Thanks to Netgalley and Crown Publishing for a digital galley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a solid historical fiction about an important role that the Berachah Home for the Redemption and Protection of Erring Girls in Texas played in supporting and providing a place for women and their children. Similar to other books of this genre, there is a contemporary timeline and a historical timeline (early 1900's). The different women-Cate, Mattie, and Lizzie represent the many women who have experienced trauma and heartache.

There's no doubt in my mind that this is a bookclub contender.

I just wished during my entire reading experience that I could have liked it more. I know, I know, we reviewers often fall back on that line and it might not appear genuine. But this is one of those books that I REALLY wish that I could just rave about and sob into my pillow or have difficulty talking about with a reader friend. Because these characters(in all timelines) really experience hardship.

But I felt the pace was really slow and even though I tried to put it aside and read other books and then try and return to it, I just never reached that place where it was any better than a 2 star rating for me.


No need to throw the rotten vegetables at me. I have already thrown the basket over my head.


Goodreads review 18/06/19
Expected publication 23/07/19

Dual timelines make this a moving and resonant story about the power of love and friendship and the things we must overcome to find ourselves again. I love this one and recommend it on Modern Mrs Darcy's Hot Summer Books list.

Really good historical fiction based on many real "erring and outcast" girls who lived in the Berachah Home in Arlington TX intermingled with a lesser modern story that mimics (in some ways) those stories. Lizzie and Mattie find their way to the Home in very different ways and their friendship and lives apart from each other is well-researched and very much alive. Cate's backstory and present life isn't quite as real, and I'd hoped that somehow she or Lauren would have more of a personal connection to the earlier stories but, no. Lauren's story is sketchy, and a little heavy handed at the end, which felt unnecessary.

eARC provided by publisher.

I loved Julie Kibler’s debut novel Calling Me Home, one of my favorites. I was grateful to received an ARC of Home for Erring and Outcast Girls, from Net Galley and Penguin Random House, for an honest review.
This novel was very well researched and a fascinating history of the Berachah Home for wayward girls in Texas. It’s the story of Lizzie and her daughter who seek refuge there, after being abandoned by her husband, that has used her for gain, by lending her out to other men. A short time after they arrive, Mattie comes along with her dying child Cap. They make their home in this tight knit and rigidly controlled religious community.
While this story was aching to be told, I struggled to keep characters straight, as it jumped back and forth in time. The whole story of Cate, both her early teens and her post college life, in which she researched and followed the history of the Berachah Home, just added to the confusing cast of characters and timelines.
I wanted to like this book, more than I can say. Wonderful story, painstaking research and a talented author, with the ability to tell a compelling tale with well developed characters. This just didn’t come together for me, although
I will take away the heartbreak of Lizzie, Mattie and all the other Erring girls that found their way to the refuge in turn of the century Texas. Their story needed to be told, another bad mark on our country’s history of abusing women and treating them as second class citizens, which unfortunately continues to occur. It is worth the read, to hear their story and their struggles,
and the road they paved for those of us that followed!

A fascinating read, full of rich detail and characters I cared about. I found Cate’s story distracting from the main storyline of Mattie and Lizzie, however. Otherwise, a compassionate, good read.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced reading copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Home for Erring and Outcast Girls by Julie Kibler in a fabulous duel era historical fiction novel that interweaves between current day Cate (a young woman who works in a library of archives at UT) and Lizzie and Mattie (early 1900s Arlington, Texas at a home for unwed mothers).
This novel is fiction, however is still based on a real house that helped shelter and care for “fallen” women at that time, Berachah Home in Arlington, TX.
The author comments too that the two main characters that have been through tortures and sadness unknown where based off of real women that sheltered there at one point.

The demons and trials that Lizzie and Mattie went through are things that no woman should ever have to bear. These horrid events and abandonments shaped each woman into who they were. The friendship that grew despite those adversities was strong and resilient.

I enjoyed the dual era stories and the connection that was made later on in the text. I will not give more away then that, as the reader needs to go in to the book with a clean slate.

