If you found the subject of the Orphan Train by Christina Baker Kline intriguing, you will want to read this book. This story covers the fate of orphans during the late 1930’s and the images it leaves you with are haunting. It begins in the present day with Avery Stafford, the prominent daughter of a senator from South Carolina. During a press conference in a nursing home, she meets May Crandall, an elderly patient who is sure that Avery is someone from May’s past. The exchange pulls at her heartstrings but the nurses lead May away explaining that she is new at this home and confused. This would be the end of it but unknown to Avery, May slips off her bracelet and takes it. When this becomes apparent, Avery returns to collect the bracelet and in May’s room she finds a picture that bears a strong resemblance to her grandmother. This starts Avery’s quest to find out exactly who May is. Her journey leads to the Tennessee Children’s Home Society. The horrors that are exposed and the insight into her past is something she could never have imagined.

Ms. Wingate keeps the story interesting and moving by having two people narrate the story. For May, her story starts in the past and progresses to the present. It is captivating yet heartbreaking as you relive her life through her eyes and the sorrows she endures and still carries with her. Avery’s story is told in the present as she not only struggles to find the truth about May and her grandmother, but also her struggles to live the life that is expected of her. Both are enthralling reads and makes this book hard to put down.

This historical fiction book did exactly what a good one of this genre should, it inspired me to research the Tennessee Children’s Home Society and adoption in the late 30’s. Although May and her family are fictional, the events that transpired are horrifying but real. Stories like this need to be told and recognized so we don’t repeat our past and I highly recommend this work. This book can be read by young teen readers to adult although some of the images evoked can be disturbing.

I requested and received this book from NetGalley for review.

I was blown away by this story and the great writing! I’ve never read a novel by Ms.Wingate but I will certainly be looking for more of her books.

This novel tells the historically correct story about the Tennessee Children’s Home Society which was run by Georgia Tann in the late 1930’s. The story of the main characters was fiction but based on what really happened to many of the children in this orphanage.

The plot is written from two points of view, that of Rill, later named May by her adoptive parents and Avery, the daughter of a senator whose grandmother is now in a nursing home.

From Rill’s story we learn about the children, many of whom were living in river shanty boats or other very low income type housing who were literally stolen away from their parents. Her story is heartbreaking but also triumphant, as she tries to protect her younger siblings who were all taken from their shanty boat on the river while her mother and father were in the city while taking care of her mother who was in a complicated labor and delivery. The children in this particular “home for orphans” were treated terribly, families ripped apart, the children living in terrible conditions and malnourished, some emotionally and physically abused.

Avery, who was always very close to her grandmother, sees that she is slowing losing her memories and yet reveals in a conversation to Avery that there may be more to her life than anyone had ever known. When Avery meets another woman in a different nursing home who strongly resembles her grandmother and has a picture with her grandmother in it, she is determined to find out how these women are connected. She is also sure that there are more secrets to her grandmother’s life that she wants to learn about feeling that her grandmother’s memory is slowly slipping away and there is a limited amount of time to uncover the truth.

There are other strong characters in this book that are all well developed. The writing is exceptional and the two story lines keep the reader puzzled as to how they will connect for the first two thirds of the book making the end discoveries a very engaging read.

Not only is the book well written but it informs us of the atrocities that went on for many years under the Tennessee orphan home system. After I read the book I went online to learn more about this period in history and there is a lot to discover. I recommend this book to everyone who likes to read a well written character driven novel with a suspenseful atmosphere and historical details.

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher, thank you so much! Will also post to Amazon upon publication.

I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher for the free advanced reading copy.

It is Memphis 1939. Twelve year old Rill Floss is living on shanty boat on the Mississippi River with parents and five siblings. During a bad thunderstorm, the midwife is on the boat to help her mom deliver the new baby. The midwife tells the father the she is giving birth to twins, there is a complication, they must rush her to the hospital, or all of their lives are in danger. Rill is the oldest and is put in charge. A couple of men arrive the next morning and tell the children they are bringing them to the hospital to see their parents. Instead of being brought to their parents, the Floss children are brought to the Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage that is run by Georgia Tann. Rill soon realizes they are going to be sold one by one and tries to do anything to keep her siblings together and return to their parents.

