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The Forgotten Home Child
The Home for Unwanted Girls meets Orphan Train in this unforgettable novel about a young girl caught in a scheme to rid England’s streets of destitute children, and the lengths she will go to find her way home—based on the true story of the British Home Children.
2018
At ninety-seven years old, Winnifred Ellis knows she doesn’t have much time left, and it is almost a relief to realize that once she is gone, the truth about her shameful past will die with her. But when her great-grandson Jamie, the spitting image of her dear late husband, asks about his family tree, Winnifred can’t lie any longer, even if it means breaking a promise she made so long ago...
1936
Fifteen-year-old Winny has never known a real home. After running away from an abusive stepfather, she falls in with Mary, Jack, and their ragtag group of friends roaming the streets of Liverpool. When the children are caught stealing food, Winny and Mary are left in Dr. Barnardo’s Barkingside Home for Girls, a local home for orphans and forgotten children found in the city’s slums. At Barkingside, Winny learns she will soon join other boys and girls in a faraway place called Canada, where families and better lives await them.
But Winny’s hopes are dashed when she is separated from her friends and sent to live with a family that has no use for another daughter. Instead, they have paid for an indentured servant to work on their farm. Faced with this harsh new reality, Winny clings to the belief that she will someday find her friends again.
Inspired by true events, The Forgotten Home Child is a moving and heartbreaking novel about place, belonging, and family—the one we make for ourselves and its enduring power to draw us home.
2018
At ninety-seven years old, Winnifred Ellis knows she doesn’t have much time left, and it is almost a relief to realize that once she is gone, the truth about her shameful past will die with her. But when her great-grandson Jamie, the spitting image of her dear late husband, asks about his family tree, Winnifred can’t lie any longer, even if it means breaking a promise she made so long ago...
1936
Fifteen-year-old Winny has never known a real home. After running away from an abusive stepfather, she falls in with Mary, Jack, and their ragtag group of friends roaming the streets of Liverpool. When the children are caught stealing food, Winny and Mary are left in Dr. Barnardo’s Barkingside Home for Girls, a local home for orphans and forgotten children found in the city’s slums. At Barkingside, Winny learns she will soon join other boys and girls in a faraway place called Canada, where families and better lives await them.
But Winny’s hopes are dashed when she is separated from her friends and sent to live with a family that has no use for another daughter. Instead, they have paid for an indentured servant to work on their farm. Faced with this harsh new reality, Winny clings to the belief that she will someday find her friends again.
Inspired by true events, The Forgotten Home Child is a moving and heartbreaking novel about place, belonging, and family—the one we make for ourselves and its enduring power to draw us home.
384 pages, Paperback
First published March 3, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,549 reviews
July 2, 2020
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 way, forgotten by the country they left and despised by the country that was supposed to give them a better life.
This story follows five homeless friends, Winny, Mary, Jack, Cecil and Edward and other children, sent from Dr. Barnardo's England homes for orphaned children, to live with families in Canada. Thinking that they were going to work as housemaids for families or to practice the trades they learned at the Barnardo homes, in reality, Winny sleeps on hay, in a sheep barn, often missing meals, being beaten, without proper clothes and shoes, and treated as worthless and unwanted except for the constant work she can do for the family that "bought" her. Mary's fate is even worse, hard as it is to believe and the boys barely escape from their "master", with their lives.
All these children live with the shame and stigma of being "Home Children" shunned by the people in their new country, with nothing at all to their name. Many are just worked until they die, neglected and abused, with nowhere to turn. Winny tells her story finally, at the age of ninety seven, when her granddaughter and great grandson start asking questions. Winny has always been ashamed of her background and what had happened to her as a child, as if it was somehow her fault.
Now light is being shed on this part of Canada's past. As many as a quarter of Canada's population can trace their ancestry back to Home Children that came from England. This story puts faces to the plight of those children and what they endured.
Published March 3rd 2020. Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for this ARC.
This story follows five homeless friends, Winny, Mary, Jack, Cecil and Edward and other children, sent from Dr. Barnardo's England homes for orphaned children, to live with families in Canada. Thinking that they were going to work as housemaids for families or to practice the trades they learned at the Barnardo homes, in reality, Winny sleeps on hay, in a sheep barn, often missing meals, being beaten, without proper clothes and shoes, and treated as worthless and unwanted except for the constant work she can do for the family that "bought" her. Mary's fate is even worse, hard as it is to believe and the boys barely escape from their "master", with their lives.
All these children live with the shame and stigma of being "Home Children" shunned by the people in their new country, with nothing at all to their name. Many are just worked until they die, neglected and abused, with nowhere to turn. Winny tells her story finally, at the age of ninety seven, when her granddaughter and great grandson start asking questions. Winny has always been ashamed of her background and what had happened to her as a child, as if it was somehow her fault.
Now light is being shed on this part of Canada's past. As many as a quarter of Canada's population can trace their ancestry back to Home Children that came from England. This story puts faces to the plight of those children and what they endured.
Published March 3rd 2020. Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for this ARC.
November 3, 2025
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 group of Home Children that takes the boat to Canada in 1936, and it shows us what their life was like. This book has some hard to read things, and this book is not for people that gets upset by reading hard to read topics. I won an ARC of this book from a goodreads giveaway, but this review is 100% my own opinion.
October 31, 2020
An extremely well-told/researched story based on true events of a dark corner in Canadian history - the British Home Children. From the POV of Winnie and Jack, I learned how and why over 120,000 children, ages 3 to 18 years, were sent to various countries, including Canada, from 1869 to 1948, ostensibly to improve their lives, since many of these children were turned over by their own parents, were forcibly removed from their homes, or were orphaned. Unfortunately, their futures as indentured farm laborers were extremely bleak. Although some were treated kindly and even adopted by loving families, a high percentage of these children were overworked, malnourished, beaten, raped and even killed.
This emotional story of misplaced good intentions and secrecy reminded me of stories I've read regarding the U.S. Orphan Trains. Since a good portion of the Canadian population are descendants of the BHC, I sincerely hope their history will be included in school curricula.
A MUST READ I highly recommend to everyone!
This emotional story of misplaced good intentions and secrecy reminded me of stories I've read regarding the U.S. Orphan Trains. Since a good portion of the Canadian population are descendants of the BHC, I sincerely hope their history will be included in school curricula.
A MUST READ I highly recommend to everyone!
February 28, 2020
3.5 stars
2018
Winnifred (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.
1936
Fifteen-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 stealing, they are sent to Dr. Barnardo’s Barkingside Home for Girls - a home for Orphans, while Jack is sent elsewhere. There Winny learns that she joins a group of boys and girls being sent to Canada to work.
There she is separated from her friends, Mary and Jack and begins work as an indentured servant on a farm. There she endures harsh conditions, works hard and keeps hoping that one day she will see her friends again.
This book is based on true events. ***HOME Children (per Wikipedia) was founded in 1869 and 100,000 were sent from the United Kingdom to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa
This book follows the life of Winny and her friends but mainly focuses on Jack and Winny. Their lives are rough and sad. They endure abuse, harsh elements, hunger, and improper sleeping conditions. This book also shows not only the misuse of the children but how they were viewed by society. They were not wanted and very little were helped.
This book is moving and thought-provoking. The author sheds light on the real-life plight of Home Children and characters were based on real-life people. The Author's note at the end was insightful and shed light on the Home Children and had me going on the internet to learn more about the Home Children and the program.
This book is getting raving reviews and I encourage everyone to read those as well. This is a book that I initially gave a 3-star rating to but found the more I sat and thought about the book, the more I began to appreciate it and the message the author was conveying. The children were separated from siblings, friends, and other loved ones, most never to know what happened to them. Many were abused, worked hard, and not taken care of properly.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the reviews are my own.
