not disappoint! That being said, it was a difficult read because of the horrific extent of human depravity displayed in it. It was one of those books where I actually felt glad when I read the last page, not because it was an awful book, but simply because it was so heavy.

Sage and Rosemary Winters are identical twins. Sage always knew Rosemary was a little different from everyone else, and for that, she was fiercely protective of Rosemary. When they were ten years old, Rosemary abruptly died of pneumonia, and when Sage was a teenager, her mother died in an automobile accident. At sixteen, Sage feels alone, with only her stepfather, Alan, who seems to resent her and acts like she is a burden on him. One afternoon when Sage overhears Alan discussing a phone call he received telling him that Rosemary is missing, she uncovers the fact that Alan has been keeping a shocking secret - Rosemary isn't dead - she was committed to Willowbrook State School in New York years ago and has been living there ever since. Once she discovers that Rosemary is missing, Sage secretly travels to Willowbrook, where she is mistaken for Rosemary and basically imprisoned inside its walls, where unthinkable acts occur and where her life will change forever.

As with all of Wiseman's books that I have read, the events in this book are based on historical accounts, and the social injustice and the glaring failures of the state psychiatric system described here are terrifying. Despite its name as a “school,” there was barely any educational structure at Willowbrook, and it was instead defined by constant neglect, with staff members physically and sexually abusing patients; and medical experimentation and surgical interventions without consent a regular occurrence. Wiseman describes these occurrences in detail, almost to the point that made me feel ill - although I still found myself deeply invested in Sage and Rosemary's story. There is a bit of a suspense element to the plot as well as there are many characters with suspicious actions and motives and it was difficult to figure out who was trustworthy and who was not. Even though so much of the book is horrifying, there are still also moments of goodness and hope that made it bearable and enjoyable in the end.

Overall, an enlightening, emotional read about the history of mentally ill patients and how they were treated in "schools" (institutions) in the early 20th century. 4 stars.

[Pat · Rating 4 out of 5]

That. Was. Horrific! What is even more horrific is that it is based on real events. The main characters were, of course, fictional but the Willowbrook ‘school’ DID exist, it WAS overcrowded and understaffed and many patients/residents died in its care (or rather lack thereof). There are plenty of true accounts about the place if you care to look for them. At one stage I wasn’t even sure if I could finish reading this terrible account but I’m glad I did. It just goes to show that no matter how much progress we seem to make as a society there is still plenty of brutality to go around. Ms Wiseman certainly did her research for this book and it is both saddening and shocking to read about.

In the story 16 year old Sage Winters has only just learned that her twin sister, Rosemary, who was said to have died 6 years ago, is still alive although she has apparently gone missing from the Willowbrook school on Staten Island, New York. By this time Sage is living with her stepfather Alan whom she hates and the feeling is mutual. Her mother left her father and married Alan but when her mother died Sage had nowhere else to ago. She didn’t know where her real father was.

She misses Rosemary terribly. She knew her sister had some mental health and developmental issues but they loved each other and Sage felt her loss keenly. When she finally learned that Rosemary was still alive she headed off, without any planning or telling anyone where she was going, to find her sister at Willowbrook. Unfortunately when she rocked up there they though she was Rosemary (being identical twins) and no one would believe her story. She was shocked and appalled at the treatment meted out to the girls in care of Willowbrook. The more she protested, the more she was threatened with the straight jacket or solitary confinement or some other horror.

I won’t spoily the story for you by relating how she finally gets out of there, how she learns what actually happened to her sister and how her life progressed after she was freed. It is a very heartbreaking story that had me reaching for the tissues and, trust me, that does not happen often! The staff were all horrid and brutal but Sage’s character shone like a light. She refused to give up or give in. She was a very gutsy young lady to survive her ordeal as she did. This story will stay with me for a long time. Many thanks to Netgalley and Kensington Books for the much appreciated arc which I reviewed voluntarily and honestly.

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Willowbrook State School was a real place established on Staten Island, NY, in 1947. In 1965 Senator Robert Kennedy visited the place and called it ‘a snake pit’, yet it carried on for 22 years.
In 1972 Geraldo Rivera filmed an expose about Willowbrook on WABC-TV Channel 7 New York. Even after that the place continued to operate for another 15 years.
I made the mistake of watching the Geraldo Rivera TV expose (easily found on the Internet) but I couldn’t watch more than a couple of minutes.

