Fantastic read! It was rich with all the things I want to read...history, romance, strong characters, intrigue, a bit of mystery, a couple of mobsters (because I who doesn’t love that!) and redemption. It was pure enjoyment from less-than-auspicious beginning to satisfying end!!

I devoured this book. Whilst it is a work of fiction it depicts the desperation of so many families during the depression. A worthwhile read

When I found out this novel was inspired by a photograph of children for sale, to say I was intrigued is an understatement. See that picture now and we’d probably wonder if it were fake, but then, there was hardship and a Depression and the newsrooms were buzzing with all kinds of tales.

I love what the author has done with this story. Taken the essence of that photograph and brought it back to life, not to mention the story of the children and mother in that picture. Recreating 1930s Philadelphia has been done really well so you feel the chaos of the newsrooms, the boy reporters in their suits and trilby hats chasing the next big story. The shouts of ‘read all about it’ etc. Very atmospheric and really evocative.

The novel examines a lot of things about what we see and read, how life was back during the Depression and how a photograph really can speak a thousand words. I was thoroughly intrigued throughout and to enter this time and place, to spend time on such a fascinating and compelling case was a treat. The author note puts lovely finishing touch on the reasons for writing the book but don’t read this until you’ve soaked up the story for yourself.

Read all about it! Sold on a Monday is one compelling read.

3.5 stars

“Photography is the art of observation. It has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them. -Elliott Erwitt

August 1931

Families in America are still struggling since the market crashed in 29.

Every day, children are are being sent away because their parents don’t have the money to feed them, or keep them warm.

But, Ellis Reed, reporter and photographer had not ever seen a sign like the one he was now looking at.

2 Children For Sale

He takes a picture of the jagged sign and the two brothers on the porch, that the sign refers to for his personal collection.

But when Lily, the bosses well-meaning secretary, turns it in, the boss decides he wants a feature story on the family for the newspaper. It feels wrong, but it could lead to his big break...and, maybe something good for the family too...

Ellis and Lily could’ve never imagined the consequences that would occur from the photo and feature that are eventually printed.....

This story is about those consequences and their mutual desire to make things right.

Although this story was an imagined one, it was inspired by a photograph that first appeared in the Vidette-Messenger in 1948.

If you have enjoyed historical fiction books such as Orphan Train, by Christina Baker Kline, then is is the next book for you! It will be available soon (August 28th, 2018) so pre-order now!

I would like to thank Netgalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and the author, Kristina McMorris for the ARC provided to me for a candid review!

The book was dedicated to the children in the picture....

What an interesting concept for a story. Based on a photograph which once published has many repercussions which do not become apparent until well into the book. I found it rather slow going and sometimes there was too much description and discussion around a simple moment. However overall the story was fascinating and the fact that it is based on a real picture makes it all the more poignant. Make sure you read to the appendix at the end to hear about this.

Knowing the plot of this book is inspired by a real photo makes this heartbreaking, moving, chilling story haunting. Featuring complex and well-drawn characters and heart-racing suspense, this is a great read for lovers of historical fiction. Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for my advanced reader copy. This is my unbiased opinion.

Thank you to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for an advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. I have found a new author to enjoy with this title. Sold on a Monday drew me right in from the first page. Set in the times of the prohibition, a young journalist is trying to make a name for himself and takes a photo that is bound to garner some attention. I won't give any spoilers, but that picture, and the story behind it, causes a whole domino effect for several people...some good, some bad, and some trying to find their way. I felt the author did great justice to this story, and I was just as intrigued with the back story included at the end, explaining how she got the idea for this novel, and the background behind an actual photo with similar circumstances. Do yourself a favor, read this book. I think you'll love it.

Life was hard in the 1930’s. A random photograph of one family’s desperation sets a series of dramatic events in motion. The journalist who took the picture, conscience will not let him forget about the outcome of his newspaper story. Great character’s with morals that has the reader rooting for their success. I could not put this one down!

Sold on a Monday
Kristin McNorris
I received this copy from NetGalley for an honest Review:
#NetGalley #SoldOnAMonday
They say 'a picture is worth a thousand words'; well whoever 'they' are they are right about that! This book was a wonderful story about a photo; one that spoke to a newspaperman in the 1930's enough that his first big story came out of this photo that he took of a couple of kids on a porch with a 'children for sale' sign.
The story is a re-imagining of a really photo taken back in the day and the story definitely has twists and turns enough to keep you wondering how the characters and those children make out.
I truly enjoyed the world concept. I loved the characters who were very much what you would expect from that time era with a bit more spunk for the way they lived their lives and the chances they took ignorer to find those 'sold' children.
There's a love story inter-woven, family issues, morals and values.
A truly enjoyable read!

Historical fiction set in 1931 Pennsylvania and inspired by a picture of a mother trying to sell her children during the great depression. Beautifully told and very current given the horrifying US tragedy right now in 2018 where children are separated from their parents at Mexico's border and kept in cages. Worse than having to sell one's children because of poverty, much worse. This thought-provoking novel is a wonderful read, but an underlying message for me is that we seem never to learn from history.

Sold on a Monday by Kristina Mc Morris is a warm touching story about lily and Ellis who work for a. Newspaper in Philadelphia. Ellis writes a story that will jumpstart his career but the photograph that headlines the story is accidentally destroyed. So Ellis tries to recreate the situation but can’t do it so he creates a subsitute which is a lie. Only Lily and Ellis know of the deception. Guilt plaques them and they set out to make things right. There is excellent character development in this story. You gradually find out about Lily, her secret son and her family. And Ellis has a father who seems to only care about the brother that died. They are good people and you can only hope that they will overcome many obstacles and succeed.

