Oh my goodness....so riveting and heartbreaking. The story follows Winny, who at 97 years old is finally opening up about her life. At fifteen she ran away from an abusive home, only to find herself on the streets and then in the Home for Girls. Suffering so many hardships, it is difficult to imagine at times.

The Forgotten Home Child is a historical fiction novel based on the true events of the thousands of British Home Children, who were shipped from England to Canada from 1869 to the 1940s with promises of a better life ahead. Winny, Mary, Jack, Edward and Cecil lived on the streets of England together until they were sent to Bernardo’s orphanage after being caught stealing. They were schooled and taught trades, and eventually became part of the first group of children who were sent to Canada. They were separated and sent to work on farms as indentured servants, poorly mistreated and abused. The story is told from the perspectives of Winny (in past and present time) and Jack, as they struggle to make sense of their difficult lives.
This was truly an eye opening story and learning experience, and I shed many tears reading this through. Before this novel, I had no knowledge of the British Home Children in Canada’s history, bringing to light the uniqueness of this novel. The author has truly put together a heartfelt description of these events. I enjoyed reading the author’s notes of how the characters all came to be through research of the experiences of many, as much as I enjoyed the story itself. The novel is fast paced and it did not take very long for me to become wrapped up in the lives of these vulnerable, yet strong, characters. I highly recommend this story to those who love historical fiction as much a I do.

The Forgotten Home Child was a heart-breaking and emotional novel, but one that I highly recommend.

When I read novels about orphans, such as this one, I am deeply affected by them and the stories stay with me for a long time. My heart aches for these poor children and what they have endured. What makes them even more special and memorable are when an author is able to tell the story as wonderfully and beautifully as Genevieve Graham has.

This is the first novel written by Genevieve Graham that I have read, and her skills and talent in writing The Forgotten Home Child impressed me so much that I am eager to read more by her. It is quite clear that she must have spent many hours performing research and I bet she gobbled all of it up eagerly. She was able to capture the characters and the settings from each time period spot on and was able to bounce back and forth between them easily. She added the historic pieces into the novel seamlessly, in exactly the right places, and with just the right amount of it at a time. I was caught up in the story and her writing made the reading more enjoyable and smooth.

Fantastic book and writing!

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Canada for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.

One of my favorite days of the year is when I get to read the new Genevieve Graham historical novel and I am so pleased to review this one today. In The Forgotten Home Child, Graham brings to our attention the overlooked history of the British Home Child. Children who were living in poverty in their home country and were promised better lives in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. According to an article on canadahistory.ca over 100,000 children were sent to Canada from the UK between 1869 and 1948. It also states that until the 1980s, there wasn't much compiling of records of this event. The author's note at the end of the novel is highly informative for any readers that want to further their understanding.

We first meet our main protagonist, Winnifred( Winny) Ellis in 2018, a 97-year-old woman, Winny has recently moved in with her granddaughter and great-grandson. When her granddaughter finds a mysterious trunk of her grandmother's and questions begin to emerge, Winny realizes that she cannot hold her painful past a secret anymore. We are then transported back to 1930's Britain where a young Irish girl, living on the streets, finds a family with four other children( Jack, Mary, Edward, and Cecil) just like her. They are soon taken to Dr. Barnardo's Home and taught skills, such as, sewing and cobbling of shoes. But when they begin working on their own trunks, they are told that they are headed to Canada- a promised land that will take them out of poverty. But as Winny's tale unfolds and chapters alternate between her story and Jack's the reality of the circumstances that surround the treatment of many British Home Children in Canada, is anything but a beautiful picture.

My two very brief encounters with the story of the British Home Children were with Dear Canada: Orphan at My Door: The Home Child Diary of Victoria Cope, Guelph, Ontario, 1897, written by the much loved Jean Little and Anne of Green Gables by L. M Montgomery. In the latter, fans of the book might recall that Marilla tells Rachel Lynde that Matthew suggested getting a " Barnardo boy" which I didn't know until much later was a reference to British Home children. But that is what makes Genevieve Graham a masterful storyteller because she is introducing to Canadians parts of our national history that are painful and yet are very sharp reminders that we shouldn't forget.

As I mentioned above, what the characters in this book suffer is not a pleasant read, there are scenes of physical abuse and torture, rape, and verbal and emotional abuse. But what we must remember is that is actually what many British Home Children experience and has been recorded. It is certainly a story that is heartbreaking but also shows resilience among the characters as the years progress and the Second World War begins.

Winny was a memorable and compelling character that I won't soon forget and I don't think YOU will either.

