This story is about the McAlister siblings. It’s hard to imagine children that young (Grace was only seven) being placed on a boat in London; shipped to Canada; and then becoming indentured servants for families in Canada. This story reminded me of the Orphan Train series by Joan Lowery Nixon, about the children in New York who were placed on trains, then placed with new families across the country. Some were placed in very good homes, but some found themselves extremely mistreated with no one to advocate for them. Turansky has done a good job incorporating facts about these children and presenting their difficult situations to us through the story of the McAlister family. Katie, Garth, and Grace were sent to a foundling home when their mother became ill and in the hospital. They were sent to Canada by ship, and placed with families around Canada. They found themselves separated from each other and had little hope of being reunited. Laura, their adult sister, risks much to travel to Canada to find them. Her faith is tested, and she must trust God’s guidance to accomplish the impossible.

The book "No Ocean Too Wide" by Carrie Turansky was a great book. It was filled with intriguing story lines. It is placed in World War I I, when underprivileged children were being shipped from England to Canada with the premise of them having a better life there. It was sometimes far from the truth. They were sent to farm's for farm labor.
Carrie Turansky is a great author, whom I will continue reading. She had a gift of bringing the characters to life. I feel in love with the characters and the story line.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes a great book!

No Ocean Too Wide Book 1
By Carrie Turansky
4.5 Stars

Turansky spins a beautiful tale of the MCalister family. When their mother falls ill the three youngest children are taken to an orphanage in England and then immigrated to Canada in the hope of a better life. Their older sister sets off on a whirlwind ride to find them and bring them home.

You become close to the characters and feel their loss when they are apart. Sweet, clean romance. Lots of faith content that's written in a natural way. It felt like the way real people talk to God, it wasn't thrown in there just for it to be there.
I thoroughly enjoyed and am looking forward to book 2 when it releases.

The premise of this book was very interesting to me. I didn't really know anything about these home children and was eager to read this. It reminds me of the orphan wagon trains in the US.

This was actually a pretty hard book to read since a lot of these home children were not treated like children, but rather as servants. But it was enlightening and educational.

I loved Andrew from his first appearance in the book and I also loved Laura. The small romantic plot was a nice touch.

Unfortunately this book dragged a little for me, but overall I appreciated the story.

I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This is my honest review.

Wow, what an excellent read! I was sucked into the first page and devoured this book in no time. I love an uplifting book, and this is no exception (despite hardship, there is still hope). Thank you for allowing me to review this!

A captivating tale that strings together fiction and history and opens the readers' eyes to a part of history that isn't so wonderful. I had not realized that child emigration was such a thing until reading this story; after finishing I appreciate the writer's research and information that she shared even more so than when I started and assumed this was a fictional tale only. I enjoyed the fictional aspect of this book as well as it is an easy story to follow and the read is quick. The descriptions of the times is also enjoyable for anyone interested in stepping back in time. I received an advanced electronic copy from Waterbrook & Multnomah. These are my own honest thoughts on the book. I look forward to the next book in this series.

This was an interesting and informative story about how some children were taken from their family and sent from England to Canada to work. Sadly sometimes the children were not treated well and there were some cases where the parent or parents didn't even have the chance to recover the child before they were shipped off. I had never heard of this sad circumstance before I read this book. I definitely recommend this book and author. I am looking forward to the seat next year.

I enjoyed this novel and learned about the movement in England that was similar to America’s “orphan trains”. The novel ends with no full completion of the children’s stories, so I’m sure another novel is coming. The genre is a mash-up of historical fiction, Christian, and romance. Carrie Turansky always writes about believable and likable characters and you can count on her for a “clean read”. I look forward to the sequel!

Thank you for my e-copy via Net Galley!

The story opens in London 1909 with fourteen-year-old, Katie McAlister wishing her older sister Laura were home. Katie did what needed to be done, she left her seven-year-old twin brother, Garth and sister, Grace sleeping while she ran alone into the night, seeking help for her very sick mother. After Katie gets help, she realizes she must send a note to her sister Laura. She needed to come home ASAP.

I instantly felt for these children, their mother and their situation. It was heart wrenching to read about how this family is torn apart through no fault of their own, messages that do not get to Laura in time, her mother not getting well fast enough. With no food in the home and no one to care for the three small children the police take them to the orphanage. The reader isn’t sure if any of the siblings will see each other again.

Katie, Laura, Garth and Grace’s mom, Edna McAlister, is a hard-working woman who is desperately trying to keep her family together after her husband died. She’s grateful Laura came home to help get her children back. She feels helpless as she heals.