2018
Winnifred (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.
1936
Fifteen-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 stealing, they are sent to Dr. Barnardo’s Barkingside Home for Girls - a home for Orphans, while Jack is sent elsewhere. There Winny learns that she joins a group of boys and girls being sent to Canada to work.
There she is separated from her friends, Mary and Jack and begins work as an indentured servant on a farm. There she endures harsh conditions, works hard and keeps hoping that one day she will see her friends again.
This book is based on true events. ***HOME Children (per Wikipedia) was founded in 1869 and 100,000 were sent from the United Kingdom to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa
This book follows the life of Winny and her friends but mainly focuses on Jack and Winny. Their lives are rough and sad. They endure abuse, harsh elements, hunger, and improper sleeping conditions. This book also shows not only the misuse of the children but how they were viewed by society. They were not wanted and very little were helped.
This book is moving and thought-provoking. The author sheds light on the real-life plight of Home Children and characters were based on real-life people. The Author's note at the end was insightful and shed light on the Home Children and had me going on the internet to learn more about the Home Children and the program.
This book is getting raving reviews and I encourage everyone to read those as well. This is a book that I initially gave a 3-star rating to but found the more I sat and thought about the book, the more I began to appreciate it and the message the author was conveying. The children were separated from siblings, friends, and other loved ones, most never to know what happened to them. Many were abused, worked hard, and not taken care of properly.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the reviews are my own.
November 26, 2019
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 on Canadas’ roles in WW1 and WW11, the Halifax Explosion, the Expulsion of the Acadians, and the Klondike Gold Rush. I had known of these major stories in our history, but not from any history class in school. I hope present-day students are exposed to these events in school. If so, Graham’s thoroughly researched stories would be ideal supplementary novels. Through realistic, believable characters and their connections with the above historical occurrences, Canadian history comes to life on the pages.
I have never heard of the British Home Children, which is the story featured in this book, but now will never forget this shameful part of our history. The author through meticulous research, informs us that approximately 120,000 destitute British children were shipped to Canada between 1869 and 1948. They were between the ages of 3 to 18. They were lead to believe this was an opportunity for a better life. Many were identified as orphans, but in fact, only 2% were actually without parents and had been temporarily left in group homes due to poverty. Other children were surviving on the streets.
There were no checks on what was happening to them in Canada and the majority became indentured servants or farm workers. There were cases of sexual abuse, suicide and boys beaten to death. Some were adopted and their lives improved as a result. It is estimated that 75% of the British Home Children suffered abuse and neglect. As adults, they suffered from the trauma, and many kept what they considered their shameful past lives a secret.
The story about the suffering of many of the Home Children is all based on actual abuse and hardships discovered by the author. I was shattered about the ghastly true story written about a 14-year-old Home Boy. In 1905 he was placed with a wealthy farmer. He slept in the barn, and after 7 months his body was found buried in a manure pile. He had frozen to death, and there was evidence of a fractured skull, and his body full of pitchfork holes. This resonated with me, as we share the same family name.
In this story, 97-year-old Winnifred has managed to keep her shameful past secret from her family. Her great-grandson, working on a family tree persuades her to reveal the truth. He draws out her story about living on the streets of Liverpool with a friend, Mary, Mary’s brother, and two other brothers. They survived by snatching purses and stealing food. When the gang is caught by police, the girls and boys are sent to homes for orphans and children from the slums. Girls and boys are placed in separate homes to learn skills to prepare them for future employment. Next, they are being shipped to Canada and told they will have a better life there.
Once arriving in Canada, Winnie and Mary are distraught as they are sent to different homes to work. The three boys are placed on a farm to do hard labour. We get the collective story of the unhappy plight of all 5. There is inadequate and unpalatable food, sleeping in sheds or barns in the cold, lack of adequate boots and clothing, beatings, rape, death, and endless hours of work. They always promised that they would eventually find each other. Winnie recounts the story of what happened as they reached adulthood. Like many in real life, they suffered trauma, with feelings of inadequacy and shame.
About 4 million Canadians are believed to be descendants of the British Home Children.
Highly recommended. Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this remarkable historical novel.
Graham’s past books were based on Canadas’ roles in WW1 and WW11, the Halifax Explosion, the Expulsion of the Acadians, and the Klondike Gold Rush. I had known of these major stories in our history, but not from any history class in school. I hope present-day students are exposed to these events in school. If so, Graham’s thoroughly researched stories would be ideal supplementary novels. Through realistic, believable characters and their connections with the above historical occurrences, Canadian history comes to life on the pages.
I have never heard of the British Home Children, which is the story featured in this book, but now will never forget this shameful part of our history. The author through meticulous research, informs us that approximately 120,000 destitute British children were shipped to Canada between 1869 and 1948. They were between the ages of 3 to 18. They were lead to believe this was an opportunity for a better life. Many were identified as orphans, but in fact, only 2% were actually without parents and had been temporarily left in group homes due to poverty. Other children were surviving on the streets.
There were no checks on what was happening to them in Canada and the majority became indentured servants or farm workers. There were cases of sexual abuse, suicide and boys beaten to death. Some were adopted and their lives improved as a result. It is estimated that 75% of the British Home Children suffered abuse and neglect. As adults, they suffered from the trauma, and many kept what they considered their shameful past lives a secret.
The story about the suffering of many of the Home Children is all based on actual abuse and hardships discovered by the author. I was shattered about the ghastly true story written about a 14-year-old Home Boy. In 1905 he was placed with a wealthy farmer. He slept in the barn, and after 7 months his body was found buried in a manure pile. He had frozen to death, and there was evidence of a fractured skull, and his body full of pitchfork holes. This resonated with me, as we share the same family name.
In this story, 97-year-old Winnifred has managed to keep her shameful past secret from her family. Her great-grandson, working on a family tree persuades her to reveal the truth. He draws out her story about living on the streets of Liverpool with a friend, Mary, Mary’s brother, and two other brothers. They survived by snatching purses and stealing food. When the gang is caught by police, the girls and boys are sent to homes for orphans and children from the slums. Girls and boys are placed in separate homes to learn skills to prepare them for future employment. Next, they are being shipped to Canada and told they will have a better life there.
Once arriving in Canada, Winnie and Mary are distraught as they are sent to different homes to work. The three boys are placed on a farm to do hard labour. We get the collective story of the unhappy plight of all 5. There is inadequate and unpalatable food, sleeping in sheds or barns in the cold, lack of adequate boots and clothing, beatings, rape, death, and endless hours of work. They always promised that they would eventually find each other. Winnie recounts the story of what happened as they reached adulthood. Like many in real life, they suffered trauma, with feelings of inadequacy and shame.
About 4 million Canadians are believed to be descendants of the British Home Children.
Highly recommended. Many thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this remarkable historical novel.
February 17, 2020
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 like slaves than family members.
To me, the most interesting part of the book was the shame that caused Winny and Jack to keep the secrets they did. In much the same way as we have treated migrants, the Home Children were not well received or treated as equals. That stigma caused ripples far down Jack and Winny’s lives.
I will admit that while reading the book, it often struck me as melodramatic. However, in the author’s note, Graham states that each incident in the book is based on someone’s real history. According to her research, about 75% of the children who came to Canada experienced abuse and neglect. As is often the case with historical fiction, I found the author’s notes to be the most moving part of the book.
My thanks to netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for an advance copy of this book.
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 like slaves than family members.
