Welcome to the book review of Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate.
This historical fiction novel by Lisa Wingate dives into the tragic real-life events of children living life on the wrong side of the Depression in the river region of Tennessee.
We begin with the story of Rill Foss and her siblings, living a life full of love (albeit short on money) in their riverboat Arcadia.
When Rill's mother Queenie struggles with a difficult labour, her father Briny takes her mother to hospital leaving Rill in charge of caring for Fern, Camellia, Lark and Gabion.
BOOK REVIEW: Lisa Wingate does a beautiful job of describing this world from Rill's innocent eyes.
When a group of policemen comes to 'take the children to see their parents', Rill senses something isn't right, but also recognises she has no option but to agree to go and take her siblings with her.
In a parallel timeline, we find ourselves in the modern-day, walking in the expensive shoes of Avery Stafford. A young, ambitious lawyer who has returned home to follow in the footsteps of her family's political dynasty.
The story bounces from one side of this gaping privilege divide to another, as Avery uncovers some strange links between her ailing grandmother and a woman she met at a press opportunity in a local aged care home.
We feel Rill's raw heartache and desperation as she and her siblings find themselves at the Tennessee Children's Home, where they soon realise they are not to be reunited with their parents and that they are seen as nothing more than a product to be sold to the highest bidder.
Avery struggles to maintain the status quo demanded by her mother and society, especially as the story she's unraveling threatens everything her family has worked so hard to build.
While I found the modern-day storyline possibly a little too light in terms of depth of character struggle and evolution, I often needed the lightness as an escape from the sometimes very dark struggles of Rill and her siblings.
The stories intertwine, build in pace and tension delivering a climax that resolves most, but not all, questions that have been screaming in the reader's mind.
I very much enjoyed this novel and it made for a very lively Historical Fiction Heart Book Club conversation.
Book Review Rating: 4 out of 5
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