As this story begins we see a poor family who live on the Mississippi river in a shantyboat, poor yes, but for the five children the life is ideal. Then the unthinkable happens and everything they have ever known is torn away, and where they are taken, I wouldn’t want my dog to live there.
We read this story though the eyes to two strong women, one a survivor May, Rill Foss, and the other being groomed to be a U.S. Senator, Avery Stafford, taking her Dad’s seat.
As I was reading, my heart kept telling me “no”, but when you finish this story, and I had to google ahead and find out, this is a fictional story about a true happening. The injustice of it all, and when you see no one was brought to justice for ruining so many lives, it will break your heart.
The author did such a marvelous job with this story and kept me page turning, and yes the secrets come out, at least in our family scenario. There are so many heart-breaking scenes here, but when you meet the survivors they are elderly, and this is their story.
Thank you Lisa Wingate for doing such a marvelous job with this book, I am sure it was a hard story to tell.
I received this book through Net Galley and the Publisher Ballantine Books, and was not required to give a positive review.

I love novels based on true facts and happenings. Before We Were Yours does not disappoint. I am sickened that an event like this happened at all! Someone entrusted to take care of and keep safe children who would do something this calculated, heartwrenching and cruel is almost beyond belief.
From page one I was caught up and right there in the books pages experiencing it myself and had to know what happened and how we went from that to the loving families were talking about was a journey like no other, filled with every emmotion and left me emotionally spent.

Granddaughter (Avery) unravels secrets from grandmother's (Judy) past.

For fans of Orphan Train and The Language of Flowers, I would highly recommend this story, which is also about the suffering of underprivileged children.

Before We Were Yours is based on a woman named Georgia Tann of Tennessee Children’s Home Society who kidnapped indigent children from their families and then sold them to celebrities and affluent families. Between 1920-1950, Tann facilitated the adoption of thousands of children, while another 500+ children and infants died (or went missing) while in her care. Many influential families helped to cover up her wrong doings because they were afraid that their adopted children would be taken away from them. In 1950, Tann died from cancer before she could be held accountable for her crimes. This was an unbelievable piece of U.S. history that I was unaware of until reading this book, and I would highly recommend it!

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for a free ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review!

Set during the Great Depression, Before We Were Yours tells the gripping story of Rill Foss and her four siblings, who were stolen from their 'river rat' parents, and then sold/put up for adoption by the local Adoption agency. A dual storyline, set in the current day, helps unravel their fate and the history of one local family. Inspired by the real activities of Georgia Tann, director of the Tennessee Children's Home Society in the late 1930's, this is a horrifying, moving, and ultimately uplifting tale. The cruel treatment experienced by Rill and her siblings mirrors the treatment of real life survivors of Tann and her employees. While the treatment of these children was appalling, the story is so well written that I pretty much raced through it. The current day storyline is not as engrossing as the children's story, but it helped pull all the pieces together, and made a stark contrast to their sad, young lives. I will most definitely look for other works by Lisa Wingate. Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Strong 4.5 stars for this excellent work of historical fiction - highly recommend!

I had an awful awful time getting into the writing style of the chapters from the past. So awful I never did. And I never really cared for Avery. I really wanted to love this book but it didn't pull me in and I never really cared about the characters.

I don't think that people are crazy for rating it five stars--it just wasn't for me.

But I do think I'll try reading it again in a few years.

After finishing this book, my thoughts waver between horror, sorrow, extreme empathy and pity for what the parents of the children who were ripped from them felt in real life. I can’t even begin to imagine how they moved on from this. They were poor, taken advantage of and betrayed. The children had to be very frightened and so very homesick.

Lisa Wingate took this very real situation that happened in the 1920’s to the 1950’s and wrote a very powerful fictional account that thrust me into the midst of it. The author does such such a wonderful of fleshing out the characters in this book, that I felt as if they could have been the actual victims. The book goes back and forth from the past to the present showing what happened, and one woman’s search to find out how her wealthy grandmother, who is living in a nursing home knew the elderly woman in a second nursing home , a woman who is not part of her social circle.

While this author is new to me, I am planning to look for more books by her. I can’t begin to say enough about how meticulously she wrote this book and how much I enjoyed it. This is definitely a five star book!

A deeply emotional read based on a true life adoption scandal--the book was captivating, yet gut-wrenching. It was filled with such a gamut of emotions that will stay with the reader long after the last word is read. I absolutely loved this book and I thank you for the incredible opportunity to have read this title prior to publication.

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for giving me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate.

