Play Book Tag discussion

Historical fiction is a favorite genre, and I certainly enjoyed this one. The book has two time lines, past and present, and eventually the two stories converge. I didn't know anything about the Tennessee Children's Home Society and Georgia Tann. This part of the story is truly heartbreaking. Warning: The book has major triggers-- Start with stealing children and then selling them to the highest bidder, to rich people who were also heartbroken when they could not have children of their own. How about sealing the records and bribing public officials so these children and their birth parents can never find each other. Are the tears rolling down your face yet? Let's add some major child abuse in the home where the children lived awaiting adoption. It's amazing that Rill emerged from this environment at all.
I did not enjoy the "present day" storyline nearly as much. It felt contrived, as if there only to establish the connection to the past. From the moment Avery is introduced, I knew she was headed for a major u-turn. I also thought her parents and potential mother-in-law were stereotyped to the point of ridiculousness. So, 3.5 stars rounded up to 4 for the history lesson and for Rill.

As an aside, the book reminded me of the documentary Three Identical Strangers, about triplets separated at birth. They find each other when they are young adults quite by accident. It is an excellent movie but also has a dark side. Here's the trailer: https://www.bing.com/videos/riverview...

I really liked this one, too, but like you, I also preferred the historical storyline to the present day one.

This book had a very strong impact on me too. I had heard of Georgia Tan ( probably on 60 Minutes), but this story was still shocking. I liked Rill’s story too.

There is a follow-up book by a friend of the author that was really interesting too. Real life adoptees or victims of Tan showed up at book events to meet Wingate, and share their own stories. She brought in another author to conduct interviews and organize a reunion of sorts.