To me, the most interesting part of the book was the shame that caused Winny and Jack to keep the secrets they did. In much the same way as we have treated migrants, the Home Children were not well received or treated as equals. That stigma caused ripples far down Jack and Winny’s lives.
I will admit that while reading the book, it often struck me as melodramatic. However, in the author’s note, Graham states that each incident in the book is based on someone’s real history. According to her research, about 75% of the children who came to Canada experienced abuse and neglect. As is often the case with historical fiction, I found the author’s notes to be the most moving part of the book.
My thanks to netgalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for an advance copy of this book.
January 20, 2021
Zero stars !!!
2020 Runner Up for Worst Read Award
Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for sending me an e-copy in exchange for my honest review. This was released March 2020.
DNF....I am sorry to my GR friends that loved this.
I stopped at 49 percent as I cannot go further.
I found this saccharine, maudlin and artificial. Empty and overwrought dialogue with cardboard characters.
Likely one of the worst pieces of historical fiction that I attempted. I just can't do it.
I wanted to finish this because I wanted to find out more about the history of home children in Canada. I will try a historical book at some point.
2020 Runner Up for Worst Read Award
Thank you to Netgalley and Simon and Schuster for sending me an e-copy in exchange for my honest review. This was released March 2020.
DNF....I am sorry to my GR friends that loved this.
I stopped at 49 percent as I cannot go further.
I found this saccharine, maudlin and artificial. Empty and overwrought dialogue with cardboard characters.
Likely one of the worst pieces of historical fiction that I attempted. I just can't do it.
I wanted to finish this because I wanted to find out more about the history of home children in Canada. I will try a historical book at some point.
Read
February 19, 2020Wow! 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". Such a sad, horrible story written with such beauty.
October 3, 2020
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 strangers who often didn’t treat them with any sense of humanity or respect — they were simply cheap labour. This novel gives a voice to one particular child who made that journey across seas in 1936.
This novel unfolds through Past and Present timelines which I enjoyed. Both timelines kept me intrigued and curious and smoothly transitioned from one to the other. The main characters were unique and memorable and I rooted for each and every one of them. There are some brutal scenes involving the abuse of children which were very hard to read, but they were necessary to bring forth the full cycle of betrayal and abuse these children felt throughout this devastating experience. I am happy to report that not all British Home Children faced abuse and neglect, but many did and this book gives those innocent children a voice and recognizes the systems’ mistake in not having a much better process in place for follow up.
As harrowing and devastating as these children’s stories are, the writing kept me at somewhat of a distance from them. I felt for the children but something kept me from fully submerging my heart and emotions within this story. While I appreciate and truly enjoyed learning about this time in our history, it lacked that powerful punch I had expected. With that being said, it is a book I highly recommend and will not forget reading. A important part of our history that needs not be forgotten.
Thank you to NetGalley for my review copy! Thank you to my lovely local library for the loan of the physical copy!
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 strangers who often didn’t treat them with any sense of humanity or respect — they were simply cheap labour. This novel gives a voice to one particular child who made that journey across seas in 1936.
This novel unfolds through Past and Present timelines which I enjoyed. Both timelines kept me intrigued and curious and smoothly transitioned from one to the other. The main characters were unique and memorable and I rooted for each and every one of them. There are some brutal scenes involving the abuse of children which were very hard to read, but they were necessary to bring forth the full cycle of betrayal and abuse these children felt throughout this devastating experience. I am happy to report that not all British Home Children faced abuse and neglect, but many did and this book gives those innocent children a voice and recognizes the systems’ mistake in not having a much better process in place for follow up.
As harrowing and devastating as these children’s stories are, the writing kept me at somewhat of a distance from them. I felt for the children but something kept me from fully submerging my heart and emotions within this story. While I appreciate and truly enjoyed learning about this time in our history, it lacked that powerful punch I had expected. With that being said, it is a book I highly recommend and will not forget reading. A important part of our history that needs not be forgotten.
Thank you to NetGalley for my review copy! Thank you to my lovely local library for the loan of the physical copy!
December 18, 2019
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 considered chattel. The author relates between 1869 to 1948 approximately 100,000 to 130,000 destitute children were taken from England’s streets, orphanages and homes, and then shipped across the ocean to work in other countries.
The Forgotten Home Child is a poignant story narrated by Winnie, who is now an old woman. She has lived with the shame of being of a home child all her life and never told her daughter. Now that her daughter is dead, Winnie decides it is time to share her early life story with her granddaughter and great-grandson.
She relates to them that she left home for the London streets with her mother’s blessing at age 10 to escape an abusive step-father. She falls in with a group of other homeless children: Jack and Mary Miller, a brother and sister, and two brothers, Cecil and Edward. The five are very close but the boys are separated from the girls when they are arrested. The girls end up in a home that was started by Dr. Barnado, whose agency was responsible for a large percentage of the children who were sent to Canada. In 1936 the five children, now teenagers, end up on the same boat headed to Canada. The boys manage to stay together, but the girls are placed in different homes. That is the beginning of the neglect and abuse of these children and several others they meet. They were treated as less than human, but four of them were able to survive their indenture. One of Winnie’s friends from the home was lucky to be placed with a loving family. Jack ends up bitter and unable to fully enjoy life for quite a while. Although the boys were treated so poorly, they still proudly served in the Canadian forces during World War II.
This historical fiction story was very educational and thought-provoking. I highly recommend it. 5-stars. It will be released on March 3, 2020, so be sure to put it on your TBR list. Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, and Simon & Schuster, Inc. for my advanced reader copy of this wonderful novel.
The Forgotten Home Child is a poignant story narrated by Winnie, who is now an old woman. She has lived with the shame of being of a home child all her life and never told her daughter. Now that her daughter is dead, Winnie decides it is time to share her early life story with her granddaughter and great-grandson.
She relates to them that she left home for the London streets with her mother’s blessing at age 10 to escape an abusive step-father. She falls in with a group of other homeless children: Jack and Mary Miller, a brother and sister, and two brothers, Cecil and Edward. The five are very close but the boys are separated from the girls when they are arrested. The girls end up in a home that was started by Dr. Barnado, whose agency was responsible for a large percentage of the children who were sent to Canada. In 1936 the five children, now teenagers, end up on the same boat headed to Canada. The boys manage to stay together, but the girls are placed in different homes. That is the beginning of the neglect and abuse of these children and several others they meet. They were treated as less than human, but four of them were able to survive their indenture. One of Winnie’s friends from the home was lucky to be placed with a loving family. Jack ends up bitter and unable to fully enjoy life for quite a while. Although the boys were treated so poorly, they still proudly served in the Canadian forces during World War II.
This historical fiction story was very educational and thought-provoking. I highly recommend it. 5-stars. It will be released on March 3, 2020, so be sure to put it on your TBR list. Thank you to NetGalley and to the publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada, and Simon & Schuster, Inc. for my advanced reader copy of this wonderful novel.
March 2, 2020
4 heartbreaking and who-knew stars
This 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 dropped at homes until their parents could find jobs and better opportunities. Later many of them learn that they will join in a great opportunity – a new life in Canada. These children came to be known as “Home Children” in Canada and unfortunately were seen more as free labor than children seeking a new home and opportunities. About 25% of them found just that, a better life, and stability in Canada. The other 75% were mistreated and some died as a result of abuse (fascinating author notes at the end of this book).
We learn about Winny’s life and her closest friend Mary and her brother Jack. They each go to separate farms once they’ve arrived in Canada. We follow each young person and their heart-breaking path of hard labor, limited food, and physical abuse. They sign agreements to work until they are 18 (or sometimes 21.) They are supposed to go to school as part of the agreement, but many families just use them as labor. Times are tough during the Depression era. Once they’ve finished their agreements, many Canadians refused to hire them for paying jobs. Most of them are not given enough food or other basics and treated as second-class citizens.