Goodreads review published 04/03/20
Publication Date 03/03/20

As a historical fiction lover, this book was right up my alley. I love to learn about things from the past that I'm unfamiliar with, and this book was highly informative and well written. I also love when authors give voices to those who have been marginalized, as the "Home Children" certainly were.

The storyline and characters were well developed, yet a little predictable. Graham took a sensitive topic and told the story in a compelling way that blended past and present. I hope that more people will read this book to learn about the plight of these children.

Genevieve Graham researched the lives of many Home Children who were brought from England to Canada to be treated harshly by families who took these children to be free labor on farms. Only about twenty-five percent of the children were treated as family members. Their stories remain unknown in Canadian history. Much like The Orphan Train and Before We Were Yours shed light on the plight of orphan children being treated poorly, The Forgotten Home Child is a story of Jack, his sister Mary, Edward his brother Cecil and Winny who are a group of friends doing anything they can to survive on the streets of London before being taken in Barnardo’s Home of Unwanted Children.

This story is told by Winny as a ninety-seven year old, who wants to tell her story to her grand-daughter and great-grandchild. Much like war veterans who hide the horrible experiences of war, many of the home children suppress and do not tell the horrible experiences of their childhood. Graham brings their stories to life and this reader had to put the book down after reading how Winny, Mary, Jack, Cecil and Edward were treated.

This is an important book and I am glad I learned about the struggles of these children. Thank you Simon and Schuster for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

The Forgotten Home Child by Genevieve Graham is an intriguing story of a Canadian home child and her friends. This story is similar to the orphan trains in the United States except these children came all was from England rather than just Eastern cities. Life on the streets in London was difficult although these five managed with each other for support, until they were dragged off to the orphanage. That made for a couple of hard years. Eventually they were sent separately, boys and girls to a home funded by a man named Barnardo. Barnardo's homes were all over England and they mostly did their best. The children were clean and well-fed. They were educated and generally had good lives, until one day they were prepared for a trip, by ship, to Canada, where they would all find new homes. People were paying for them: some to become family, some to become little better than slaves.

This is the story of Winny, one of five children who had lived on the streets together and after years of separation, came together again on the ship to Canada. By this time they were teenagers, only to become separated again upon their arrival. Winny went to a horrible place. She wasn't even allowed in the house. If she didn't finish her work in time, her dinner went to the dogs. She slept in the barn, which meant in the winter she was kept warm by sleeping sheep, so it wasn't so bad. She eventually located her friend, Mary, who was nearby but had a horrible like, too. Hers was worse. This is a truly heartbreaking story but tinged with so much love and goodness that it became almost heart-warming. Not everything was bad, which is not excuse for the damage done. Every type of personal story makes an appearance in this book and it is riveting. Read it. You will love it. I highly recommend it. You will not be sorry.

I received a free ARC of The Forgotten Home Child from Netgalley. All opinions and interpretations contained herein are solely my own. #netgalley #theforgottenhomechild

One of the most important books of the year

I treasure Genevieve Graham's books. And, the Forgotten Home Child is likely her best so far. Have your hankies ready.

As a piece of history wrapped up in fiction, the reader is torn between buying into the hope of a better life for these children and the all too familiar theme of adults taking advantage and abusing those in their care. WHY? Why does it seem like the abuse of innocent children is so common in our history?

On a personal note, one of my late friends was a home child who seemed to have been well treated.

Thank you to the publisher who lent me an e-arc via Netgalley. This review is optional and my honest opinion.

The Forgotten Home Child is about children getting sent to Canada, the only country I've ever called home, from England, a country where my family comes from. I had no idea any of this ever happened and I want to thank Genevieve Graham for opening my eyes to such a heartbreaking topic. that took place in the country I call home. The research she conducted to write this novel, using real life experiences from her research, was a huge eye opener to the Canadian history I was taught in school.

This book is told from the perspective of Winny in 2018 and Winny and Jack in their younger years when they first arrived in Canada. After living on the streets, in orphanages, homes for children and eventually being sent to Canada to become "Home Children", Winny, Jack and his sister, Mary, and brothers Edward and Cecil, learn the hardships no child should ever have to endure. This novel takes you throughout their lives, following Winny and Jack's journeys as they grow and battle the hand they were dealt in the only way they knew how.

I felt every emotion reading this book. I ugly cried more than once and full on blubbered at the end. While it as quite obvious how the novel would play out, my heart still twisted and turned with everything that happened. The writing was beautiful, not sugarcoating the things these children had to endure, but helping you understand what they went through and how they made it through it. I loved these characters, feeling heartache, heartbreak and pure happiness for each of them. I believe this book is going to stick with me for quite a long time and I highly recommend this one to everyone.