"Sold on a Monday" was an old-fashioned sort of book and very readable. It takes place in 1931 in the middle of the Depression. An ambitious and somewhat desperate reporter takes a picture that will affect the lives of the people in the picture and many of those who only see it. The book reminded me a bit of all the Grace Livingston Hill books I read when I was young. They were books that championed characters with strong morals and goodness in their hearts, which is not often written about today. It took awhile for the hero to come around, but in the end, he found what was important in life.

I requested this book because the cover grabbed me, and I'm so glad I did! Great, heart-wrenching story about hard times and families during the depression. It's so horrible to think that this stuff really went on in our history. I did wish the ending had a little more to it. It wrapped up some things, but left a lot undone. It's a book I will definitely be recommending.

Another historic fiction about children for sale, only this time it is a bit misleading. As the reporters unravel the self created story, the mob makes an appearance, the long standing family rift heals, and love finds a way :) It was readable but not gripping.

I was given an advanced copy of this title in exchange for an honest review. This book was so very well written. It captivated me the entire time!

Started and stopped this book several times over the past month and still less than half way through when I finally gave up. Don't understand the high ratings and strong reviews. But this book was obviously not for me.

Sold on a Monday took me back to the Great Depression in this heart-breaking and beautiful story. The story walks us through how a mother could sell her kids, the why behind it and the after-affects. The book has so much emotion that I didn’t just want to know what happened, I needed to know what happened. This author can expertly spin a story, while creating fully realized characters. This is a story that sets you inside the plot and shows rather than tells.

One newspaper photograph started a chain of events that would disrupt a family and connect several complete strangers in ways they could have never imagined. When young fledgling reporter Ellis Reed saw a sign that read 2 Children for Sale posted on a local farmhouse, he felt compelled to photograph the children in question by the sign. With the recent Depression of 1929, many U.S. families were in dire straits and the photo definitely captured the sign of the times. Ellis was surprised later to hear that his Editor wanted him to write a feature story to accompany the photograph for his newspaper, The Philadelphia Examiner. He then soon learned that the only copy of the photograph had been ruined in an office mishap. Ellis went back to the farmhouse where he took the photo several weeks ago, only to learn that the family had moved on. To avoid having his first byline story on the cutting room floor, Ellis had to think quickly. On a whim, he decided to restage the photograph with two neighboring kids, using the abandoned sign. When he captured young Ruby and Calvin Dillard’s picture and paid their mom Geraldine $2.00, Ellis had no idea how this action was going to alter all of their lives and how he would later be haunted by this impulsive decision. Lily Palmer was a young woman working in a clerical role at the newspaper who had secrets and dreams of her own. She befriended Ellis and joined his quest to right the wrongs that had been the result of his newspaper article.

This book had so many layers. It provided insights into the Great Depression era and the newspaper business. It was a poignant tale of family, loss, love, and secrets. It also demonstrated how one small action could have consequences rippling far beyond where it began. This was a book that I thoroughly enjoyed reading….it captured my interest right away and kept me interested. It was my first Kristina McMorris novel. Now I want to go back and read everything that she has written!

Ellis Reed, an eager modern young man of his day, decides to seek his fortune in the feisty world of journalism. He starts out as the social page report for a paper in Philadelphia. But the success of his reporting leads to a better job with the Tribune in New York City. On his first day on the job in the city of gangsters, speakeasies and fast-living, Al Capone had just been found guilty of tax evasion. Thomas Edison had just died. Thirty thousand Hitlerites had paraded through Germany and Japan was plowing through Manchuria. And the Great Depression had America in its grip. It was 1931.

A blend of historical fiction and romance, this book will captivate you with its characters and storytelling. The story comes to life when Reporter Ellis takes a photo that he knows will showcase his first feature story- 2 raggedy kids, by a sign “Children for Sale.” But, he later makes a mistake with the photo that sets a tragedy in motion. Pictures, like people, so often were not as they appeared.

Ellis’ co-worker, secretary and hopeful journalist Lily, feels compassion for the children in the photo and encourages Ellis to right the wrong that transpired from his initial mistake with the photo. Lily is smart, skilled, brave and a loving single mother. Many harrowing and exciting events bombard Ellis and Lily as they seek to unravel the mysterious story behind the poor children’s plight.


The historical part of the story is captivating and highly readable. America is coming of age, just as Ellis and Lily are, and we get to see the world through their eyes. The author recreates for us this wild and vigorous world of the 1930’s.
Hope and progress vied with poverty and crime and mobsters and politicians were too often intertwined. Journalists and newspapers shared the stories of the day with exuberance. And American families tried to love and survive. A man’s gotta do what’s best for his family.

The romance part of the story involves Lily, Ellis and Clayton, a successful reporter, described as a thoughtful, successful, dashing man. We also read about the backstories of Ellis and Lily. The romance and the backstories weren’t as compelling for me as the historical story.

Readers, you will keep turning the pages of this book, as it is engaging and suspenseful. I will you decide if the plot is a bit farfetched or if it is just whizbang good storytelling. Recommend!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC. This is my honest review.

Sooo good! I really enjoyed this book. It gives a glimpse into the horrors that befell families after the stock market crash of 1929 and the ensuing great depression. I say a glimpse because this story is told from the point of view of a newspaper reporter and photographer. Ellis Reed finds himself in rural Laurel Township, PA in August of 1931; waiting for his automobile engine to cool down; when he sees two boys sitting on a porch and he snaps a picture of them. Then, the words on the crude wooden sign near the boys registers in his mind and he is appalled.
This seemingly innocuous action will have far reaching consequences. It’s the ripple effect that we so often hear about.
I found this story to be well written. The characters came to life for me. The story conveys the emotions, etiquette, social rules/acceptability of the times and the economic hardships that so many faced. Bravo Kristina McMorris.