NYC, 1910s - two young sisters, Luella and Effie Tildon, enjoy an affluent life growing up.  As they learn a secret about their father, however, Luella suddenly disappears.  Effie fears she has been sent to the House of Mercy, a home for unwanted girls where young girls are used and abused.  Effie succeeds in deliberately getting herself thrown into the House of Mercy to save her sister.  When she arrives, to her horror, her sister is not there.  Now she is trapped - can she escape or even survive?  She befriends a girl, Mabel, who she is hoping can help her escape and find Luella. 
This was a hard book for me to get through - while the characters and the story itself are very intriguing and well written, it was incredibly depressing.  And to think this was a reality in that time!  
Thanks to Serena Burdick, Harlequin and NetGalley for the ARC.

This is a book with a topic that seems universal--- atrocities, abuses, and ignorances directed at children and women.  In a political climate rife with the balance of religion vs. rights, this is a timely novel with lessons that can be applied to today's world as well.  We have come a long way in 100 years, and in other aspects, not so far at all.

The Girls With No Names by Serena Burdick was kind of like the parts of Annie where she's in the orphanage, but there wasn't any music, and it was just really, really sad. The story focuses on two sisters Luella and Effie. One day Luella disappears. Effie suspects that Luella might have gone to the House of Mercy, a home for wayward girls in their neighborhood. So, Effie decides she's going to get admitted to the house to find and rescue her sister. Except here's the thing, she's not there. However, Effie cannot just leave the House. This is her new reality, and she must do the work expected of her. The environment of the House of Mercy is rough, and it was hard to read about this place that was offering anything but mercy. It was also hard to read about the anguish Effie's family felt as they tried to find her. This was a really, really heavy read. I knew this might be the case when I read the description, but it was also more feels than even that led on. Thanks to NetGalley for the look at this recent release.

The powerful story of several women in New York. All in different ways are struggling to survive in a place and time unforgiving to women being anything outside a strict guideline. Effie, Mable and Jeanne are memorable characters in an interesring historical fiction.

“The times they are a-changin’…” So goes the line in the song by Bob Dylan and so goes the overall theme in Serena Burdick’s The Girls with No Names.

Told from the point of view of a variety of individuals, The Girls with No Names is a story about change. The changes that come with age, that come with knowledge, that come with the inevitable march of time. Events that change the way one sees the world regardless of how large or small it is.

As it is primarily set in the early 1910s, the way of thinking of some characters might be off-putting for some. When Effie and Luella come across the Romani camp at the beginning of the book, they are enamored of the “other” ness of the group. There is a sense of playing with the forbidden when the girls continue to visit the camp even after their parents express their distaste. It is something that comes up again when the girls’ Grandmother complains of “foreigners” taking over the city.

I personally found myself captivated by the story of each individual character in this book. Each woman is connected to the others in numerous ways – by blood, by love, by circumstance. Each connection bringing another layer to the story until it is a veritable tapestry.

Overall, I enjoyed reading The Girls with No Names and was able to finish the book in just two days. While there is some difficult subject matter, I found it to be written about in a way that sensitive without being overly so.

Readers who are looking for well written female characters are likely to enjoy this book. I recommend they give it a go.

I was drawn in by the cover as it's a first by me by This author. I loved every page of this book!! Any loved of historical reads I highly recommend this well written novel!

It is 1910 in New York City, and women have strict upbringings and very few rights.  Suffragettes are marching in the streets, and working conditions in factories are terrible.

Effie Tildon comes from a wealthy and socially affluent Manhattan family.  After discovering a shocking secret about their father, Effie's older sister, Luella, acts out and is gone the next day.  Effie is determined to find her older sister.  She believes that Luella has been sent to the "House of Mercy", a type of women's reform institution, by their father to punish her for breaking the rules.  When Effie comes up with a plan to have herself committed to the "House of Mercy, she is shocked to find out that Luella is not a resident there.  And much to her despair, getting out of Mercy House is much harder than getting in.  No one will believe that she really shouldn't be there!