Sandy M’s review of The Forgotten Home Child by Genevieve Graham
Historical Fiction/Romance published by Simon & Schuster 3 Mar 20

Little by little Genevieve Graham is giving me a lesson in Canadian history, taking those horrible events from her country’s past and giving readers a look into the heart and soul of those who suffered and survived what would normally take a lesser person down. It’s those frightened but fearless people in whose footprints Canadians of today have followed. The Forgotten Home Child, as the title tells us, follows the heart-wrenching and heart-warming tale of unwanted and forgotten children of England who are foisted upon Canada and her people, who also have no want of the innocence and tenacity of these little lost souls. This story is hard to read, but it is one you should not pass up.


We get to know Winnifred in the present as she navigates her memories in the retelling of parts of her life to her granddaughter and great grandson. Winny ran away from home and an abusive stepfather, and she eventually found a group of street urchins who took her in and taught her how to survive. Mary becomes the sister she never had and Jack the love of a lifetime, though she’s a bit young to know the full extent of that emotion. There’s also brothers Cecil and Edward who now make up her family, and when they run into trouble one day, they are all sent to homes for orphans. It is a step up from being homeless on the streets, and Winny and Mary thrive at Barkingside Home for Girls, where they get proper meals and a warm bed.

Then the day comes when the children are told how fortunate they are to have been selected for a wonderful journey to a place called Canada and a second chance at a good life. It’s terrible to think people could lie so to a child, taking advantage of their naivete, because the majority of the children shipped off to this strange land went through atrocities none of us can comprehend. I know there are plenty of atrocities that have happened in every country’s history, but these are children, trusting human beings, and it breaks your heart to go on this journey with them.

Winny and Mary find themselves not that far apart after settling in with their new “families,” but they aren’t allowed to see one another very often, which leads to Winny trying her best to help her friend, but setting things in motion much too late. Winny’s situation gets a bit better after this latest ordeal, but I know she’d give anything to turn back the clock. The boys are kept together on a farm, but have to ease their way through dealing with a horrible man who has a temper and spoiled daughters. I cheered mightily when they decide to take their lives back into their own hands, but again it’s a bit too late for a totally good outcome. They do find a better home before they join the military as WWII approaches, but as with Winny and Mary, their loss to this point is not inconsequential.

It’s years before Winny is reunited with members of her family. It’s all bittersweet, and life does get better for them – to a point. They still have so much more of a journey left after discovering what they left behind and have lost over the years. As the telling of her story comes to a close, Winny’s load from the past lightens, and I never saw the twist coming when one last reunion takes place. I just wish for her and her husband it hadn’t taken so long. But then again there’s a lot of wishes I had for these kids as I journeyed with them throughout this book.

Genevieve Graham has become a master storyteller, weaving beautiful fiction with untold losses in Canada’s history. She will break your heart but uplift your spirit at the same time. If you haven’t read any of her books, you need to start now. There’s very few authors out there who can give a much-needed history lesson in such a manner that will keep you reading for hours on end.

Grade: A

Beginning in 1869 and continuing until 1948, over 100,000 destitute British children between the ages of three and eighteen were taken from the streets and orphanages of England and sent to live in Canada. They were known as the British Home Children. While some indeed found a better life living with loving families, many were grossly mistreated and were used as cheap labor. Such was the life of the main characters in The Forgotten Home Child. Genevieve Graham tells their stories with honesty and sensitivity. Although these characters are fictional, they represent the hearts and lives of so many Home Children. Readers who are interested in books about the Orphan Trains and the Tennessee Children's Society will find this book equally interesting. Graham will engage their hearts as well as their minds.

I am grateful to have received a copy of The Forgotten Home Child from Simon and Schuster in exchange for my honest opinion. I was under no obligation to provide a positive review, and received no monetary compensation.

The Forgotten Home Child follows Winny and her friends on their life journey from children living on the streets of London in the early 1900’s to their time living in Canada. Upon starting this book, I had no idea that children, most orphans were shipped (and paid for) to families in Canada. These children were sent to live a “better” life in a new country but for many this was not true. A lot of these children were used as servant, farm hands and were forced to live in squalor. Facing many hardships, some of these children did not live to tell their tales. The book followed Winny’s tale as she told it to her granddaughter and great grandson. Though painful, it painted a picture of both hopelessness and of hope for the future. It was a riveting book from start to finish. I cannot believe that this is part of our Canadian history and yet we know nothing about it. These children should not be forgotten as they are an integral part of the history of our country. Hopefully with people looking up their ancestors, we can find more about these lost souls and celebrate their lives and all they gave to help make our country what it is today. I would highly recommend this book for anyone who wants a good read and who wants to learn more about the forgotten home children. Kudos to Genevieve Graham for writing this book. I will definitely be buying it for my mother when it becomes available. I know she will love it.

