“Home for Erring and Outcast Girls” is a thoughtful and touching story not to be missed! It flawlessly weaves together the history of the Berachah Home for Erring Girls (a home for unwed and troubled women in Texas in the early 1900’s) with Cate, a present-day University librarian. Throughout the novel, the author ever so skillfully examines not only the social impact of being an unwed mother but also the devastating personal impact. And by connecting the past history of the Berachah Home with the present day story of Cate, we see that as far as we have come in accepting that there is not simply one way right way to live to unlock the doors to happiness, we still have much much farther to go! The fact that the novel was so well researched and steeped in fact as evidenced in the Author’s Notes made the book so much richer and meaningful for me. “Home for Erring and Outcast Girls” is a well researched, well written and thought-provoking story that will stay with you long after you have read the last page! I was honored to receive a free advanced copy from NetGalley and the Publisher, Crown Publishing in exchange for an honest review.

I had such high hopes for this book because I absolitely loved the author's debut book. This one was very difficult to get moving for me and when it did, I really didn't like it. The characters were flat IMO and again, I went in with high expectations so the bar was quite high. The plot was interesting enough but the writing style was off and just made the feel of the story in and out of the times represented very choppy.

I enjoyed this book and gave it 3 stars. I really enjoyed the relationship between Lizzy and Mattie but had a hard time connecting with the present day Cate. Normally when the book shifts back and forth between time periods and characters, I enjoy the present day character more but in this book I sort of dreaded the present day Cate parts. I can tell the author did her research and I overall enjoyed the book.

This was both an endearing, wonderful book but also a heart-breaking story. I was sobbing while I read this story. I touched my heart, I loved the characters and I cared about what happened to them all. That includes the women in the current time and in the past.
I have never read any books by this author but I will definitely be looking for more by her.

Loved this book!! I’m always drawn to stories of resilient women and Home for Erring and Outcast Girls delivers. I was immediately captivated by the horrific predicaments of Lizzie and Mattie, two “broken” women in turn-of-the-20th century Texas, as well as modern day librarian Cate, whose own back-story is also deeply emotional. Julie Kibler shares a little known part of history in a sensitive and moving manner which adds to the appeal of this book. Always nice to learn something new.

My only constructive feedback is that the names of Lizzie and Mattie were a little too close making it somewhat confusing in the beginning.

The cover of the book is beautiful. The font very clean and appealing. A winner.

Thank you NetGalley and Crown Publishing for allowing me to read this wonderful book early. Rated: 4.25!

Many thanks to Crown Publishing for this advanced reader digital copy!

Truly interesting read based on historical events of unwed mothers or homeless women and pulls in nicely with modern times with a college librarian who comes across old documents about the Baruchah Home of the early 1900’s. Occasionally it was hard going back and forth from the 2 historical characters, Mattie and Lizzie, but their stories become clearer as the book goes along.

I found myself drawn in immediately and found all the main characters likable and interesting. It’s also great to learn a bit of history as well!

I give it a solid 4 stars!

I loved this novel! My favorite aspect of historical fiction is when the story switches from current day to the past. We see so many years which hold their own unique stories. These characters have so much to say. Beautifully written with very developed characters.
Thank you NetGalley.

I loved this one. It was a good historical fiction back spotlighting a little known history in this country. I felt the plot and characters were we’ll fleshed out.
The author is a master at writing about hard subjects
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for letting me review this book

Thank you to Net Galley and Crown Publishing for the chance to read and review this book. This is the story of Mattie and Lizzie, who met at the Berachah House for the Redemption and Protection of Erring Girls, a home for young women who are pregnant, poor, etc. The home was opened in 1903 by a couple that wanted to help these desperate young women.. Both young ladies have a very hard life and end up at the house when faced with nowhere else to go. They build a friendship that lasts the rest of their lives. There is also a more current story line, but I did not find Cate's story very interesting. I found Mattie's and Lizzie's story to be more interesting.

I love that the book talked tackled real life treatment of women and pregnant, unwed young women in the first half of the 20th Century, The timeframe in the book spanned from 1905-2017, from the point of view of 3 women. Two from the earlier time period. Girls who ended up in the Berachah Industrial Home in Arlington, TX. The third woman is from a more recent time and is the one digging into the past to know more about the first two.

I found the narration based on the point of view of three different women interesting. The author did a good job keeping the mystery about each woman’s past going. There are some areas where I felt like the story dragged on, such as the Lizzie’s backstory towards the end of the book. Perhaps that could have been added early on or it could have been shortened?
The one thing that didn’t sit right with me is the revelation that Cate’s River was a girl. Why make her a girl?

