Reviews with content warning for Incest - The Home for Unwanted Girls

This book is going to haunt me. So well written and raw, and hard to read cause of all the horrible topics that are dealt with but without it scaring me off. Definitely watch out for the triggers for this one if you're thinking about reading it!!

Content Warnings

kelly_e's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Title: The Home for Unwanted Girls
Author: Joanna Goodman
Genre: Historical Fiction
Rating: 5.0
Pub Date: April 17, 2018

T H R E E • W O R D S

Phenomenal • Emotional • Riveting

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Set during Quebec's Duplessis era (1950/60s) a time of tension and unrest between French and English. With an English father and a French mother, Maggie feels torn about where she belongs. Her father has big plans for her, plans that do not include the French farm boy next door. And yet, Maggie is drawn to Gabriel. When at 15, she becomes pregnant, she is forced to give up her daughter, Elodie, up for adoption. The story follows Elodie's time in Quebec's impoverished orphanage system, and how government imposed sanctions lead to Elodie and thousands of other orphans declared as mentally ill. Elodie endures abysmal circumstances at the hands of the nuns, but finds her freedom at 17. Maggie has married, and as she prepares to start a family, she cannot forget about Elodie. This longing leads to a search for her long-lost daughter. A story of motherhood, of love and loss, of resilience and hope, and of deceit and redemption.

💭 T H O U G H T S

Wow! The Home for Unwanted Girls is historical fiction at its finest. Based on historical events experienced by the author's mother and shining a light on a very unsettling period in Quebec's history, this novel is packed with so much emotion. I couldn't put it down!

I knew from the very first page I was going to be captivated. I was immediately drawn into Maggie's relationship and time spent with her father at the seed store. The seed store was just an added bonus for my plant/garden loving self. The writing is absolutely stunning, weaving beauty and horror together flawlessly. The alternative perspectives was the perfect fit, drawing me into life with the characters, and allowing Goodman to interlace just a touch of suspense into the story. This book is one of the most memorable and powerful explorations of the bonds of mothers and daughters I've ever read.

It's no secret that I love historical fiction, but when a story is set so close to home, it's even more powerful. This is a history I knew nothing about, and it happened right here in my own province. It's as though the government has turned a blind eye to what went on in the orphanages and mental hospitals. When a book makes me want to learn more, I know it's done it's job.

This book made me feel all of the emotions, and for me, that's where the power lies in reading. A favourite from 2021, and an all time favourite historical fiction read. Highly recommend. I cannot wait to read more work from Joanna Goodman!

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• historical fiction enthusiasts
• Canadian readers
• Fans of Genevieve Graham

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"In spite of everything, Maggie has managed to turn out all right. She is a mother of three children - all of them here tonight in the house she loves so much; she is a wife, a lover of seeds and language, a French woman with English blood, an English woman with French blood. She is neither fully one thing nor another, as she's always wanted to be. She is arrogant and humble, audacious and timid, alive. She is still growing and always will be."

Content Warnings

More...