The Forgotten Home Child by Genevieve Graham is an excellent historical fiction piece that moves between present day Winnie at age 97 living with her family, and the story that she is telling of her past (1930s England and Canada).

Here in between Winnie and Jack we hear their tragic and resilient stories of how they came from one hard situation in London, to their journey as “Home Children” as they were sent to Canada to work and “better themselves”.

This story is not an easy one to read. These children experienced situations and treatment that no one should ever have to experience, however the drive and determination of these children were evident, and allowed them triumph over adversities in the end. The ending does wrap up nicely and gives the reader a positive and satisfying outcome, however one realizes that outcomes for many of the children were not as positive and fortunate as the ones mentioned here.

This is a story of love, acceptance, forgiveness, fortitude, and overcoming odds and adversity. This is an excellent read and I am so glad I was able to learn more about this time in history.

5/5 stars

Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this ARC and in return I am submitting my unbiased and voluntary review and opinion.

I am posting this review to my GR and Bookbub accounts immediately and will post it to my Amazon and B&N accounts upon publication.

(B&N account first posting listed under Rachel_Denise01)

This book is based on the true history of hundreds of thousands of destitute British orphans shipped to other countries to work and hopefully lead better lives. Unfortunately, most of them ended up as indentured servants, overworked, unloved, and often abused. The story follows a group of friends plucked off the streets and shipped to Canada. Winnie, the story's main character, alternates chapters between her past as a home child working as a servant on a farm, through her career and married life and the present, as an old woman finally telling the truth of her past to her family.
I was surprised when I started reading this book that it was based on true events. I've never heard of British orphans being sold as servants. Since there were so many children sent to several different countries, the program was impossible to supervise and regulate. The children suffered abuse, rape, malnutrition, and death, yet the program continued for 79 years from 1869 through 1948. Fascinating historical fiction, I highly recommend this book!
I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book!

4 heartbreaking and who-knew stars

This one features the popular dual timeline story – modern day and the past. For modern day, we have 97-year-old Winny, and her great-grandson who wants to know more about where she came from and his roots. Winny decides it is finally time to tell her story to her family.

In the past storyline, we have a cast of young teens who are living on the streets in England before being sent to an orphanage. Some of the children truly were orphans but some were temporarily dropped at homes until their parents could find jobs and better opportunities. Later many of them learn that they will join in a great opportunity – a new life in Canada. These children came to be known as “Home Children” in Canada and unfortunately were seen more as free labor than children seeking a new home and opportunities. About 25% of them found just that, a better life, and stability in Canada. The other 75% were mistreated and some died as a result of abuse (fascinating author notes at the end of this book).

We learn about Winny’s life and her closest friend Mary and her brother Jack. They each go to separate farms once they’ve arrived in Canada. We follow each young person and their heart-breaking path of hard labor, limited food, and physical abuse. They sign agreements to work until they are 18 or 21. They are supposed to go to school as part of the agreement, but many families just use them as labor. Times are tough during the Depression era. Once they’ve finished their agreements, many Canadians refused to hire them for paying jobs. Most of them are not given enough food or other basics and treated as second-class citizens.

I will admit that this one made for a difficult read, especially knowing that much of this was based on real stories that the author found or heard in research. Canada is trying to reconcile these past mistakes and some of the families are being reunited through Facebook groups, etc. This one does have a hopeful ending!

Rating: 3.5 rounded down to 3 stars

Trigger Warning: Childhood physical abuse, implied sexual abuse

Did you know that poor ‘British Home Children’ were sent from England to Canada (and other British Commonwealth countries) over the course of almost a century? I did not know that before reading this book. This is an engrossing, if predominantly sad, book about these children. Between 1869 and 1948, the children were basically sent over as indentured servants to work on rural Canadian farms.

This book is told using two storylines. The 1936 timeline follows Winny; Jack, his sister Mary; and the brothers Edward and Cecil. They are a band of London street urchins who have cobbled together their own little family after having been abandoned by their parents for one reason or another. Poverty and alcoholism were the main reasons. The 2018 storyline is told from Winny’s perspective as a 97-year old when she finally breaks the decades old secrecy and reveals her life story to her family.