How I loved this book! Having lived 65 years in the area of this book's setting, I never knew this rich history. Julie has beautifully fleshed out this story. I was entranced with the characters and didn't want their journeys to end.

I really enjoyed reading this book and learning about the home and couldn't wait to get to the end to find out if it was real. I thought the dual timelines were well done and both told great stories of historical "sins". Today we look at these things differently and I know that there is still bigotry and hatred in the world but i believe every day hearts are won to love.

I feel like I've read this story many times before. The writing was ok, the characters interesting but nothing unexpected or exceptional.

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Reminded me of the Orphan Train. Will recommend to my readers and also to my book club.

This book was based on the history of the Berachah Industrial Home in Texas. The author took the history of two of the girls and told their story from the point of view of a modern day researcher. This time jump novel covers the story of three main characters through multiple time periods. I enjoyed reading about the history of the girls who entered the home and their struggles and triumphs. The book jumped from the early to mid 1900's telling the story of Lizzie and Mattie to the late 1990s and 2017 where a researcher is discovering the history of these two girls and relating it to her own life events. There were many surprises throughout the book. Some I enjoyed and some that were hard to read because of their nature and what they did to the characters in the story. Those who are interested in history and this time period where pregnant, unmarried women were seen as outcasts will be interested in this story.

Let me begin with some personal prejudices. I was adopted and my biological parents weren’t married. It irritates me to no end when we put labels on people, women in particular who through no fault of their own end up in difficult situations. That said, I’m a huge fan of Julie Kibler’s first book, Calling Me Home.

This story is told from three main characters point of view. Lizzy and Mattie are women who are In need of the services of the Berachah Industrial Home which took in women who were pregnant. Cate is a archival librarian in modern day who works at the university in Texas where many of the records of the Berachah home reside. The chapters alternate between these three woman and we learn about how they came to be in their current situation and how each handles their situation.

The novel is divided in three sections. The first two seemed long and the alternating points of view seemed to keep the reader at a distance from the three women. The most engaged I found myself was when Maddie and Lizzie were engaged in conversation. I didn’t fully connect with Cate u til the third section of the book. This last part gained my full attention and kept me riveted. I wish I could say the same for the first two.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this advanced copy.

I received a free Kindle ARC of this book from netgalley.com.

The little prologue at the start of the book seemed wordy and unnecessarily confusing. I almost closed the kindle screen right there, but I stuck it out and it improved quite a bit.
This story is based partially on real people who believed that a "fallen woman" shouldn't be separated from her baby which was quite shocking for that time period. They took in women and nurtured them back to physical and emotional and spiritual health after childbirth. The POV changes between different women in the home as well as a modern woman growing up. These women all had compelling stories. In this #metoo world, we see how commonplace it was and still is in many ways for men to take what they wanted without any negative results for them while women bare the brunt of the scars.

Home for Erring and Outcast Girls is a very beautifully written heart wrenching book. It is historical fiction at its best with a bit of mystery thrown in. This amazing story is well thought out and I found the characters remarkable and endearing . It examines the dark paths that lead to ruin, and the steps we must take to return. It showcases tremendous female courage and inner strength, difficult choices, heartbreak and unbearable loss. This a deeply moving, unforgettable book. I highly recommend it. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the advance reader copy of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.

What a wonderful novel! Home for Erring and Outcast Girls is a historical fiction that follows the lives of several women from the early 1900’s to present day. Even though this novel spans a century, the women’s journeys are all brave and courageous! I found the characters remarkable and endearing and because of that I couldn’t put my kindle down until I was finished. I was truly surprised at the many well-timed twists and turns. Julie Kibler does a fantastic job combining history, mystery and women’s fiction and I found the storyline extremely original! Home for Erring and Outcast Girls is a 5 star gem that everyone should put on their reading list! I am looking forward to reading Julie Kibler’s debut novel (Calling Me Home) in the very near future! Home For Erring and Outcast Girls is an absolute must read!

This book takes you on by just a journey through time, but through emotions. The lives you are made privy to in this very eloquently and respectfully written love letter of a novel are heartwarming and heartbreaking and so inspiring. It opens your eyes to struggles ancient and current with vast differences and scary similarities, especially given the length of time these injustices have had to be made right. Historical fiction (in some cases fact in this book) aren’t what I’d call my “go to genre” of book, however with more and more books like this in the genre, I’m quickly becoming an insatiable fan.