I will admit that this one made for a difficult read, especially knowing that much of this was based on real stories that the author found or heard in research. Canada is trying to reconcile these past mistakes and some of the families are being reunited through Facebook groups, etc. This one does have a hopeful ending!
Thank you to NetGalley, Genevieve Graham, and Simon and Schuster for a copy of this one to read and review. This one is out tomorrow! 3.3.2020
This 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 dropped at homes until their parents could find jobs and better opportunities. Later many of them learn that they will join in a great opportunity – a new life in Canada. These children came to be known as “Home Children” in Canada and unfortunately were seen more as free labor than children seeking a new home and opportunities. About 25% of them found just that, a better life, and stability in Canada. The other 75% were mistreated and some died as a result of abuse (fascinating author notes at the end of this book).
We learn about Winny’s life and her closest friend Mary and her brother Jack. They each go to separate farms once they’ve arrived in Canada. We follow each young person and their heart-breaking path of hard labor, limited food, and physical abuse. They sign agreements to work until they are 18 (or sometimes 21.) They are supposed to go to school as part of the agreement, but many families just use them as labor. Times are tough during the Depression era. Once they’ve finished their agreements, many Canadians refused to hire them for paying jobs. Most of them are not given enough food or other basics and treated as second-class citizens.
I will admit that this one made for a difficult read, especially knowing that much of this was based on real stories that the author found or heard in research. Canada is trying to reconcile these past mistakes and some of the families are being reunited through Facebook groups, etc. This one does have a hopeful ending!
Thank you to NetGalley, Genevieve Graham, and Simon and Schuster for a copy of this one to read and review. This one is out tomorrow! 3.3.2020
September 28, 2022
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 article on canadahistory.ca over 100,000 children were sent to Canada from the UK between 1869 and 1948. It also states that until the 1980s, there wasn't much compiling of records of this event. The author's note at the end of the novel is highly informative for any readers that want to further their understanding.
We first meet our main protagonist, Winnifred( Winny) Ellis in 2018, a 97-year-old woman, Winny has recently moved in with her granddaughter and great-grandson. When her granddaughter finds a mysterious trunk of her grandmother's and questions begin to emerge, Winny realizes that she cannot hold her painful past a secret anymore. We are then transported back to 1930's Britain where a young Irish girl, living on the streets, finds a family with four other children( Jack, Mary, Edward, and Cecil) just like her. They are soon taken to Dr. Barnardo's Home and taught skills, such as, sewing and cobbling of shoes. But when they begin working on their own trunks, they are told that they are headed to Canada- a promised land that will take them out of poverty. But as Winny's tale unfolds and chapters alternate between her story and Jack's the reality of the circumstances that surround the treatment of many British Home Children in Canada, is anything but a beautiful picture.
My two very brief encounters with the story of the British Home Children was with Dear Canada: Orphan at My Door: The Home Child Diary of Victoria Cope, Guelph, Ontario, 1897, written by the much loved Jean Little and Anne of Green Gables by L. M Montgomery. In the latter, fans of the book might recall that Marilla tells Rachel Lynde that Matthew suggested getting a " Barnardo boy" which I didn't know until much later was a reference to British Home children. But that is what makes Genevieve Graham a masterful storyteller because she is introducing to Canadians parts of our national history that are painful and yet are very sharp reminders that we shouldn't forget.
As I mentioned above, what the characters in this book suffer is not a pleasant read, there are scenes of physical abuse and torture, rape, and verbal and emotional abuse. But what we must remember is that is actually what many British Home Children experience and has been recorded. It is certainly a story that is heartbreaking but also shows resilience among the characters as the years progress and the Second World War begins.
Winny was a memorable and compelling character that I won't soon forget and I don't think YOU will either.
Goodreads review published 04/03/20
Publication Date 03/03/20
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 article on canadahistory.ca over 100,000 children were sent to Canada from the UK between 1869 and 1948. It also states that until the 1980s, there wasn't much compiling of records of this event. The author's note at the end of the novel is highly informative for any readers that want to further their understanding.
We first meet our main protagonist, Winnifred( Winny) Ellis in 2018, a 97-year-old woman, Winny has recently moved in with her granddaughter and great-grandson. When her granddaughter finds a mysterious trunk of her grandmother's and questions begin to emerge, Winny realizes that she cannot hold her painful past a secret anymore. We are then transported back to 1930's Britain where a young Irish girl, living on the streets, finds a family with four other children( Jack, Mary, Edward, and Cecil) just like her. They are soon taken to Dr. Barnardo's Home and taught skills, such as, sewing and cobbling of shoes. But when they begin working on their own trunks, they are told that they are headed to Canada- a promised land that will take them out of poverty. But as Winny's tale unfolds and chapters alternate between her story and Jack's the reality of the circumstances that surround the treatment of many British Home Children in Canada, is anything but a beautiful picture.
My two very brief encounters with the story of the British Home Children was with Dear Canada: Orphan at My Door: The Home Child Diary of Victoria Cope, Guelph, Ontario, 1897, written by the much loved Jean Little and Anne of Green Gables by L. M Montgomery. In the latter, fans of the book might recall that Marilla tells Rachel Lynde that Matthew suggested getting a " Barnardo boy" which I didn't know until much later was a reference to British Home children. But that is what makes Genevieve Graham a masterful storyteller because she is introducing to Canadians parts of our national history that are painful and yet are very sharp reminders that we shouldn't forget.
As I mentioned above, what the characters in this book suffer is not a pleasant read, there are scenes of physical abuse and torture, rape, and verbal and emotional abuse. But what we must remember is that is actually what many British Home Children experience and has been recorded. It is certainly a story that is heartbreaking but also shows resilience among the characters as the years progress and the Second World War begins.
Winny was a memorable and compelling character that I won't soon forget and I don't think YOU will either.
Goodreads review published 04/03/20
Publication Date 03/03/20
May 13, 2020
Between 1869 and 1948, “100,000 to 130,000 destitute British children between the ages of three and eighteen were taken from England’s streets, orphanages, and homes, and then shipped across the ocean to work in other countries, where it was thought they’d have a chance to lead better lives.” Unfortunately, “there were few to no checks and balances in place.” Some children did benefit, however, most did not.
Canada, 2018. When Winnifred is asked by her great-grandson about his family tree, she feels it’s the right time to reveal her story.
England, 1936. Fifteen year old Winny finally feels safe and well-fed with a good friend Mary by her side, when they learn that soon they will be traveling to Canada, where families and better lives await them.
The story goes back in time and reveals how the children met, involving also Mary’s brother Jack and two brothers, and how the streets became their home.
In Canada, things don’t go as they hoped. They get separated.
The program originally created by Dr. Thomas Barnardo had good intentions, but with Canada’s vastness it got out of hand. It was almost impossible to monitor conditions of all children.
Winny works long hours doing farm chores. Sleeping and eating in the sheep barn. The food is not properly provided. She is outgrowing her shoes and suffers many blisters because of that. But what gives her spark in life is an indentured boy who works for the same family. He puts some humor into her life, which also lightens up the sad tone of the story.
Winny’s story alternates with Jack’s story and his three friends.
During the winter time, when there is less farm work, all kids are contracted to go to school. But it doesn’t necessarily happen that way.
At eighteen, they are free to pick their own paths. What paths will they pick? Will some paths of those close friends cross again?
The innocent voices of those children pulled me into the story right away. However, as the story builds up the tone is sad. Once, they’re in Canada, their lives are not easy, but with those harsh people who provide work, some of them show a human side at some point, which then gives the story a softer, kinder tone. And makes the story even more engrossing.