Twelve year old Rill Foss, her siblings and her parents live on a shantyboat on the Mississippi River in the 1930's. Folks who lived this poor lifestyle on the river were often called "river rats." When Rill's mom began to have complications during a home birth Rill's dad decided to take her to the hospital. Briny, Rill's dad, left her in charge of her siblings until they returned. While they were gone strangers showed up on the Arcadia and took all five of the children to the Tennessee Children's Home Society Orphanage that was run by Georgia Tann.

Now present day, Avery Stafford returns home to Aiken, South Carolina because her father is sick. By chance she meets May Crandall at a nursing home. This encounter leaves her with questions and sends her on a journey through her family's past.

I had no idea this book was written about a historical event involving a fictional family until I read the author's note. Historical fiction is not normally my first choice of books to read, but this book was amazing!

I read a lot of books. Some educate, some entertain, some make me laugh but rarely does one move me the way Before We Were Yours did. I was vaguely aware of Georgia Tann and the Tennessee Children's Home Society and the manner in which they procured children for people who could pay for them. Lisa Wingate skillfully wove together a fictionalized account of what it might have been like for some of the children and and the life-long repercussions of having endured such wicked people and circumstances. In so doing, we see that the resilience of the human spirit is truly remarkable.

This book is both heart breaking and hopeful at the same time. Reading both points-of-view and learning May's story/life at the same time helped me feel closer to the characters. I did not realize that the story line in this book actually had a place in history. I found what happened to the Foss children appalling and felt horrible for the mother and father.
Growing up, May knew where she came from and that she had a large family. Unfortunately, in the 1930's, when you were perceived to be of lesser value because of where you lived, you became prey. I suppose that might even be true in some aspects today. When May's life is turned upside down, I believe at 12, she tries her hardest to keep her siblings close. Sadly, she is unable to do so and one by one she loses her siblings. She overhears things and wants things to be different, but she is too young to stop them. When her last sibling is 'adopted' she vows that she is going to get out of her situation. Then she hears that her sister is coming back, right when Silas, a friend from her old life, finds her and plans to get her out. She gets him to wait a day and then he can save both her and her sister. Only things don't work out that way. She finds out that the same family wants her too. When she senses that her younger sister is starting to love the 'adoptive' family and forgetting her actual family, she plans her escape back to her mom and dad. The only problem is that things aren't the way she expected them to be. Will the two remaining sisters be happy with their biological parents? Do they ever see their adoptive parents again? Does Silas have a place in May's heart? Whatever happens to the people who 'took' the siblings?
Avery is a young woman who has her whole life planned for her. She is learning the ropes to take over for her father in the political world and is engaged. When a chance encounter with May leads to a whole lot of unanswered questions, will she get the answers she needs? Will her fiance stand with her? Will the grandson of man, who was helping Avery's grandma, be able to shed some light on the situation? Will Avery find out the connection between her grandma Judy and May?
The way this book was written was past and present. It was also hard to read sometimes. My only wish was that there was a better ending for Silas. Or at least some hint that Silas was happy. I received an ARC,l via NetGalley in exchange for an honest, voluntary review.

A generational flashback them that kept me reading into the night. I loved this book as it took a real story with real people and created the world they had to live in. Highly recommend for story telling techniques and hooks to keep readers interested beyond the moment.

I loved 'Before We Were Yours'. I am a sucker for a well-written historical fiction novel, and this book opened my eyes to a shocking piece of history I knew nothing about. That is something that I love about historical fiction: you learn about events that really happened, while also enjoying a good story. The two narratives--Rill's in the 1930s and Avery's in the present day--really worked to keep this story moving at a good pace. The story never got dull or repetitive; gradually the facts were revealed to the reader and to Avery, just enough to keep me up late turning the pages to find out what would happen next. Usually when I am reading a novel with multiple narrators I find one more compelling than the others. In this case though, I equally enjoyed both Rill and Avery's stories.

Well written, compelling historical fiction that is impossible to put down. Thank you for the advance readers copy!

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate is a stunning, heart-tugging story from page one. As soon as I started reading, I knew I would not be satisfied until the last page. I chose this book because I loved The Prayer Box. In many ways, this new release is even more impactful than that series.

Wingate's writing style is a complete joy. She finds just the right imagery, just the right sentence structure, to match the pace of the story. This skill alone reveals how adept of a writer she is. She never compromises the beauty of her writer's voice for action, plot, or even for convenience. She has nurtured this story in her heart, and simply spilled her heart out on the page.