At "Mercy House" life is hard; the residents are forced into grueling labor, and are often punished,  Another girl, Mable Winter, befriends Effie and they try to come up with a plan to escape.

"Mercy House" reformatory is based on the Magdalene Laundries in Ireland, run by the Catholic Church.  In these institutions, wayward and unmarried, pregnant women were forced to work and horribly mistreated.  Ms. Burdick has done an extraordinary job of portraying the horrors that went on in these institutions.  She has deftly woven the historical events happening during the early 1900s into the plot and the plight of women during this time period.  I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of the Romani people, their camp, and their everyday activities

Effie and Mabel are portrayed as strong, persevering characters.  This is a novel of friendship, love, courage, and hope.  I highly recommend it for older high school students and public libraries!

I’m not sure what I was expecting from this book but it’s not what I got. Nothing was necessarily bad; however, it was a little flat and boring. The characters weren’t my favorite and it seemed to drag on.

A well researched historical novel about two sisters set in 1920 NYC. The story deals with how girls were treated during this time period. The book was well written but I found the storyline dragged and I did not connect emotionally with the characters. 
Thank you to NetGalley and the publsiher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a sad but interesting story about two young sisters and the struggle they have with growing up, finding who they are, and how to get the freedom they want in their lives. Effie is the younger sister. Born with a heart defect, her mother always worries that any moment Effie could die from one of her "blue fits." Effie's father lets his wife do all of the worrying and focuses on Effie's living day by day. The older sister and Effie come across a Gypsy  camp one day in the summer. The sisters are instantly taken with the music, freedom and dancing. Effie is not as involved with the friendships formed, but goes with her sister anyways. After a fight with their mother, the older sister tosses her ballet slippers out of the moving vehicle and is soon mysteriously gone. Effie is desperate to find her sister and bring her home. She has made a mistake on where she chooses to look for her older sister. Effie finds herself trapped in the House of Mercy and no one believes she is who she says she is. She must find a way to cope with her mistake and find a way to escape. The House of Mercy is a cruel place to be and the girls are worse than the adults in charge of the place.

The Girls with No Names by Serena Burdick is set in the context of a Magdalen laundry in Manhattan and the Romani community in the area at the time. The story itself is about two young women - Effie and Mable. Effie's story is about family, her illness, and a horrible misunderstanding. Mable's story is the stronger one as it relates to the history of this book. Learning about the history is by far my favorite part of the book and the reason I love historical fiction. 

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2020/06/the-girls-with-no-names.html 

Reviewed for NetGalley.

I am very thankful that the publishers chose me to read and review this book.  The following is my review as posted on Goodreads:

I really loved this book. Turn of the century NYC, Gypsies, a “prison” for women, a storyteller...what’s not to love? I fell in love with Effie and pulled for her throughout the whole book. I loved Mable’s story and how her character was redeemed after a seemingly unforgivable past. It was also a great story of family dynamics and how relationships change, break down, and/or strengthen over time.

In the early years of the 20th century a wealthy family could control an unruly child by admitting the child into The House of Mercy as a way to bury a "dirty little secret."  The Girls with No Name by Serena Burdick explores this piece of our history with a compelling story.







The story is told through the viewpoints of Effie, her mom, and another patient by the name of Mabel. The two girls meet at the House of Mercy and although they are from completely different backgrounds, the two create a strong bond in order to survive their stay.  The story shows their compassion, bond, and dedication to one another.



Effie's circumstances make the punishments given by the staff unbearable. The staff was heartless and the punishments designed to not only wear physically on the patients but to break their spirits. Effie is there to find her sister Luella, who she is certain has been admitted by her father.  Effie finds a way to get herself admitted under false circumstances. Once in though, getting out is almost impossible.



I love the story for the strength of character Effie displays and for the bravery of all the patients, and Luella herself, by finding a life that is free from her father.