This book is fiction based on fact and was a very, very disturbing read.

Sage Winters, age 16, finds out that her adored twin sister Rosemary was not dead as she had been told by her mother, but was living at Willowbrook State School, a place shrouded in dark mystery. Her mother is now deceased and Sage overheard her step-father telling his friend that Rosemary has gone missing from Willowbrook.

Sage takes it upon herself to go and find her sister, but arriving at Willowbrook she is mistaken for her sister Rosemary. No one believes that she is Rosemary’s sister, but assumed to be Rosemary returned after having run off. Sage is immediately put into the inmate population.

While Sage is the author’s fictional character the conditions she is faced with and forced to endure are horrendous, deplorable, inhumane and are really, really hard to read. Even murder is involved and for Sage to get out of this ‘snake pit’ and survive is an extraordinary story told in unsparingly stark grim detail by Ellen Marie Wiseman.

Most shocking of all is that this is the United States of America in 1971 – not the Dark Ages and Willowbrook State School carried on until 1988.

[Tracy P. · Rating 4 out of 5]

RTC

[Jovana (NovelOnMyMind) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such an interesting premise, and the fact that Willowbrook State School really existed made everything so much gorier, creepier and more disturbing.

I'm going to be honest - some parts were a bit too much for me, as the freaking institution in question took neglect to a whole other level. Still, I appreciated the attention to detail the author put into her work.

I know most people won't agree, but my favorite part of The Lost Girls of Willowbrook was the murder mystery. It felt like a breath of fresh air, to be able to say it's just a story.

My biggest complaint was that certain circumstances felt a bit too convenient. But other than that - I really liked it. I definitely plan to check out more by this author soon.

If you want to see my much more in depth review, you can check it out on my book blog NovelOnMyMind.

Thank you to RB Media and NetGalley for providing me with an audio ARC of The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman in exchange for an honest review.

[Marialyce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tragedy comes in many forms. For the people who were confined to an institution called Willowbrook, it was a place of horror, of imprisonment, and of a story that shock the world. In 1972, an investigative reporter, Geraldo Rivera and his crew discovered the many ills of Willowbrook, including overcrowding, inadequate sanitary facilities, and physical and sexual abuse of residents by members of the staff. It was a living nightmare. It was titled as a school for the mentally challenged, but it was far removed from that! Finally shut down in 1987, it sparked an era where the mental institutions were put to a more stringent process.

In this story Ms Wiseman, depicts what life was like by the protagonist, Sage Winter in Willowbrook. Learning that her twin sister, Rosemary was not dead, but was confined to Willowbrook, sent Sage on a perilous journey into the ills of this supposed school. Mistaken for her twin, Sage becomes an inmate going through the torture of her environment and the fact that no one believed her story.

With many moments of tense action and the horror of this setting, Ms Wiseman has created a mystery with Willowbrook as its background and it was a terrifying one indeed. The author includes facts that were eventually discovered in this house of horrors.

Many thank to Ellen Wiseman, Recorded Books, and NetGalley for a copy of this riveting story.

[Judy Collins · Rating 5 out of 5]

A huge fan of the author, known for writing novels based on actual historical and social injustices—NYT bestselling author Ellen Marie Wiseman returns with her sixth and most powerful novel to date —THE LOST GIRLS OF WILLOWBROOK.

Coinciding with the 35th anniversary of Willowbrook's final closure and the 50th anniversary of Geraldo Rivera's groundbreaking exposé, THE LOST GIRLS OF WILLOWBROOK (Staten Island, NY) — the author MASTERFULLY infuses fact and fiction as a young woman desperate to find her missing twin sister is mistakenly imprisoned at the horrific Willowbrook State School.

In the present, Sage Winters, age sixteen, overhears her stepfather and one of his loser friends talking about a lost girl at Willowbrook. That girl is Rosemary, her twin sister. What the heck?

Rosemary died of pneumonia six years ago. What is she doing at a place called Willowbrook? She MUST find her! Her sister was always a little different, but she had no clue her sister was alive.