The fact that this story's premise is based on historic events makes it even more unnerving. A hidden evil, undetected by the people that could stop it, wounded so many families, and took things from them that could never be returned. Yet even as hopeless as the story seemed, Wingate injected enough hope in the pages that the reader never stops cheering for some good to come from the evil.

In real life, happy endings are not always guaranteed. Wingate's novel balances reality, hurt, hope, faith, and the miraculous. This leaves the reader believing that she can find that same restoration and miracle in her own life, in her own family.

This story centers on a poor family living on a house boat on the river, a place they lovingly refer to as the Kingdom Arcadia. They don't have material possessions, but they have love. And unity. And gratitude. That changes in an instant, at the hands of a woman running a Children's Home that receives glamorous press, local accolades, and power from the corrupt. This situation looks hopeless. But God's hand works in the midst of it all, to bring light to this darkness, and good to triumph over evil.

Definitely add this book to your "must-read-now" list. It does not disappoint. The story never gets stale, never becomes predictable. Wingate keeps your heart tethered to this tale, until the last page. And it did not leave me for a long time after that.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I was interested in this novel because of the events that inspired it: the scandal involving orphanages that collected children using questionable practices (telling parents that their babies were stillborn, or pressuring uneducated parents to sign their children over to "care"). The novel is told in two voices.

The chapters narrated by Rill, one of a household of children caught up in this net, are powerful and moving. Her voice is so strong she leaps off the page.

In rather stark contrast, those narrated by Avery, a young woman in contemporary Aiken, South Carolina who finds herself plunged into the mystery of what might be part of her powerful family's legacy, read like most contemporary romances, and for the most part, lack the heart of Rill's chapters.

So, uneven, but interesting because of the truth behind the fiction, and for the compelling voice of Rill.

** I received this book early from the publisher - Ballantine Books -- through NetGalley. **

Heartbreaking and historically accurate, this story 100% lives up to the descriptions of being for fans of "Orphan Train" and "The Nightingale". This is being added to my "Best of 2017" list, as well as my "Best Historical Fiction" list - I anticipate it being a top book club pick for years and years to come.

Wingate has done a phenomenal job of creating a fictional family to entwine with the true story of Georgia Tann and her despicable methods of obtaining (stealing) children for profit through the Tennessee Children's Home Society from the 1920s-1950s. The Foss family, as Wingate describes, are entirely fictional, as is Avery Stafford and the Stafford family. However, they represent the demographics of the families involved in this little-known horrible part of US history, and help this story reach an untold number of new readers. There is a very thorough author's note (more like a chapter) at the end of the book answering the inevitable question, "How much of this story is true?" that will satisfy the most curious of readers (like me!).

Required reading this summer - order it or request from your library now!

(This review will be posted on my Instagram (@theloudlibrarylady) and my blog (theloudlibrarylady.com) in the next week.

I have been a fan of Ms. Wingate's writing since I picked up one of her first books, and I look forward to the next one. When I saw the cover of her new book show up on Facebook I was immediately pulled to it and I jumped over to NetGalley to request a copy, and I was pleasantly surprised when I was approved. As I began the book I was immediately pulled into the story of the Foss children, and when I found out this story was loosely based on real life historical facts I became enthralled with it. I think I read it in two days. Being adopted this story evoked all my emotions. I cried, laughed, cheered, wanted to throw the book against the wall, thankfully it was on my kindle. I began searching Google for Georgia Tann and was utterly shocked at what I learned about this evil woman who stole children and sold them. I had always wondered how crazy Joan Crawford had been allowed to adopt children and boy did I found out. As I write this I am still experiencing the emotion from this book. I love when a book grips you and just won't let go. I have dreamt about these characters and I found myself praying for them as I read. I hate to jump the gun, but this will probably be my most favored book of 2017. This is a powerful book that will take you back into history, and it is a must read! I can't recommend this book enough!

** spoiler alert ** Oh, just finished reading this book. The emotions I felt while reading this book and then to find out that while fictional, the adoption director was a real life person and these things did happen to real children. I am blown away that this could happen. Apparently, Mrs. Tann's heart was removed much earlier in her life and she has absolutely no feelings for humans as this was just a career for her. What a greedy woman she was!! Unfortunately cancer got her before she could be subjected to prison and maybe receive "some" of the treatment that was suffered by the wards of the state that she got illegally. Some still even had parents. In my mind, she did not suffer enough, greedy witch.