The sad part of the story shows a beautiful side of human resilience. And that among those harsh people, there are still kind ones.
A couple of times, I got teary eyes and it wasn’t during a time showing children’s hardship, but actually when harshness of some showed human side and while reading one letter written from a man to a man about those we love.
This interestingly woven story brings a little known chapter in Canadian history. With different parts, some sad, some uplifting and some joyful, it touches upon human emotions.
Some of us are getting exhausted by the dual-timeline stories, especially with one timeline set in modern time. If you are one of those readers, then keep in mind that it takes 5 or 6 short chapters. And at the same time, I can see how the author was trying to make a point to show how some things were different back then and how they are now. Also there is a very nice twist at the very end.
Canada, 2018. When Winnifred is asked by her great-grandson about his family tree, she feels it’s the right time to reveal her story.
England, 1936. Fifteen year old Winny finally feels safe and well-fed with a good friend Mary by her side, when they learn that soon they will be traveling to Canada, where families and better lives await them.
The story goes back in time and reveals how the children met, involving also Mary’s brother Jack and two brothers, and how the streets became their home.
In Canada, things don’t go as they hoped. They get separated.
The program originally created by Dr. Thomas Barnardo had good intentions, but with Canada’s vastness it got out of hand. It was almost impossible to monitor conditions of all children.
Winny works long hours doing farm chores. Sleeping and eating in the sheep barn. The food is not properly provided. She is outgrowing her shoes and suffers many blisters because of that. But what gives her spark in life is an indentured boy who works for the same family. He puts some humor into her life, which also lightens up the sad tone of the story.
Winny’s story alternates with Jack’s story and his three friends.
During the winter time, when there is less farm work, all kids are contracted to go to school. But it doesn’t necessarily happen that way.
At eighteen, they are free to pick their own paths. What paths will they pick? Will some paths of those close friends cross again?
The innocent voices of those children pulled me into the story right away. However, as the story builds up the tone is sad. Once, they’re in Canada, their lives are not easy, but with those harsh people who provide work, some of them show a human side at some point, which then gives the story a softer, kinder tone. And makes the story even more engrossing.
The sad part of the story shows a beautiful side of human resilience. And that among those harsh people, there are still kind ones.
A couple of times, I got teary eyes and it wasn’t during a time showing children’s hardship, but actually when harshness of some showed human side and while reading one letter written from a man to a man about those we love.
This interestingly woven story brings a little known chapter in Canadian history. With different parts, some sad, some uplifting and some joyful, it touches upon human emotions.
Some of us are getting exhausted by the dual-timeline stories, especially with one timeline set in modern time. If you are one of those readers, then keep in mind that it takes 5 or 6 short chapters. And at the same time, I can see how the author was trying to make a point to show how some things were different back then and how they are now. Also there is a very nice twist at the very end.
December 12, 2019
Special thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free, electronic ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: March 3, 2020
I have read a lot of books similar to this one as of late, and although I expected much of the same predictable yet powerful tear jerking drama, I got so much more.
Winnie is one of many children sent from London, England to Canada during the Second World War, seeking a better life. These “forgotten home children” were often placed on farms where they could be used as indentured servants, often neglected and abused, with no one to look in on them. Winnie has kept her past hidden from her family, but when her granddaughter finds a trunk amongst her things and confronts her, Winnie realizes that there are some secrets she shouldn’t keep hidden. Winnie tells the tear-jerking story of her life on the streets of London and the close friendships she developed there, her apprehension and subsequent placement into a London orphanage, and then her travels across the ocean for a “better life” in Canada that turned out to be not better at all.
“The Forgotten Home Children” is the newest historical fiction/romance novel from Canadian author Genevieve Graham. A Toronto-based writer, Genevieve has divulged information in this novel that I, shamefully, was completely unaware of. She makes note that this part of history is accurate, and yet not mentioned in any Canadian history books. It is terribly sad, but I am glad to see novels like this rising to the surface and bringing history to life once again.
Winnie and her friends were all immediately likable, children left abandoned and neglected, forced to grow up on their own and make lives for themselves. Graham details the amount of research she undertook to bring this bit of history to life, and it shows in the pages of this powerful novel.
Although there are sappy parts, and there are predictable parts, I couldn’t stop reading. Jack and Winnie’s tumultuous relationship over decades, Mary’s torturous life and untimely demise- all of these plot points suckered me in from the beginning.
Obviously, I related to this book more than some of my American friends may, as I recognized the names of towns, ports and cities, and I also felt horrible guilt that I had never heard of these children before. I wanted immediately to learn more, to research them, and to reach out and let them know that (I hope) the country I live in is a far better place than it was when they landed here.
For those who are on the fence about taking a chance with this novel worrying about its similarities to other novels of its type, I highly recommend taking the leap. It is a novel that is addictive and powerful, that will teach you something, and will stick with you long after its conclusion.
Expected publication date: March 3, 2020
I have read a lot of books similar to this one as of late, and although I expected much of the same predictable yet powerful tear jerking drama, I got so much more.
Winnie is one of many children sent from London, England to Canada during the Second World War, seeking a better life. These “forgotten home children” were often placed on farms where they could be used as indentured servants, often neglected and abused, with no one to look in on them. Winnie has kept her past hidden from her family, but when her granddaughter finds a trunk amongst her things and confronts her, Winnie realizes that there are some secrets she shouldn’t keep hidden. Winnie tells the tear-jerking story of her life on the streets of London and the close friendships she developed there, her apprehension and subsequent placement into a London orphanage, and then her travels across the ocean for a “better life” in Canada that turned out to be not better at all.
“The Forgotten Home Children” is the newest historical fiction/romance novel from Canadian author Genevieve Graham. A Toronto-based writer, Genevieve has divulged information in this novel that I, shamefully, was completely unaware of. She makes note that this part of history is accurate, and yet not mentioned in any Canadian history books. It is terribly sad, but I am glad to see novels like this rising to the surface and bringing history to life once again.
Winnie and her friends were all immediately likable, children left abandoned and neglected, forced to grow up on their own and make lives for themselves. Graham details the amount of research she undertook to bring this bit of history to life, and it shows in the pages of this powerful novel.
Although there are sappy parts, and there are predictable parts, I couldn’t stop reading. Jack and Winnie’s tumultuous relationship over decades, Mary’s torturous life and untimely demise- all of these plot points suckered me in from the beginning.
Obviously, I related to this book more than some of my American friends may, as I recognized the names of towns, ports and cities, and I also felt horrible guilt that I had never heard of these children before. I wanted immediately to learn more, to research them, and to reach out and let them know that (I hope) the country I live in is a far better place than it was when they landed here.
For those who are on the fence about taking a chance with this novel worrying about its similarities to other novels of its type, I highly recommend taking the leap. It is a novel that is addictive and powerful, that will teach you something, and will stick with you long after its conclusion.
March 11, 2020
The Forgotten Home Child by Author Genevieve Graham is a book based on the true story of the British Home Children.
Wow, that was one powerful book! As a Canadian - born and raised in this country - I have to say that I was totally unaware of " British Home Children"
This is a book that all Canadians, and all readers whom are interested in Historical Fiction should read.
This is a novel "about a young girl caught in a scheme to rid England’s streets of destitute children, and the lengths she will go to find her way home"
This book is both eye opening, and heartbreaking, to read what these children endeavoured.
A big thanks to NetGalley, Author Genevieve Graham, and Simon & Schuster Canada for my advanced copy of this book to read in exchange for my personal review.