Avery Stafford is a young attorney and daughter of a powerful senator. She is engaged to be married. Avery has returned home after her dad has been diagnosed with cancer and her grandmother with dementia. While visiting a nursing home, Avery meets an older lady named May Crandall. She calls Avery another name and for some reason Avery is interested in her and decides to visit. In May’s room, she finds a picture from the 1960’s of a group of ladies that includes a young May and her grandmother. She decides to dig deeper into her grandmother’s past and meets a young man named Trent Turner that she soon begins to find herself attracted to. The more she discovers, the more she finds out about her grandmother’s hidden childhood which could cause a scandal for the family.

Before We Were Yours is a new historical fiction book by Lisa Wingate. From the 1930’s to 1950’s, Georgia Tann stole thousands of children and sold them to wealthy families across the country. The children were either kidnapped or the parents were tricked to selling them to Georgia who then lied about their backgrounds to find new homes for the children. Most of the time the records were destroyed after the adoption was complete. In the 1950’s, the home was shut down and Tennessee Adoption Laws were changed.

Before We Were Yours is a fast paced book. I read it in two days. I could believe that Georgia Tann could do something like this for so many years and not get caught. My heart goes out to all the poor families who had children taken from them. It seems like something like this would have made the news. After reading the book, I googled the home and Georgia for more information. In the early 80’s, Mare Winningham starred in a TV movie about a mother whose three children are taken. I remember watching it in high school. This is a book that the characters will stay with you after reading. I would highly recommend reading the book when it comes out on June 6th. Five stars…

When I finished this book last night the first thing I had to say to myself was wow - what a powerful book. I have read all of Lisa's Carolina series and loved each of them and thought they were touching, but this one was even more so. If that is even possible.

Before We Were Yours By Lisa Wingate

This book had me hooked from the beginning. It has to do with a piece of Tennessee history, where a woman named Georgia Tann, ran the Tennessee Children’s Home Society in Memphis; here she ran a black market baby adoption scheme (1920's-1950) illegally taking children from their parents.

The book is a work of fiction except for the facts above. The main family that we read about is a made up family, but the author had heard a lot of stories from the actual children, who were there in the children' home, thus giving us a true to life feel for what went on in this home.

This book takes place both in the past and present and starting in 1939 we follow the lives of the Foss family, where there are five siblings, Rill, 12 the oldest and her four siblings, three more girls and a young boy. They live on a boat on the Mississippi river, but when the mother is having difficulties in her present pregnancy, the father is forced to take her to a hospital, leaving Rill in charge of her siblings on the boat, and here is where everything changes.

Now in present day, we follow the life of Avery Stafford, a privileged thirty something, lawyer and daughter of a politician. She comes home to Aiken South Carolina to help her father who is having health problems, and help him with his reelection. While touring a nursing home with him, she has an encounter with one of the residents, that leaves her with some uncomfortable questions and wanting to look into her families history.

This book really keeps you interested and it was fascinating to see how these different characters from the two different time periods and generations mesh together.

Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the ARC.

I may not recommend it to my students, but I've already recommended it to all my friends as a must-read. Honestly, I hadn't paid much attention to the author, but my mom looked it up while we were talking and said "Lisa Wingate! Well of course I have to put this on my wishlist!" She's right, too. Everything we've read by LW just captures us. I finished this in two days - could not put it down. Everytime I thought I had a piece figured out, there would be a new twist...right up to the last pages.

If I could rate this higher than 5 stars I would. Heartbreaking, emotional, captivating..

Before we were yours tells the tale of a family ripped apart at the core in Tennessee, 1939. Georgia Tann ran The Tennessee Children's Home Society from the 1930's-50's. Illegally kidnapping and adopting out children of poor families and placing them in the care of those more fortunate.

Rill Foss lives with her parents and four siblings on The Arcadia along the river. Dirt poor but happy, one day the Foss' children's world is turned upside down when they are taken from their boat and placed in an orphanage. Rill does all she can to keep all the children together. The walls inside the orphanage are musty, dank and full of horrible conditions.

Told in alternating chapters between the past and present, this story will drag you in and hold tight until it's time for it to end. I was captivated by this book. Historical fiction combined with a little suspense and love are all a perfect combination. Before reading this novel I was not aware of the Tennessee Children's Home Society. Naturally, after reading the Author's note, I jumped on the internet and searched. A wonderful read! Definitely will be recommending!

