This novel pulls on the heartstrings, stirs outrage and horror, but at the end of the day the story was about familial bonds, and a spiritual connection that can not be broken, no matter what. uk/landing-page/quercus/quercus-company-information/">The data controller is Quercus Editions Ltd. They end up in the Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage under the care of the infamous Georgia Tann. This story was inspired by actual true life events about the Tennessee Children’s Home Society that was based in Memphis and the director Georgia Tann. But the real feat of this stirring novel is how deeply Wingate plunges us into the heart and mind of twelve-year-old river gypsy Rill Foss.

The writing is exceptional and the two story lines keep the reader puzzled as to how they will connect for the first two thirds of the book making the end discoveries a very engaging read. Rill, a river rat, has been kidnapped along with her 4 siblings back in the 30's and sent to an orphanage to be sold to the highest bidder. Wingate brings part of that history to life in such an unforgettable way that leaves the readers thinking about her book long after they have finished it.Told from two different points of view: Rill, now known as May, who experienced horrors most of us can’t even begin to imagine; and Avery, a former Federal Prosecutor and the Daughter of a Senator, who feels the need to live up to her families’ expectations at all times. The books featured on this site are aimed primarily at readers aged 13 or above and therefore you must be 13 years or over to sign up to our newsletter. One timeline took the pathway of discovery and the other of knowing, and that's the question I asked myself, would Avery discover what Rill knows.

Alternating between the perspectives of privileged and successful Avery Stafford in the present, and twelve-year-old Rill Floss in depression-era Memphis, a story emerges linking Avery's grandmother to Rill and her four siblings, who were stolen from their riverboat home and their two loving parents.

Overall I found it an interesting and indeed enjoyable read especially once I had figured out just who was whom! And romance is fine, but must it be such a large component of what should be such a serious historical novel. In the midst of attending these events, she decides to visit with her Grandmother Judy, who is suffering from Dementia.