The stories of Lizzie, Mattie, and all the other unnamed women who had to struggle through horrific and depressing circumstances of that time, and to see how they were treated subsequently, is heartbreaking.

This is a novel about resilience despite the cards one has been dealt, and overcoming those hurdles to hopefully a brighter place in the end.

I enjoyed this novel, despite the tears that were shed in the process.

Thank you NetGalley and Crown Publishing for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

5/5 stars

Home for Erring and Outcast Girls is a fictional account of the Berachah Industrial Home. The real Berachah Home was founded by a minister and his wife, and took in "fallen" women. Many of these women became "fallen" at the hands of family members such as fathers or step brothers. The home provided them a safe place to live, raise any children that were products of such encounters and provide them with skills to one day support themselves. Throughout it existence, it helped hundreds survive and live productive lives.

This novel is a fictional account of the lives of some of those women. Kibler brings to life Lizzie, Mattie, Hallye and others with her beautiful writing style. Her descriptions of life during the 1920's and 30's paint a picture that many of us would find hard to endure. Yet these ladies do. They not only survive, but many end up thriving. I really enjoyed the historical aspect of this story.

I did not enjoy so much the present day story line that felt somewhat shoved into this book. I didn't find Cate all that relatable. There seemed to be a disconnect between the author trying to tie Cate's experience in with those of the women at the Berachah Home. I felt it would have been more interesting and compelling if she just focused on those at the Home and the experiences they lived thru. Cate's reveal at the end is also not that surprising.

Even though I was not on board with Cate, I still enjoyed the read. While fictional, it did have hints of historical accuracy. Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC for review.

This was a touching read based on factual events. The central theme focuses on a home for girls unwed mothers. The story flips from early 20th century to present day. Cate meets a young woman who becomes her protege and she stumbles upon the girls' home and as she delves into its history she has to face her own unpleasant past and decide what to do. I liked the author's historical note and I also thought the cover art was great. Readers will definitely identify with the book's themes of loss, reconnection, and reconciliation.

I received an ARC for this book. I'm conflicted in my review about this novel because there were parts I really loved. The historical flashbacks to the original home for erring and outcast girls were a highlight of the book for me. I also appreciated the author's efforts to tie the present day plot of the book into that of the historical characters. However, I found the book to be overly long, and at times hard to follow - there were a lot of small stories to try to keep up with and follow. I also wasn't overly thrilled with the ending!

The book description made me excited to read about the home in Texas, but I found the book to be slow moving all the way through. I kept waiting for something exciting to happen but it never did. I liked all of the girls introduced and appreciated the historical accuracy, but it was too slow moving to keep me interested.

I loved Julie Kibler's first book, Calling Me Home. I qas so excited to get my hands on an ARC of this book!

Julie did not disappoint! I was quickly transported in time to The Berachah Industrial Home in the early 1900's where ruined girls were sent. Instead of being sent away to have their babies only to be returned home, they were encouraged to keep their babies, reform their ways and learn useful skills care for their child.

The stories off Mattie and Lizzie and how they grew together as friends and ladies. Both making very different choices but still managing to suppet either other and becoming the family neither had.

The modern day Cate and how she tries so hard to run from her past, only to be brought face to face with it.

While each story is different, they are similar.

The real-life Berachah Industrial Home for the Redemption of Erring Girls is the setting of this fictionalized story addressing the lives of unwed mothers and their children around the turn of the 20th century. Jumping between the story of Cate, a librarian and archivist researching the home in 2018, and several women who lived there between its founding in 1903 and its closure in 1935 (it was reopened briefly as an orphanage in 1936 but only remained in operation until 1942), the story is largely one of female discovery and empowerment. While there are several men in the story, the only constant male presence is J.T. Upchurch, the Methodist reverend who established the home with his wife Maggie Mae as a form of missionary work. Modern day Cate finds that she's fascinated by the home, specifically two women, Mattie and Lizzie (both based on real women who were residents of the home) and she and her young friend Laurel provide a parallel commentary on women and their choices. The story focuses mainly on day to day life; none of the women upon whom the book focuses wonderful blood relatives and another charming element of the story is the way each finds her own family with those she chooses.