Wow, that was one powerful book! As a Canadian - born and raised in this country - I have to say that I was totally unaware of " British Home Children"
This is a book that all Canadians, and all readers whom are interested in Historical Fiction should read.
This is a novel "about a young girl caught in a scheme to rid England’s streets of destitute children, and the lengths she will go to find her way home"
This book is both eye opening, and heartbreaking, to read what these children endeavoured.
A big thanks to NetGalley, Author Genevieve Graham, and Simon & Schuster Canada for my advanced copy of this book to read in exchange for my personal review.
March 29, 2020
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 woven the story around a group of friends whose story is heartbreaking and deserves to be told.
Genevieve Graham has stated "My goal, my passion, is to breathe life back into Canadian history"! With the Forgotten Home Child I feel she has done just that.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
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 woven the story around a group of friends whose story is heartbreaking and deserves to be told.
Genevieve Graham has stated "My goal, my passion, is to breathe life back into Canadian history"! With the Forgotten Home Child I feel she has done just that.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.
February 27, 2020
Thought-provoking, heart-wrenching, and significant!
The Forgotten Home Child is a powerful, impactful tale that sweeps you away to the mid-1930s and into the lives of the British children who through the Dr. Barnardo’s homes were sent from England to Canada with the promise of a better life, which in reality was more likely to include forced labour, abuse, starvation, and violence.
The prose is immersive and heartfelt. The characters are vulnerable, scarred, and determined. And the plot is an authentic, pensive tale of friendship, heartbreak, loss, love, hardship, self-discovery, hope, courage, and survival.
Overall, The Forgotten Home Child is a beautiful blend of historical facts, alluring fiction, and palpable emotion that transports you to another time and place and immerses you so thoroughly into the personalities, feelings, and lives of the characters you never want it to end. It is a nostalgic, fascinating, affecting tale that highlights an important aspect of Canadian history that is unfortunately often unknown, forgotten or overlooked.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada & Genevieve Graham for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
The Forgotten Home Child is a powerful, impactful tale that sweeps you away to the mid-1930s and into the lives of the British children who through the Dr. Barnardo’s homes were sent from England to Canada with the promise of a better life, which in reality was more likely to include forced labour, abuse, starvation, and violence.
The prose is immersive and heartfelt. The characters are vulnerable, scarred, and determined. And the plot is an authentic, pensive tale of friendship, heartbreak, loss, love, hardship, self-discovery, hope, courage, and survival.
Overall, The Forgotten Home Child is a beautiful blend of historical facts, alluring fiction, and palpable emotion that transports you to another time and place and immerses you so thoroughly into the personalities, feelings, and lives of the characters you never want it to end. It is a nostalgic, fascinating, affecting tale that highlights an important aspect of Canadian history that is unfortunately often unknown, forgotten or overlooked.
Thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada & Genevieve Graham for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.
April 15, 2020
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 from the Orphan Trains in the USA began by the philanthropists Charles Loring Brace. (Brace’s organization(s) eventually became what we know today as the Children’s Aid Society).
It is baffling how and why such well-meaning schemes that began with the best of intentions could turn out so wrong for so many.
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 from the Orphan Trains in the USA began by the philanthropists Charles Loring Brace. (Brace’s organization(s) eventually became what we know today as the Children’s Aid Society).
It is baffling how and why such well-meaning schemes that began with the best of intentions could turn out so wrong for so many.
March 27, 2021
Inspired by true events, this is an incredible story of a girl in 1930s England who is sent from a home for abandoned children to Canada. The children are promised a new life but what they find is something altogether different. The story is told from a perspective of an elderly woman coming to terms with a dark secret from those past days.
August 29, 2020
The Forgotten Home Child written by Genevieve Graham is based on the true story of the British Home Children. I had never heard of British Home Children until around eighteen years ago when the parent of a friend mentioned that he was a British Home Child. I asked a few questions, but did not realize or understand the magnitude.
Over 100,000 poverty-stricken children were sent to Canada between 1869 and 1948!
This tender and heartbreaking story is told from two timelines -present day and 1936. Winny is ninety-seven-years old and is tired of keeping secrets. She tells her life story to her granddaughter Chrissie and sixteen-year-old great-grandson Jamie.
I loved Winny, Mary, Jack, Edward, Cecil, and Charlotte and Billy. Warren was an angry, brutal man and Mr. Renfrew was dangerous.
The author's excellent writing skills bring this novel to life, and I can see and feel the hurts, bruises, and hardships the children endure. I smile when they experience brief moments of joy.
When you finish the story be sure to read the Note to Readers as it has pictures, and gives the background and research findings.
Apparently 12 percent of Canadians are descendants from Home Children.
Reading Group Guide is at the back of the novel.
I highly recommend this beautifully written historical novel about family, courage, hope and love. 5 stars
Over 100,000 poverty-stricken children were sent to Canada between 1869 and 1948!
This tender and heartbreaking story is told from two timelines -present day and 1936. Winny is ninety-seven-years old and is tired of keeping secrets. She tells her life story to her granddaughter Chrissie and sixteen-year-old great-grandson Jamie.
I loved Winny, Mary, Jack, Edward, Cecil, and Charlotte and Billy. Warren was an angry, brutal man and Mr. Renfrew was dangerous.
The author's excellent writing skills bring this novel to life, and I can see and feel the hurts, bruises, and hardships the children endure. I smile when they experience brief moments of joy.
When you finish the story be sure to read the Note to Readers as it has pictures, and gives the background and research findings.
Apparently 12 percent of Canadians are descendants from Home Children.
Reading Group Guide is at the back of the novel.
I highly recommend this beautifully written historical novel about family, courage, hope and love. 5 stars
January 21, 2020
Oh my goodness, all the stars on this one! Not only have I never heard of the British Home Children, but this is my first book by this author and she can write! The research she must have done to bring this story to fruition was quite thorough and she explains a little bit about her search at the end. While this story is fictional, many of the events in this story probably happened in one form or another to real British Home Children and Genvieve does an amazing job at bringing their stories to our awareness in these pages. I found myself hearing present-day Winny telling her story to her granddaughter and great-grandson and although present-day Jack is no longer alive, I could hear him telling his part of the tales. There was some going back and forth between past and present, but most of the story took place in the past and the transitions were seamless for me. I found myself tearing up even early in the story, but was definitely sobbing by the end. An amazingly powerful book and one that I hope becomes more widely read.
Special thanks to #GenevieveGraham, #NetGalley, and #SimonandSchusterCanada for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Special thanks to #GenevieveGraham, #NetGalley, and #SimonandSchusterCanada for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
March 9, 2020
What a great historical drama inspired by true events.
An emotional rollercoaster for me.
I was engaged and captivated from the very beginning and transported into the book
The writing is very simple but the book is skillfully written.
The structure is brilliant and easy to follow.
The characters are rich and very touching.
The author showed great knowledge of the facts about the British Home Children and created an absorbing book.
I particularly have never heard of this program between England and Canada, and I was shocked after reading all the atrocities that those innocent kids went through. So many lives lost or damaged. Absolutely heartbreaking.
The author’s note at the end of the book was very informative.
The cemetery mentioned in the book is just in my neighbourhood.
The reason why I’m not rating this book 5 stars is because I thought it was too short and a bit sugarcoated. Things happened too fast and the author made the world seem too small.
But this is a great read. It has all the right ingredients.
An emotional rollercoaster for me.
I was engaged and captivated from the very beginning and transported into the book
The writing is very simple but the book is skillfully written.
The structure is brilliant and easy to follow.
The characters are rich and very touching.
The author showed great knowledge of the facts about the British Home Children and created an absorbing book.