In the 1936 storyline, the group of early teen-aged kids are caught and sent to separate orphanages. From there they are transferred to a charitable organization who trains the girls to be housemaids, and nannies; and trains the boys in carpentry, printing, and shoe making. The band is briefly reunited on a ship bound for Canada. After just one evening together after landing, the boys and girls are separated again. The boys end up together on a farm. Winny and Mary also end up on farms, but they each go to different farms. The skills that they were taught at the school in England in no way prepared them for the farm work or the harsh conditions imposed upon them.

The 2018 storyline features Winny brought back to those early days by the appearance of her the wooden trunk she hand made in 1936 in preparation for her journey. Her granddaughter dropped it as she was moving Winny in to live with her. As the trunk’s contents spilled out, Winny’s memories surfaced too. With a little coaxing by her granddaughter and great-grandson, Winny begins to share the events of her life. The release of the secrets rekindle old pain, but also bring freedom.

These Home Children’s lives were bleak and violence prone. Once they landed in Canada, the organizations that were supposed to look out for their welfare abandoned them. They were completely at the mercy of the family whom which they were placed. Just a few lucky Home Children were treated as family members. As the author states in her Author’s Notes, approximately 75% of these children suffered abuse and neglect in Canada. Some of the graphic scenes of abuse written about in the book were actually compilations of stories shared by actual British Home Children after their history started to be recognized in the 1980’s.

This book is pretty grim, and it is easy to see the cascading effects that this kind of treatment would have on following generations. I’m giving this three stars (rounded down from 3.5). I felt connected to the plight of Winny, Jack, Mary, Edward, and Cecil. I felt outraged at their poor treatment at every turn. I felt emotionally wrung out by the end of the book. As with other regrettable and horrific chapters in history, I can’t say that I’m happy to have learned about these stories. However, I think it’s always good to be informed about these episodes. It is not a happy-go-lucky read, but I am glad that I read it.

I would recommend this to readers who gravitate to Historical Fiction and to those wanting to learn more about early ‘Child Welfare’ in England and Canada. On good days, I think we have come a long way from 1869. Other days, I am not so sure.

‘Thank-You’ to NetGalley; the publisher, Simon & Schuster Canada; and the author, Genevieve Graham for providing a free e-ARC copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Forgotten Home Child taught me a piece of history I had never heard about. It seemed like a good idea- take children without homes or parents and send them to a country with lots of land and in need of more people. Unfortunately most of these children were treated like trash, barely fed or clothed and shown no love. It was amazing to read what these kids had to survive and even more amazing that many of them did not let their past affect their future. This was not a happy, sunshine and flowers type of story but one that needed to be told.

The Forgotten Home Child by Genevieve Graham is a heartbreaking tale based on actual events. Over the course of many years in the late 1800s and early 1900s loads of children were delivered to Canada from the streets of England. Most of these children did not end up in happy homes and were actually used brutally as child labor. This book tells the fictionalized stories of a few of those children. Parts were difficult to read because the abuse was so abhorrent. This was truly an important story to tell and I'm glad it was told so well by the author. Read and ponder...

What a beautiful book! But it is hard to read at times so please be aware that this book is full of tough themes like child abuse, orphans, war, and tragedy. Overall, I really enjoyed reading about Winny and her resiliency despite the challenges life threw her way. I'm not Canadian, and had never heard of the British Home Children or Barnardo’s... but the US had similar initiatives and though the initial heart behind them may have been genuine, in actuality they were awful. Especially when I consider this in light as my role as a mom! But there is so much hope in Winny's story, as well as love and friendship, that the book is redeeming. I could see this being a fantastic book to discuss with a book club, and is all and all a great novel to get lost in on a rainy day!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this advanced reader's copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was such a beautiful book, one of the best that I've read in a very long time. The editing was top-notch, I didn't find anything, and I'm really sensitive to error spotting. I don't give out spoilers, so will keep this high level.

Despite being fiction, this story is so rooted in history that for me it felt like I was reading a non-fiction account. I can't fathom being so young, forced to leave your home country and go somewhere foreign, knowing no one and being subjected to hard labor and terrible conditions. It is such a sharp contrast to 100 years later in current days, where children are pampered, showered with electronics, lots of clothes and whatever else they need.

The main character survives all of this, keeping her past buried for a very, very long time. She finally does reveal her past to her family, and they are surprised but very supportive. I highly recommend that anyone interested in historical fiction read this book!!