I find that I do have to agree with another reviewer who found Cate's story a little bit distracting from the story of the home. I found some elements of it effective and engaging, but the story of her childhood love seemed an unnecessary aside; its a bit as though Cate was a possible protagonist for another novel but Kibler couldn't come up with enough of an engaging story to feature her alone and instead wedged her into this one. Despite that I did find the novel engaging and enjoyed the read.

I received this novel as a digital ARC from Netgalley and Crown Publishing in exchange for an honest review

Calling Me Home is one of my all time favorite reads, so I was thrilled to be approved for Julie Kibler’s much-anticipated second novel.
Unfortunately, this one was very difficult for me to get through, for a variety of reasons.
I’ll start with my own personal issues with it: I am very bothered by abuse/death of children in books. I stay away from it if I can help it. In the beginning of this book, a sick toddler dies. Despite my trepidation, I kept reading. Later, there is mention of sexual abuse of children. A prevalent theme throughout is sexual abuse and violence towards women.
Secondly, I found the back and forth timeline of the book to be messy and unnecessary. The second timeline - taking place in 1999 and 2017 - didn’t seem to add much of anything to the story. Cate’s sections didn’t fit and were clunky, and the “twist” seemed forced.
The subject matter - the treatment of “fallen” women at the beginning of the 20th century and this very real home that took them in - is fascinating and deserves to be recognized. I just wish that this topic had been handled a little better by this novel. I also recognize that this novel, due to my own personal issues with some of the themes, was not for me.

In the early 1900's, Lizzie and Mattie met at the Berachah Home for the Redemption and Protection of Erring Girls. In the present day, Cate, a librarian, stumbles across a cemetery, with a placard for the Berachah Home. She uncovers an archives outlining the home's history, and shares this knowledge with a younger student.

I was a bit disappointed with this book. None of the characters seemed to have much of a personality. They all blended together after a while. The present day story line was completely unnecessary and did not add anything to the story. Overall, a bust.

The authors first book, Calling Me Home moved me in ways I couldn't believe. In this second novel, this moved me in a different way. I don't want to compare at all cause each are such different subjects.
Here we learn from three different perspectives, Lizzie, Maddie and Cate. Lizzie and Maddie are from the Past and Cate is in present time. Each character offered insight to lives some women are faced on a daily basis. I am very grateful that I didn't have to endure any of these hardships whether great or small. The author pulls you in from the beginning with these well developed characters that you want to know their back story. There was one storyline that had my jaw dropping. I called it a PLOT TWIST. Did not catch that at all! I felt my heart racing in anxiety for these women and the struggles. At the end I felt like some things were unanswered, Like whatever happen to her baby? Is that her baby grown up? Although I like things at the end nice and neatly wrapped up, I still felt this was a heart wrenching story to make you think. Now I want to visit the graveyard of these real people.
Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book. These are my thoughts and opinions.

Home for Erring and Outcast Girls tells the story of real-life inhabitants of the Berachah Industrial Home for the Redemption of Erring Girls, established near the turn of the 20h century in Arlington, Texas. The home, run by the Reverand J.T. Upchurch and his wife, Maggie May, provided a safe place for women, who often arrived on their doorstep pregnant. These girls or women were considered “fallen,” either because they had lost their virginity due to rape, had become pregnant out of wedlock, or had lived lives of prostitution, drinking or drugs. Unlike other “Christian” establishments, these women were allowed to keep their babies, and were cared for as long as needed.

This historical novel centers around two main characters, Mattie and Lizzie, who found their way to the home and became lifelong friends after suffering abuse and rejection by their families. Mattie and Lizzie were both based on real women who lived at Berachah.

I sadly found that so much of how women were looked upon and treated during Mattie’s and Lizzie’s time still holds true today, roughly 120 years later. This book couldn’t be more timely, with so much in the news now about women and their reproductive rights, and with such loud male “Christian” voices making decisions for us. The Berachah Home was a religious establishment, and given the time in history, it was a safe haven that apparently followed true Christian tenets. I found it interesting and so important that the author was so able to present both sides of Christianity, “the underbelly,” as she calls it in her author’s notes, and the real premise – loving each other and believing that we are all worthy.