Edge of your seat, page turner, read into the wee hours of the night. Could not put it down. Lisa Wingate's books are inspirational and entertaining.

Avery returns home to her Senator father fighting cancer, as well as trying to keep up a competent front for reelection as part of a prominent Southern family. In the process of protecting her father, Avery uncovers a mystery about her grandmother's past. Avery is engaged but feels that her friendship with her fiancée is just that, especially when she meets Trent Turner while solving her grandmother's past. I couldn't put the book down as revelations of a crooked child stealing adoption scheme, based on real history in the 1930 s to the 1950's, is uncovered.

Excellent, Excellent!! A story partly fiction about 5 children dragged from their loving but very poor home. and put in an orphanage. Their living conditions go from bad to worse in this wonderfully written book. .This was a privately owned facility and let me tell you these people handsomely profited from these children being adopted if they made it out of there. A few of these five children made it into a respectable home and this is their story.

I first would like to thank the publisher and Net Galley for my copy of Lisa Wingate's novel "Before We Were Yours." This is a historical fiction novel based on a true story of orphaned children during the 20's thru 50's. The story is a heartbreaking and captivating book told in alternating chapters between past and present.. Taken from their parents during an illegal raid a family is split up. The story takes one through the hardships of growing up in a orphanage, their placement and finally to the present. A fascinating story about this very sad time in our nation's history. Lisa Wingate's novel is excellent I would recommend anyone to read it who loves historical fiction. This is not a chick flick book as one would think. A 5 plus star read.

I had previously read books by this author and did not care for. But this one, I really enjoyed. Knew little of the illegal adoptions done in the 1930-1950"s. Was I ever shocked to learn all this. I will recommend this to my patrons and my book club.

This is the type of story that grips you from the first page until the emotional end.
As with her previous series, Lisa does an excellent job of alternating between a contemporary setting and a historical setting, weaving the two plots together as the story progresses.
The historical setting took place during a time in history which I was not familiar. Without giving away anything, the story of the children left me heartbroken and angry. While the story was fiction, it was based on real events, and Lisa's book honors those who suffered.
I highly recommend this book, and I look forward to reading more books by Lisa Wingate. I will be pondering over this story for days to come.

The Stafford's are a blue blood family that have everything going from them. Avery is anot experienced attorney, her father a state senator. She is being groomed for the position of senator if her father is unable to continue because of health issues. Then an elderly woman at a nursing home takes Avery's dragonfly bracelet off her wrist.
The elderly woman, May seems to have a connection to the bracelet and Avery is determined to find answers to secrets that have been hidden away for much too long. Is she willing to know the truth even though it may destroy her family's reputation?
A mysterious orphanage with stolen children. Can it hold the answers she is looking for? What does the word Arcadia have to do with anything? Can the river gypsy's hold the answers to her family history.
Anot excellent read that draws you in and keeps you entertained to the very end.
5 Stars

I absolutely LOVED "Before We Were Yours" by Lisa Wingate and am certain that it will be one of the best titles I read all year. The story is reminiscent of the Orphan Train- which is one of my absolute favorite books.

"Yours" is both heartbreaking and uplifting. The story follows 12 year-old Rill Foss and her siblings through their life living on a river shanty to the halls of the notorious Tennessee Children's Home Society where her siblings are "sold" off one by one. Told in alternating chapters through the eyes of Rill and Avery Stafford (a Senator's daughter with a powerful family legacy) finding the two main character's connecting is an engaging and mesmerizing read.

What a fascinating and inspiring novel!! From the synopsis, I knew Before We Were Yours was partially based on a true story, so as I got deeper into this novel that fact kept me 100% captivated. Lisa Wingate does an amazing job with masterfully telling the story in an alternating "then" and "now" style. That style works perfectly as the mystery that ties the "then" and "now" together is revealed. This book was perfectly timed and by the time I got to the end I didn't want to say goodbye to the characters!! Before We Were Yours is a total and complete 5 star read! This book is a story about perseverance, determination, heartbreak, and love! Go check it out, you won't regret it!!!

This book kept me reading long past my bedtime...and then I dreamed about it! I was intrigued by the mystery of these sisters and ached to know how their stories came together.

I had a hard time getting into this book. Since I did not finish it, I do not intend to publish a review.