I particularly have never heard of this program between England and Canada, and I was shocked after reading all the atrocities that those innocent kids went through. So many lives lost or damaged. Absolutely heartbreaking.
The author’s note at the end of the book was very informative.
The cemetery mentioned in the book is just in my neighbourhood.
The reason why I’m not rating this book 5 stars is because I thought it was too short and a bit sugarcoated. Things happened too fast and the author made the world seem too small.
But this is a great read. It has all the right ingredients.
April 19, 2020
This was a wonderful book. It was so sad at times, but showed such resilience also. I was fully engaged in the story the entire time. I cared for the characters and wanted to know what happened to them. The atmosphere and characters were very well written.
At one point I was worried that the story was going to turn too dark for my tastes, but it didn't go over that edge. It certainly showed the darker side of what happened to these children and some parts were difficult to read, but it also showed the growth and love they shared.
After reading the author's note to readers I was impressed with the way Genevieve Graham incorporated all of the information she collected into the story. The facts provided in this section of the book are just incredible. Be sure not to skip it; it very well may be the best part of the book.
4.5 stars rounded up for the great note to readers.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with a free electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.
At one point I was worried that the story was going to turn too dark for my tastes, but it didn't go over that edge. It certainly showed the darker side of what happened to these children and some parts were difficult to read, but it also showed the growth and love they shared.
After reading the author's note to readers I was impressed with the way Genevieve Graham incorporated all of the information she collected into the story. The facts provided in this section of the book are just incredible. Be sure not to skip it; it very well may be the best part of the book.
4.5 stars rounded up for the great note to readers.
Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for providing me with a free electronic copy in exchange for an honest review.
February 16, 2025
Prior to reading The Forgotten Home Child, I've never heard of this very important part of Canadian history. In fact, most Canadians aren't even aware of this piece of Canadian history. It's good to know that there are authors willing to bring these events to our attention so it doesn't get lost to time. And though this is a fictional story with fictional characters, what happens to the characters in this book is 100% based on what happened to most of the children sent from England to Canada and Australia in the late 1900s and early 20th century.
Their stories are heartbreaking, but Genevieve Graham, through several fictional characters, bring the real-life events to life of the people who, generations ago, left their unwilling footprints on the hearts of Canadian descendants today. The book is beautifully written and definitely had an impact on me. I highly recommend it.
Their stories are heartbreaking, but Genevieve Graham, through several fictional characters, bring the real-life events to life of the people who, generations ago, left their unwilling footprints on the hearts of Canadian descendants today. The book is beautifully written and definitely had an impact on me. I highly recommend it.
July 22, 2020
This novel by accomplished historical fiction author Genevieve Graham is based on the fact that 120,000 British children were shipped to Canada and farmed out as child labourers from 1869 to 1948.
It was so sad initially that I didn't think I could keep reading. However, the four main characters were captivating and I quickly became engaged in their individual stories.
I was shocked to learn in the author's notes that twelve percent of all Canadians are descended from these kids. Some of them went to good homes, but most were treated badly.
While reading, I realized that I have at least two acquaintances whose parents were Home Children, or Barnardo Boys, as they were also called. It is only in recent years that their plight has come to light, and this book really helps to illuminate a dark chapter in Canadian history. It has been on the bestseller list for many weeks.
It was so sad initially that I didn't think I could keep reading. However, the four main characters were captivating and I quickly became engaged in their individual stories.
I was shocked to learn in the author's notes that twelve percent of all Canadians are descended from these kids. Some of them went to good homes, but most were treated badly.
While reading, I realized that I have at least two acquaintances whose parents were Home Children, or Barnardo Boys, as they were also called. It is only in recent years that their plight has come to light, and this book really helps to illuminate a dark chapter in Canadian history. It has been on the bestseller list for many weeks.
January 28, 2020
4.5 STARS - In her latest book, Canadian author Genevieve Graham weaves historical facts from a darker part of Canadian/British history with a touching and engaging story that follows a small group of children who were some of the 100,000+ British children shipped to Canada between 1869 and 1948 with the expectation that they'd receive a better life. Sadly, a large majority of this vulnerable group suffered through vastly different experiences than the idyllic Canadian families/jobs they had been promised.
This is a part of Canadian history that I'm ashamed to say I was never taught in school, so I appreciate Graham's in-depth research to bring to light this shockingly obscure part of Canadian history. With historical accuracy and engaging characters, she brings readers into the issues and emotions of the time by putting a human face to the appalling cruelty, abuse and neglect that many, but not all, of these children experienced.
The story is told in two time frames by Winny, one of the British Home Children. The story vacillates between 1936 when Winny was 7 years-old and 2018 when 97-year-old Winny relays her experiences to her granddaughter and great-grandson. As the story unfolds, there are some serendipitous connections, sentimental dialogue and, at times, the various abuses heaped upon this small group of children felt overwhelming but, I always found Winny and her friends' stories compelling. And, as an Ontarian myself, I recognized many locales in my province, which only made this touching story hit even harder.
This is a poignant, thought-provoking and well-researched story that powerfully illustrates a forgotten part of Canadian history. The legacy of these Home Children endures in Canada since it's estimated that a staggering 4 million Canadians are their descendants. With that in mind, I hope that readers take the time to learn more about this part of our history and encourage our Ministry of Education to include this part of Canadian history in our curriculum.
This book should be added to your Spring 2020 To Be Read list and look for it March 3, 2020!
Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
This is a part of Canadian history that I'm ashamed to say I was never taught in school, so I appreciate Graham's in-depth research to bring to light this shockingly obscure part of Canadian history. With historical accuracy and engaging characters, she brings readers into the issues and emotions of the time by putting a human face to the appalling cruelty, abuse and neglect that many, but not all, of these children experienced.
The story is told in two time frames by Winny, one of the British Home Children. The story vacillates between 1936 when Winny was 7 years-old and 2018 when 97-year-old Winny relays her experiences to her granddaughter and great-grandson. As the story unfolds, there are some serendipitous connections, sentimental dialogue and, at times, the various abuses heaped upon this small group of children felt overwhelming but, I always found Winny and her friends' stories compelling. And, as an Ontarian myself, I recognized many locales in my province, which only made this touching story hit even harder.
This is a poignant, thought-provoking and well-researched story that powerfully illustrates a forgotten part of Canadian history. The legacy of these Home Children endures in Canada since it's estimated that a staggering 4 million Canadians are their descendants. With that in mind, I hope that readers take the time to learn more about this part of our history and encourage our Ministry of Education to include this part of Canadian history in our curriculum.
This book should be added to your Spring 2020 To Be Read list and look for it March 3, 2020!
Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Simon and Schuster Canada for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
February 25, 2020
Oh my goodness, what a book! The Forgotten Home Child is a beautifully written and compelling story of survival. Wow can Genevieve Graham ever write! Blown away. I was captivated on page one and couldn't put it down.
This is why I have such a love for historical fiction based on true events. A history lesson from our past. A lesson that is so incredibly important, powerful ... everyone should read this story.
Told in dual timelines between 2018 & 1936 (and on) Winnifred aka Winny, tells the story of her life, along with her best friend Mary, and her brother Jack. The story takes us on a difficult and often heartbreaking journey during a time in Canada's history.
All the stars for The Forgotten Home Child! The best book I've read so far this year!
A huge thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for my review copy.
This is why I have such a love for historical fiction based on true events. A history lesson from our past. A lesson that is so incredibly important, powerful ... everyone should read this story.
Told in dual timelines between 2018 & 1936 (and on) Winnifred aka Winny, tells the story of her life, along with her best friend Mary, and her brother Jack. The story takes us on a difficult and often heartbreaking journey during a time in Canada's history.