There is a parallel storyline in this book, as well, and one that’s just as important. Cate Sutton, a modern-day university librarian, discovers the archives of the Home and becomes absorbed in researching details of what happened during that time, and especially to Mattie and Lizzie. Cate hires and befriends a student, Laurel, to help her piece together the story of the Home and what happened to the inhabitants. Both Cate and Laurel have their own secrets, and working together, they build a trust that finally helps each of them deal with their past, allowing them to move forward.

Beyond the actual history of the Home itself, and its “girls,” I enjoyed this fictional story of Cate and her young friend Laurel. The author, Julie Kibler, skillfully weaves a tale of these two that expands on the ostracization and misogyny that Mattie and Lizzie were forced to endure and that shaped their futures. She did a wonderful job of surprising the reader with an important detail about Cate about midway through the book. I possibly should have guessed the detail early on, but I didn’t, and that’s to the author’s credit and writing skill.

I was enthralled by this story. I’m a Texan, yet I had never heard of the Berachah Home until I read this book. After finishing it, I’ve already begun googling to find out more about it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for an ARC of this excellent novel in exchange for my honest review. I'm also deeply grateful for Julie Kibler for her sensitive portrayal of the way women, or those who follow different paths, are still often looked upon today.

5 stars

The subject matter of this historical novel is compelling, the characters are interesting, and the writing style is generally good. But I didn't feel that the story moved along well. It was very repetitive and I found myself skipping through most of the book just to find out what happened. I will not recommend this book.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
Thanks NetGalley!

I'm likely not the right audience for this book/review, as this isn't a genre i'd normally pick up. i was intrigued by the title and cover though.

The book shows the differences in how women were treated and tossed to the side in the 1900s and hwo they're treated in the 1980s. unwed pregnant women were sent to the "home" in the 1900s.

This historical fiction would be a great read for anyone interested in the above.

Loved, loved, loved this book!!

Once in a while, you come across a book that strikes a chord with you. One that settles in that space in your heart that is damaged or vulnerable; one that feels familiar. Home for Erring and Outcast Girls is one such book for me.

Julie Kibler weaves a story with many layers. Home for Erring and Outcast Girls brings to light the grievous treatment of women in the early 1900's. Women who were objectified and treated as worthless simply because they found themselves outside the socially-acceptable norm; women who were cast aside and left to fend for themselves, many dying as a result. The story shows the parallels between this time period and the 1980's, and although less extreme, that these prejudices were still widely present.

Mattie and Lizzie formed an unshakable friendship born from similar hardships. Mattie left pregnant by her beau; Lizzie pregnant by her stepbrother. Both girls thrown out by their families, and left to take care of their babies alone, on the streets. They both did despicable things to survive, until they found the Berachah Home for the Redemption and Protection of Erring Girls, a safe haven for women who found themselves morally astray.

Berachah helped young women mend from their personal tragedies. They were supported financially, emotionally and spiritually, leading them back toward a more pure life. Mattie and Lizzie learned to love themselves again, and to trust in their abilities. Although their bond was strong, Mattie felt an increasing desire to make it on her own. She set out to build a life outside Berachah, one she could live on her terms, and her own way.

A hundred years later, Cate, a university librarian, comes across the archives of the Berachah Home and becomes enthralled with Mattie and Lizzie; their lives; their secrets. She throws herself into their stories; drawn by an inner tragedy of her own, a tragedy that separated her from her family and the love of her life.

A beautiful story of tragedy and healing, Home for Erring and Outcast Girls gripped my heart and pulled me into the lives of these women in a plenary way. It's a stunning example of unwavering friendship, and the unconditional love a mother has for her child.

It was truly an eye-opening experience to learn that this novel is based on the lives of real women named Mattie and Lizzie, and their time at Berachah, which really existed and helped many women during this time in history. It truly made me love the story even more, causing these women to linger in my heart.

Beautifully written this is a story about girls who are sent to a home for those who have become pregnant among other things. It was an interesting look at life in a different time. I think fans of historical fiction will enjoy this.