Author's Bio: SERENA BURDICK graduated from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in California before moving to New York to pursue a degree in English Literature at Brooklyn College. Her passion for theater, writing, the visual arts, Edouard Manet and the Impressionist movement combined to inform her debut novel, GIRL IN THE AFTERNOON: A Novel Of Paris. She lives in Western Massachusetts with her husband and two sons.

Thank you so much for the copy. I tried to pick this one up but it did not work for me. Thank you for the opportunity to be an early reader.

A horrifying look at a little known subject. Also, a look at families and how important being honest with each other is. It's a look at how secrets destroy. But it's also a story of forgiveness and redemption. Of love and finding oneself. Of family and growth. I did wish the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire hadn't been glossed over but I understand it was only a small part of the story. The church run laundry's and what the girls suffered was inexcusable. Overall, a well written story with depth of characters and well thought out and believable resolutions.

Park Row and NetGalley provided me with an electronic copy of The Girls with No Names. I voluntarily chose to review this book and my opinion is freely given.

Effie and Luella Tildon are sisters against the world. When their father commits sin against their family, Luella's rebellion has consequences for them all. Effie's desperation leads her to pursue a dangerous path, while their mother Jeanne's well intended decision has an undesired effect.

Written in a multiple perspective format, the voices of Jeanne and Effie's friend Mable from the House of Mercy join in where the sisters cannot. Readers get a clear picture of the life and times of young women in the early 1900's, especially regarding issues of morality and judgment. Based on the true history of the House of Mercy, an asylum for those who were deemed destitute or fallen. Women were used as laundry slaves, imprisoned by the church, which profited handsomely from their labor.

I am not really a fan of a multiple perspective format, especially one that is out of balance like in The Girls with No Names. Although Mable's background story is interesting, Effie is the clear main character from the beginning. Knowing, in large detail, about Mable's reasons behind her actions and how she came to be in the House of Mercy, seemed out of place within the context of the larger story. The focus should have been on Effie alone, with the stories from Luella, Jeanne, and Mable providing a backdrop. Perhaps for this reason, the story did not grab my attention in a meaningful way until well into the book. The Girls with No Names was a good historical fiction, but could have had a larger impact had the above mentioned changes been made.

Thank you, Harlequin, for our gifted review copy. 

The Girls with No Names is a very emotional read. While I love HF, especially in the gilded age of NYC, this one is just heartbreaking. The writing is so well done, but this one is just so deep and deals with such heavy subject matter that it's a challenge for me to read. Definitely speaks to my preferences-

A story of confusion and secrets, this book is incredibly sad, but the characters are so wonderful I could not stop reading. Although somewhat predictable in places, I really cared about the stories of the two girls and one woman who each made mistakes and paid dearly for them. Told in alternating chapters, the story slowly unfolds and all is revealed. 

Effie is crushed when her sister disappears. Convinced that she has been sent to a home for incorrigible girls, Effie schemes to get herself into the school/home with devastating results. Mable is one of the girls who seems to be a "lifer" in the girls' home. The truth of how she ended up there is told in her first person memoir, and it is heartbreaking. Jeanne is Effie's mother. She is forced to deal with the loss of both of her daughters as her marriage crumbles.

Yes, this is a heart-crushing story, but the setting also reveals the societal pressures and mores of the early 20th century. This is ultimately the story of what people do for love and reputation, and how secrets can change everything. Although it is sometimes overly dramatic and many times I had figured out the "secrets" before the big reveal, this is a book well worth reading.

Beautiful, tragic and stunning all come to mine when you think about The Girls With No Names.

Any fan is historical fiction will be transfixed by this story and Serena Burdicks sweeping prose. I can’t imagine anyone being disappointed that they have their precious time to this book, because the only thing that will let you down is your own inability to do more for these girls.

A very compelling read with very well developed characters. Heartwarming and heartbreaking.
Thank you NetGalley.