All the stars for The Forgotten Home Child! The best book I've read so far this year!
A huge thank you to Simon & Schuster Canada for my review copy.
February 25, 2020
This was a hard book to read, though I’m very glad I did.
The Forgotten Home Child by Genevieve Graham chronicles the events and lives of the British Home Children. This organization began as a way to get rid of homeless orphans and what they called “forgotten children”, those with at least one parent living but unable or unwilling to care for them. The scheme was to round them up, send them to orphanages and children’s homes. From there they would be sent to Canada, New Zealand, and Australia where they would become indentured servants until adulthood. Over 100,000 children became part of this scheme from 1869 to 1948, many of them coming to Canada.
A man named Dr. Barnardo began this scheme with very good intentions. He hoped to help these unwanted children by finding them homes in the new lands where they would hopefully thrive. The idea was good on paper. In reality it became a nightmare for thousands of children who found themselves in a distant land that did not want them, being basically sold to people who only wanted them for labor, and totally at the mercy of these folks since there was no monitoring once they were placed.
This book tells the story of a group of these children who came to Canada in 1936. It is told through the eyes of Winny and Jack from the time they were picked up in the streets of London, England to present day. The story is heartbreaking. It will make you cry. You will become enraged, but I believe you will also be comforted to see that many of these kids survived and did manage to overcome the trauma to live fulfilling lives. In spite of the horrors mentioned here, the book is uplifting because it is a story of survival and hope.
The Forgotten Home Child is what I like to call a fictionalized true story. Winny, Jack and their friends are fictional characters, but the events that happened to them in this novel are true. Ms. Graham did an excellent job of researching the British Home Children. She talked to many of the descendants of the actual Home Children, and used the events she was told about in this novel.
Everyone should read this book. Not only is it an excellently written novel, this is a part of our history. The history teacher in me says that we should not let events like these, as dark as they are, fade from our memories. A history forgotten is often a history repeated.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an honest review.
Rainbow Reflections: http://rainbowreflections.home.com/
The Forgotten Home Child by Genevieve Graham chronicles the events and lives of the British Home Children. This organization began as a way to get rid of homeless orphans and what they called “forgotten children”, those with at least one parent living but unable or unwilling to care for them. The scheme was to round them up, send them to orphanages and children’s homes. From there they would be sent to Canada, New Zealand, and Australia where they would become indentured servants until adulthood. Over 100,000 children became part of this scheme from 1869 to 1948, many of them coming to Canada.
A man named Dr. Barnardo began this scheme with very good intentions. He hoped to help these unwanted children by finding them homes in the new lands where they would hopefully thrive. The idea was good on paper. In reality it became a nightmare for thousands of children who found themselves in a distant land that did not want them, being basically sold to people who only wanted them for labor, and totally at the mercy of these folks since there was no monitoring once they were placed.
This book tells the story of a group of these children who came to Canada in 1936. It is told through the eyes of Winny and Jack from the time they were picked up in the streets of London, England to present day. The story is heartbreaking. It will make you cry. You will become enraged, but I believe you will also be comforted to see that many of these kids survived and did manage to overcome the trauma to live fulfilling lives. In spite of the horrors mentioned here, the book is uplifting because it is a story of survival and hope.
The Forgotten Home Child is what I like to call a fictionalized true story. Winny, Jack and their friends are fictional characters, but the events that happened to them in this novel are true. Ms. Graham did an excellent job of researching the British Home Children. She talked to many of the descendants of the actual Home Children, and used the events she was told about in this novel.
Everyone should read this book. Not only is it an excellently written novel, this is a part of our history. The history teacher in me says that we should not let events like these, as dark as they are, fade from our memories. A history forgotten is often a history repeated.
I received an ARC from NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an honest review.
Rainbow Reflections: http://rainbowreflections.home.com/
February 23, 2020
This fantastic read deserves more than 5 stars. This Historical Fiction book is based on the British Home Children who were children sent from England to Canda to clear out the orphanages and sold as indentured servants. In 1936, 15-year-old Winnie runs away from her mother's abusive boyfriend who lives with them and often beats all of them. She meets up with Mary and her brother Jack, brothers Edward and Cecil and together they live on the street and steal to survive. When they are caught, Winnie and Mary are put in Dr. Bernard's Barkingside Home for Girls and the boys are put in the home for boys. After 2 years, they all ship out to Canada at the same time supposedly to work for families and have a better life, but that is not what happens. The story then goes to present day when Winnie is a 97-year-old widow living with her granddaughter, Chrissie and her great-grandson, Jamie. One day, they ask her about the trunk from her childhood that she has brought with her and about her past which she has kept a secret for all these years. This is such a heartbreaking and moving read and I highly recommend that you keep some tissues nearby. The author, Genevieve Graham, did a very thorough job researching the history of the British Home Children. Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for the ARC of this very moving story. I highly recommend this book.
March 2, 2020
The tale is told both in the present and in the past from the same point of view, as ninety-seven-year-old, Winnifred Ellis moves in with her granddaughter and great-grandson in 2018. A suitcase filled with old-things soon has her sharing a story neither she nor her husband shared. Not even with their own children. The past takes us back to 1936 and the streets of London as Winny, and many other children who fled Ireland with their families struggle in Liverpool. Winny and her street friends Jack and Mary Miller and two brothers, Cecil and Edward steal to survive. The child are arrested for shoplifting and the girls end up at Dr. Barnado’s Home for Children.
Eventually, all of them board ships to Canada. There they will work for families until they turn eighteen and receive funds when they are twenty-one. A chance for a new start. But the friends and siblings are separated, and not all the homes are welcoming. Winnifred retells what happened to her, Mary and Charlotte, a girl they met at the home. We are also given Jack’s point of view as we learn what happens to the boys.
Graham delivered a rich tale that covered a wide range of the circumstances these children faced. Some moments will make you smile, and others will bring tears to your eyes as you wonder at the cruelty they endured. I wept just seeing these children pulled from their friends and siblings. Not knowing where their brother or sister was. Hadn’t they lost enough. While I think the intentions of these programs were good, it sadden me to see its failures.
As always, I loved the characters. Winny, brave Winny and Jack who shouldered the blame. I felt such emotions for the children we encountered, lost and discovered. Of course, Graham wove in happy moments, reunions and did Winny justice, but not at the sacrifice of sharing the Forgotten Home Child.
In the back, Graham shares her research, provides information and links. As so often happens when I read her books, found myself explore Google and my library for more information.
This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
Eventually, all of them board ships to Canada. There they will work for families until they turn eighteen and receive funds when they are twenty-one. A chance for a new start. But the friends and siblings are separated, and not all the homes are welcoming. Winnifred retells what happened to her, Mary and Charlotte, a girl they met at the home. We are also given Jack’s point of view as we learn what happens to the boys.
Graham delivered a rich tale that covered a wide range of the circumstances these children faced. Some moments will make you smile, and others will bring tears to your eyes as you wonder at the cruelty they endured. I wept just seeing these children pulled from their friends and siblings. Not knowing where their brother or sister was. Hadn’t they lost enough. While I think the intentions of these programs were good, it sadden me to see its failures.
As always, I loved the characters. Winny, brave Winny and Jack who shouldered the blame. I felt such emotions for the children we encountered, lost and discovered. Of course, Graham wove in happy moments, reunions and did Winny justice, but not at the sacrifice of sharing the Forgotten Home Child.
In the back, Graham shares her research, provides information and links. As so often happens when I read her books, found myself explore Google and my library for more information.
This review was originally posted at Caffeinated Reviewer
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