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Cammie's Family Secret
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This is a review of an advance copy from publisher
I have read several books by this author, Laura Best, and was happy to see that the next piece of Cammie Turple’s “story” was available.
Cammie is a fictional character who was born at the infamous Ideal Maternity Home in Nova Scotia. An unlicensed maternity care home which claimed to provide maternity care for both married couples and a private birthing/ placement of children for “unwed mothers” from 1928-1947. Infamous for selling babies on the black market, and also accused of neglecting babies with “defects” to the point where they would allow them to die. It is unclear how many babies were buried secretly that had effectively been murdered.
Cammie is one of those “imperfect” babies who was safely removed one night by a staff member so that she would not suffer that same fate. Her “defect” was that she doesn’t see very well.
Cammie is now 12 years old and doing quite well at the Halifax School for the blind. She is on summer vacation in rural Nova Scotia and is spending time between her “Aunt” Millie and best friend Evelyn in Tanner, and Ed and Miranda in Sheppard Square who treat her as one of their own.
Cammie is now at the age where she desperately wants to know who her real mother was. She sends a letter to the woman who ran the Maternity home hoping to get some answers. The letter is not answered, so she and her friend Evelyn decide to find out who her mother is, not realizing the dangers that await them in the journey they undertake.
This journey has a number of twists and turns and secrets uncovered that add to the excitement of the story, with a bit of danger thrown in for good measure. As in many good stories, the search reveals a huge surprise for Cammie and her best friend.
Highly recommended middle- grade historical fiction read for all ages.
I have read several books by this author, Laura Best, and was happy to see that the next piece of Cammie Turple’s “story” was available.
Cammie is a fictional character who was born at the infamous Ideal Maternity Home in Nova Scotia. An unlicensed maternity care home which claimed to provide maternity care for both married couples and a private birthing/ placement of children for “unwed mothers” from 1928-1947. Infamous for selling babies on the black market, and also accused of neglecting babies with “defects” to the point where they would allow them to die. It is unclear how many babies were buried secretly that had effectively been murdered.
Cammie is one of those “imperfect” babies who was safely removed one night by a staff member so that she would not suffer that same fate. Her “defect” was that she doesn’t see very well.
Cammie is now 12 years old and doing quite well at the Halifax School for the blind. She is on summer vacation in rural Nova Scotia and is spending time between her “Aunt” Millie and best friend Evelyn in Tanner, and Ed and Miranda in Sheppard Square who treat her as one of their own.
Cammie is now at the age where she desperately wants to know who her real mother was. She sends a letter to the woman who ran the Maternity home hoping to get some answers. The letter is not answered, so she and her friend Evelyn decide to find out who her mother is, not realizing the dangers that await them in the journey they undertake.
This journey has a number of twists and turns and secrets uncovered that add to the excitement of the story, with a bit of danger thrown in for good measure. As in many good stories, the search reveals a huge surprise for Cammie and her best friend.
Highly recommended middle- grade historical fiction read for all ages.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Cammie’s Family Secret by Laura Best is the fourth in a middle-grade series that follows the life of Cammie Turple, a vision-challenged, spirited young lady, who doesn’t let anyone get in her way of achieving her dreams and goals. Each can be read as a stand-alone, but after reading this novel, the reader may wish to go back and read the prequel, The Family Way, where it all began.
Cammie Turple, now age 12, is home on summer vacation from the Halifax School for the Blind. Although she will miss her new friends from school, she dearly misses her best friend ever, Evelyn Merry, who lives in Tanner. She plans to split her summer between her Aunt Millie’s place in Tanner and Ed and Miranda’s in Sheppard Square, alternating every two weeks.
Ever since she found out last year that her Aunt Millie is not her real aunt and that she was born at the Ideal Maternity Home in Chester, she has been trying to figure out who her real Mother is. Before she left school, she wrote a letter to Mrs. Young, the person who ran the Ideal Maternity Home, asking if she remembered her and who her mother may have been. When she doesn’t hear back, Cammie snoops in her aunt’s room and finds a box. Inside the box, she finds a picture of her aunt and a kid, whom she immediately recognizes as herself, at a beach, and a second picture taken on the same day of a lady named Tulia Thompson. Could this Tulia lady be her mother?
What follows is a riveting tale of Cammie’s summer vacation as she and Evelyn snoop and ask questions, all to untangle the mystery of who Cammie’s real mom is. All the while providing the reader a glimpse of rural life in Nova Scotia in the 1950s.
“Some sleuth I'd make. I just sang like a canary, and I wasn't even under pressure. Just like a fart, it escaped without warning.”
Cammie Turple, now age 12, is home on summer vacation from the Halifax School for the Blind. Although she will miss her new friends from school, she dearly misses her best friend ever, Evelyn Merry, who lives in Tanner. She plans to split her summer between her Aunt Millie’s place in Tanner and Ed and Miranda’s in Sheppard Square, alternating every two weeks.
Ever since she found out last year that her Aunt Millie is not her real aunt and that she was born at the Ideal Maternity Home in Chester, she has been trying to figure out who her real Mother is. Before she left school, she wrote a letter to Mrs. Young, the person who ran the Ideal Maternity Home, asking if she remembered her and who her mother may have been. When she doesn’t hear back, Cammie snoops in her aunt’s room and finds a box. Inside the box, she finds a picture of her aunt and a kid, whom she immediately recognizes as herself, at a beach, and a second picture taken on the same day of a lady named Tulia Thompson. Could this Tulia lady be her mother?
What follows is a riveting tale of Cammie’s summer vacation as she and Evelyn snoop and ask questions, all to untangle the mystery of who Cammie’s real mom is. All the while providing the reader a glimpse of rural life in Nova Scotia in the 1950s.
“Some sleuth I'd make. I just sang like a canary, and I wasn't even under pressure. Just like a fart, it escaped without warning.”
August 6, 2026
Laura you are an amazing author. I could truly see the characters in my mind. I'm so glad I got to meet you at your book signing. You have an amazing family!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews