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
Summary:
The Home for Unwanted Girls meets Orphan Train in this unforgettable novel about a young girl caught in a scheme to rid England’s streets of destitute children, and the lengths she will go to find her way home—based on the true story of the British Home Children.
2018
At ninety-seven years old, Winnifred Ellis knows she doesn’t have much time left, and it is almost a relief to realize that once she is gone, the truth about her shameful past will die with her. But when her great-grandson Jamie, the spitting image of her dear late husband, asks about his family tree, Winnifred can’t lie any longer, even if it means breaking a promise she made so long ago…
1936
Fifteen-year-old Winny has never known a real home. After running away from an abusive stepfather, she falls in with Mary, Jack, and their ragtag group of friends roaming the streets of Liverpool. When the children are caught stealing food, Winny and Mary are left in Dr. Barnardo’s Barkingside Home for Girls, a local home for orphans and forgotten children found in the city’s slums. At Barkingside, Winny learns she will soon join other boys and girls in a faraway place called Canada, where families and better lives await them.
But Winny’s hopes are dashed when she is separated from her friends and sent to live with a family that has no use for another daughter. Instead, they have paid for an indentured servant to work on their farm. Faced with this harsh new reality, Winny clings to the belief that she will someday find her friends again.
Inspired by true events, The Forgotten Home Child is a moving and heartbreaking novel about place, belonging, and family—the one we make for ourselves and its enduring power to draw us home.
No excerpt available.