Laura McAlister is a strong, self-assured young lady, the oldest sibling in her family. She has been working as a ladies’ maid at a large estate about an hour away from her family. She rushes home when she gets the news about her mom but it’s too late. Laura tries to go through the proper channels to see her siblings, but she is turned away. She then runs into Andrew Fraser, whose an up-right, wealthy young lawyer, she first met at his mother’s estate; were Laura worked. They are both surprised to see each other at the orphanage. Andrew and his mentor are given the task of looking into what is happening with the deported children. It’s because of this new role he meets Laura again. He’s drawn to her and ends up helping her discover what’s happened to her siblings.

I couldn’t believe this families situation goes from bad to worse. This is an eye-opening read, with heartbreaking detail, as to how some children got placed in orphanage without parental consent and how they get “placed” without parental consent as well. Some of these children were used like slaves not treated as children and were living in horrible conditions. This was a plan that was supposed to aid the poor and orphaned children, but it had major flaws which endangered more children.

Once a child was in the system It was almost impossible to get them out. The process to get them out was exasperating and costly. Laura has to think outside the box to help her family reconnect. I was grateful she reached out to Andrew Fraser who was happy to help her.

This story is heartbreaking in parts, and heartwarming and hopeful in others. I was glad to read that there will be a sequel. McAllister’s family saga continues in book two. This makes for a great book club pick as there is so much to discuss.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from netgalley. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Nora St. Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins! www.bookfun.org
The Book Club Network blog www.psalm516.blogspot.com
Book Fun Catalogue front page www.bookfun.org

What a great story! Did you know that England sent orphans to families in Canada? Much like the orphan trains to the Midwest, English orphan ships carried destitute and abandoned children to new homes across the sea. But sometimes, the children sent weren’t abandoned—or even orphaned. This book was a intriguing story following the McAlister family as they fight the broken system that separated them. I enjoyed reading this and am excited about the other books-to-be in this series!

Rated PG for mild distressing events.
—briefly mentions child abuse/sexual abuse (not the main subject of the book)
—no language
—no sex
—little violence

I received a free copy of this ebook from NetGalley in return for an honest opinion.

No Ocean Too Wide touches on a fascinating yet tragic event in history, that of about 70 years in which more than 100,000 impoverished British children were sent to Canada for a better life. Those taking them in were told they were orphans, but history has shown that this wasn't always true.

It's wonderful that Turansky chose to tell a story about something that impacted so many people. I can't imagine being told that my children or my younger siblings had been sent to across the ocean without my consent, or even my knowledge. Turansky shows this plight through the perspective of both one of those sent as well as one desperate to bring them home.

For me, there was a significant amount of telling rather than showing. This is definitely a personal preference of mine as a reader, and I'm sure not something that bothered other readers. It's just not my preferred style of writing. Even so, I found this to be an easy story to follow and one in which the characters are easy to root for. Laura McAlister has taken a position as a lady's maid in order to send the funds back home to help care for her family. The system is unforgiving of families in need, and through a series of terrible acts by those uncaring and unwilling to get children back to their families, the youngest three McAlisters are sent to Canada, and Laura tries her best to get them back. Katie McAlister gets the roughest end of the deal, with her story line bringing out the harshness of the "caregivers" that took in the children.

Though there is a degree of resolution to the story, there is more yet to be told about the McAlister family, and we won't know the full extent of their journey until the next book in the series.

I received an advanced copy of this novel; this review is my honest opinion.

I loved this book! I hadn't read any other books of Carrie's, but now I want to read them all! I found No Ocean Too Wide to be a beautiful story that showed me some of the truths of emigration. Each of the characters were easily likeable and relatable, and drew me into their story. I can't wait to read the other books in this McAlister Family series.

I received an Advanced Reader's Copy from the publisher, but this review is all my own!

Four siblings from London are separated by the Atlantic Ocean when the mother of the family takes ill and ends up in the hospital. The three youngest are rounded up by social services and taken to a group home where they are, quite quickly, sent to the coast to be sent to Canada in a rehousing program. The oldest sister, Laura, who works as a maid for a wealthy family, is not permitted to take custody of the siblings. Her efforts are rebuffed at every turn. Her plan is to follow the younger ones to Canada, in hopes of finding them and bringing the family back together.
The story also involves the son of the wealthy family. He is a solicitor with a heart for social justice. One of his new assignments is researching the results of the resettling program for indigent children who have been sent to Canada.
Social class was a big deal in that time period. The London and Canada parts of the story are very engaging and you root for the children to overcome their circumstances. Although I enjoyed the story, I found the ending too abrupt and not believable. At the very end, it didn’t seem that there was enough time for a real romance to take root.

Wow!
This is an amazing account of history I didn’t know about. I can’t even imagine what life was like for the parents of all the children taken from them. What the children and the parents must have gone through is mind blowing. The misfortune and misunderstandings that caused so many to be displaced is saddening.
This is the first book by this author for me and the writing is great.
I look forward to reading more by this author.