That aside, this was such an emotional read. (Yes, tissues needed) It was definitely a thought provoking, malice provoking read. I sped through reading this emotional tale because:
1. I was aghast that a woman could be that greedy and use children this way.
2. I was aghast that so many "upstanding?" humans used her services. But to be fair, they weren't aware of the behind the scenes lives these children were living. And unfortunately, those ghastly behind the scenes horrors the children were living were AFTER this woman abducted, stole, coerced parents and totally abused the system.

I feel in love with the children from the Kingdom of Arcadia. The author did a great job with this story and I was thoroughly entertained. This was my first book by this author and I will definitely keep her in mind in the future to read more of her books.

Huge thanks to Random House/Ballantine for approving my request and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate checked all my boxes: great characters, interesting plot line, a little mystery, and lots of questions. I was not prepared for the anger I would feel toward one of the characters, nor was I prepared for how much I would care about the other characters. The story is well written and planned. Quite frankly the idea that the story is based on a what really happened in Tennessee makes it feel even more important of a read. The story is told a series of chapters back and forth between the older story and the newer story.

The Foss children in 1939 living with their parents a subsistence life on the river were happy, loved and cherished. A cruel twisted reality had them kidnapped and forced away from their family. The modern day story introduces us to Avery Stafford, a young lawyer engaged to a long time friend living at home and slowly being indoctrinated into the life in the public eye as a Senator.

One day, she meets an older woman at a nursing home and Avery’s journey into the past begins. She finds herself wanting to discover who the woman really is and what if anything does she have in common with Avery’s grandmother. Clues are slowly revealed and Avery’s need to understand, just might take her political future away.

A wonderful book! Inspiring and full of emotional highs and lows! A top read for the summer! Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate is a fabulous read!

Before We Were Yours is a captivating fictional account of what happened at the Memphis branch of the Tennessee Children’s Home Society during the 1920’s through the 1950’s.

The story captured my interest right away and I was so touched by the siblings love for each other and the bonds that they kept even through their separation. Camellia’s story was heartbreaking, and the things that happened to some of the children was inexcusable.

I was astounded to read that an estimate as high as 500 children were believed to have vanished under Georgia Tann’s management, and thousands more were believed to have been adopted, with their records being altered to keep their families from finding them.

In spite of the heartbreaking ordeal the children went through, author Lisa Wingate managed to deliver a story that was hopeful and full of loving relationships. I loved the book and highly recommend it to any reader who loves historical fiction, genealogy, or just a great story that is well written. This is one book that is not hard to devour in one sitting!

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing/Ballantine for the advance copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

I'm always fascinated by books that include real-life history and stories in them. The "Dear America" diaries were some of my favorites growing up, and it's always been one of my favorite ways to learn history. It helps solidify that these were real people going through real things. And as time moves forward, the history starts getting closer and closer. It's easy to keep things distant when you're reading about the Titanic.

It's a lot harder when the story takes place less than a hundred years in the past. Times that family of mine could have lived through.

I'm not sure exactly why I keep recalling Boxcar Children for this, because it's not really the same in the slightest, but I think there's an element of the children forced to grow too fast and rely on each other more than most that brings that to mind. Wingate does a fantastic job of weaving a modern-day story of a woman realizing that her family isn't all it seems to be painted as, in with the tale of a group of siblings separated from their family and put through an absolute circle of hell.

The stories of the Tennessee Children's Home Society and what Georgia Tann was up to there are horrifying. I'm almost afraid to delve too far into the real-life horrors that happened there because if what we see in the book is anything to judge by...these aren't pretty pictures. It is a harrowing tale of the cruelty of greed, and the desperation of hope, and still manages to bring everything together at the end into a very satisfying ending. Wingate also does what I wish more authors would: there's a trace of romance, but it's never forced--the triangle never seems contrived--and the way that story ends seems much more realistic than most of the romance tropes I've seen. Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

All these characters seem incredibly real, as if I could go down to the river (and while I live on a river, alas, it is not the same one) and see Arcadia sitting there, proud as ever with the whole family on board. I'll also say that the character of Arney has a very special place in my heart, but I won't say why, because spoilers.

I honestly curled up and read this book all in one day. It's been a long time since I've done that. I had to go somewhere and I brought my Kindle with me, because I couldn't stand being so close to the end and not seeing it through right then. A story very well told, and one I would definitely recommend...though if you're already feeling a little down, I might wait until a sunny day. This is not for the faint of heart.

I'll be interested to check out other things Wingate has written. She weaves a fine story.

Rating: **** (Highly Recommended)
BEFORE WE WERE YOURS is due for publication on June 6th, 2017.