With their mother deceased and a no-care stepfather, she is determined to go to Willowbrook to find her sister. Her stepfather does not seem to care one way or another. What do they mean she is missing? Have they lost her?

Sage sets off to Willowbrook, alone to the institution, knowing nothing about the place, she takes a bus without informing anyone where she is going. Her stepfather is cold and uncaring, and her friends are unreliable.

Sage knows little about Willowbrook. It’s always been shrouded by rumor and mystery. A place local parents threaten to send misbehaving kids. With no idea what to expect, she goes in secret. Once she steps through its doors and is mistakenly believed to be her sister, what she learns will change her life in ways she never imagined.

Behind the idyllic grounds, Sage has no clue about the horrors behind the closed doors.

When arriving, they mistake her for her twin sister Rosemary and lock her in this prison of a hospital. She falls asleep on the way there, and her wallet and ID are stolen.

Frantic, they do NOT believe her, thinking she is Rosemary, nor do they care. She has no control. They begin drugging her, and she sees the horror and torture that her sister has experienced all these years. She watches and observes and tries to find out all she can. There are tunnels and wards, all nasty and dirty. The people are monsters, the conditions are unsanitary, and the staff mistreats patients worse than animals.

Sage must find out everything she can about this place and find her sister. They will not allow her to leave to call anyone. How will she ever escape? Can she trust anyone?

CAPTIVATING AND ENGROSSING! The suspense and fear are riveting, and the story reads almost like a psychological suspense thriller which will appeal to fans of the thriller serial killer genre and historical fiction fans.

METICULOUSLY RESEARCHED, Wiseman's writing is top-notch! The author dives deep into the staff's crazed minds and the monsters supposed to care for the vulnerable and disabled. I was drawn in from the first page to the last and read in two sittings.

Harrowing yet hopeful, a story of social injustice and survival. It is estimated that 12,000 patients died between 1950 and 1980 due to neglect, violence, lack of nutrition, and medical mismanagement or experimental drugs. Still, today, they have not found all the children.

There was a lot of stigma attached and ignorance surrounding people with mental disabilities back in the day, and often it is still relevant today. People hide away children but were not getting the care they needed, and quite the opposite.

INCLUDED in the book is a beautiful wrap-up from Sage (turned social worker) and her excellent work, a poignant Author's Note/Letter, and a Reading Group Guide. An ideal selection for book clubs and further discussions.

I recall all this happening back in the day and remember watching Geraldo and the brave whistleblower who brought this to light. It was shocking and horrifying. The documentary brought awareness about the abuse, overcrowding, deplorable conditions, and sexual abuse of the residents. However, it was still not shut down for many years later. The parents were not even allowed on the wards. This profound interview changed the world and how we look at disabilities.

I was excited when I found out Ellen was writing this! No one could have told it better with this special anniversary tie-in. THANK YOU for bringing this to light once again. We hope this anniversary edition will draw awareness to this population and inspire and motivate others to continue the great work of those with disabilities.

If you enjoyed Susanna Kaysen's Girl, Interrupted, the 2009 documentary, Cropsey, and/or T. Greenwood's Keeping Lucy, you must read THE LOST GIRLS OF WILLOWBROOK.

Highly recommend. A Top Book of 2022!

Thank you to #KensingtonBooks and #NetGalley for an ARC to read, enjoy, and review.

VIDEO ABC TV: "Revisiting Willowbrook 50 years later with reporter Geraldo Rivera, 50 Years Later."

Blog Review Posted @
www.JudithDCollins.com
@JudithDCollins | #JDCMustReadBooks
Pub Date: Aug 30, 2022
My Rating; 5 Stars + ✨✨✨✨✨
Aug 2022 Must-Read Books
Top Books of 2022

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that was a crazy ride! I knew it would be historical and deal with Willowbrook, but I wasn't prepared for the bit of mystery/thriller aspect that was toward the end. I was suspicious of everyone and everything and loved it. I am very good at getting sucked into a story and not worrying about all the plot holes or convenient situations toward the end, but if those bother you, you may have a few issues with this one. I, however, really enjoyed this read all the way through. It's pretty harrowing that Willowbrook was a real place and a lot of the issues mentioned in this book were based on true facts. Crazy. And heartbreaking.