No Ocean Too Wide is the story of siblings separated by the broken system of child emigration from England to Canada. Laura McAlister worked as a ladies maid for a wealthy family when she received word that her mother was ill and her siblings had been taken to a children’s home. Before she can claim them, her sisters and brother are sent to Canada to work as domestics. She travels to Canada to find them, but comes up against more than one obstacle.

Andrew Frasier is the son of the family Laura worked for, and a solicitor for a London firm investigating the child emigration system for the British government. When he gets tangled up in Laura’s family situation, he promises to bring the siblings back together. Amidst legal issues and issues of the heart, Laura and Andrew work together to find her siblings and bring them home.

This was my first Carrie Turansky book, and it will not be the last. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series to find out what happens to the McAlister family. The characters are wonderfully alive and I found myself thinking about them when I wasn’t reading, wondering what was going to happen next. I was very much emotionally connected with these characters and despaired and rejoiced with each plot turn. The settings were beautifully painted, the historical background was interesting, and the ending gave just the right amount of resolution and mystery to push me forward to the next book. Highly recommended.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I liked this book. I liked the characters as well as the storyline. I was not aware of the situation with orphans in England being sent to Canada in the late 19th to early 20th centuries until I read the book. It gives you details of a time that we should never forget of how children and families were treated. Children were literally treated like slaves for the most part. Some were made to be part of the family but others were treated badly and if anything went wrong they always received the blame. Carrie Turansky has given us a book that is tragic but at the same time one that gives hope and faith in God the Father. The developing romance between Laura and Andrew is one I enjoyed very much. I recommend this historical book to anyone who loves history and learning about happenings in our past. This was a complimentary copy from the publisher through NetGalley. All opinions expressed are my own.

No Ocean Too Wide
A Novel

by Carrie Turansky




WaterBrook & Multnomah

Multnomah

Christian , Historical Fiction

Pub Date 25 Jun 2019


I am reviewing a copy of No Ocean to Wife through Multnomah and Netgalley:



From 1869 to 1939 more than a 100,000 British Children who were impoverished were sent overseas to Canada in hopes that they would have a chance at a better life.


After they tragically lost their Father, The McAlister Family is living on the edge of being in the poorhouse in London in 1908, when the eldest daughter Laura goes to work at an estate an hour away to help provide for her family. When Edna McAlister, there Mother becomes seriously ill and is hospitalized, Laura’s eight year old twin brother Garth and his twin sister Kate are forced into the Orphanage
before Laura is notified of what happened at home. When Laura learns of what happened and that her brother and sister may be sent to Canada, she knows she must act before they are sent away.



A wealthy young lawyer and heir to the estate where Laura is working, Andrew Fraser discovers that the practice of finding home for these penniless children may not be all it seems. Laura and Andrew soon form an unlikely partnership but can they get to Laura’s brother and sister in time?


I found No Ocean to Wide to be a powerfully written, strong historical novel, one that is worthy of five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Such an emotional journey of children who were taken from their widowed mother and sent across the ocean while their older sister must go after them. For all fans of historical fiction, you really want to take this journey.

London - 1909

Katie McAlister, age 14, has summoned her neighbor, Mrs. Graham, to help her ailing mother. Katie is very frightened because she recently lost her father in a train accident. Mrs. Graham insists that Mrs. McAlister be taken to the hospital. It turns out she is gravely ill with pneumonia and will need to stay there for the near future.

With no one to care for them, the McAlister children, Katie, her twin brother, Garth, and little sister, Grace, are taken to the Grangeford Children’s Home. Their older sister, Laura, 21, is working as a lady’s maid for Mrs. Frasier in St. Albans. It is a large estate called Bolton. When Laura learns of what has happened at home, she requests some time away and Mrs. Frasier agrees. In addition, her son, Andrew, gives her money to help her. Andrew is a kind and intelligent man who is not content to sit back at his home, but wants to work as a solicitor.

Laura is shocked to find that she is not able to even see the children and that they will be among groups of them that will be sent to Canada as part of many others who are poor and homeless children. They will be united with a family where they will work and earn their way. Shocked that she is unable to stop the government sending her siblings away, she decides to take matters into her own hands. She joins the escort people who take the children and enlists the help of Andrew and his solicitor partner, who are also doing an investigation into this themselves. Together, they go to Canada and search for the McAlister children. Some children are in good homes, while the majority are treated dreadfully. Will they be able to get the McAlister children back?

Unfortunately, this sad thing is a true event that was awful. Both the UK and Canada bear blame and shame for this.

Wow, what a book. The twists and turns this book takes will leave your head spinning and your heart reeling. Just when I thought I would put the book down to do some thing else for the day the chapter would leave me hanging and I would have to se what would happen next.

The fact that this is based on true events is heartbreaking. To think families could so easily be torn apart without all the information needed is scary.

I think Carrie gets better with each book and this one is probably my favorite so far.


A copy of this book was given to me through Netgalley.com. All opinions are my own.