The Reluctant Canadian

by Brad Barnes

This fictional story is inspired by Canada’s real-life Child Immigration Scheme, a largely forgotten program that brought upwards of 100,000 supposedly orphaned and abandoned British children to Canada to act as much-needed farm labourers and servants (“home children”) from 1860 to the 1920s. The Reluctant Canadian follows the unforgettable and haunting journey of Sidney, a spirited victim of this immigration scheme who, after the death of his father, is taken from his mother and placed in a London orphanage. When eight-year-old Sidney is sent to Canada to live with new parents, he soon learns that his appointed guardian is the furthest thing from a father figure that he can imagine. As Sid comes of age amidst heartache and abuse, he struggles to retain his hope of one day returning home to his family. But as he desperately tries to escape his circumstances and free himself from the hold that the scheme has on him, he finds that he’s been marked for life by the program that supposedly wanted to help him.

278 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 12, 2012

Reviews

[Linda Barnhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Several years ago, while working on our family genealogy, I found out my husband's great grandmother was a British Home Child. At the time, I had no idea what that was. I have since done a lot more research on the subject. She apparently had a much better experience than the boy Sidney in this book.
I found this book riveting and could not put it down. I realize it was a fictional portrayal but I am sure many of the 100,000 children who came to Canada this way suffered similar fates. What a dark period in Canadian history. More people need to be aware of what happened to these children.
I loved the way the author told the story through Mary and how the sons reacted to the retelling.
Thank you Mr. Barnes for telling this story based on real life events. I recommend this book to everyone.

[Lori Oschefski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book! One which I simply could not put down until it was finished. I highly recommend it for youth and adult readers.

[Kait Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book! Prior to coming across this book, I had never known about the Canadian child immigration program. This was a hard book to read, although it was a fictional book, I imagine that many of the 100,000 children brought over had similar experiences to the main character Sidney.

[Dani Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every Canadian needs to read this

[Linda Barnhart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Several years ago, while working on our family genealogy, I found out my husband's great grandmother was a British Home Child. At the time, I had no idea what that was. I have since done a lot more research on the subject. She apparently had a much better experience than the boy Sidney in this book.
I found this book riveting and could not put it down. I realize it was a fictional portrayal but I am sure many of the 100,000 children who came to Canada this way suffered similar fates. What a dark period in Canadian history. More people need to be aware of what happened to these children.
I loved the way the author told the story through Mary and how the sons reacted to the retelling.
Thank you Mr. Barnes for telling this story based on real life events. I recommend this book to everyone.

[Thalia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book on a topic I knew little about. Very effective and interesting storytelling.

[Joanne Voeller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read about something so unheard of.