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angfarley's review
4.0
This book was way better than I expected! It deserves a 4.5 from me. I'd never heard of the real Magdalen Girls, but I always wondered why parents threatened their girls with the nuns years ago. Now I know! I learned so much from this book about a topic that has rarely been covered--more like covered up. The story had so many different turns that I never expected; I was always eager to get back to the book. The narrator is one of my FAVORITE readers--Alana Kerr Collins. She is fantastic.
bethwinegarner's review
1.0
"The Magdalen Girls" is an embarassingly badly written book about an important subject. The Magdalen Laundries in Ireland, the UK, Europe and the US imprisoned many thousands (maybe millions) of girls and women and used them as slave labor in the name of "rescuing" "fallen women." While the book accurately conveys the fact that girls could easily wind up in these institutions and it was very difficult for them to get out again, the storytelling is cringeworthy. None of the characters have any real depth, and Alexander telegraphs his plot turns from a mile away. And, although these institutions were places of shocking mistreatment and abuse, Alexander goes over the top to pile trauma upon trauma on his characters, to the point that it feels almost like satire. I'm not sure if he's done anything here to raise awareness. I just hope this book doesn't wind up actively doing harm to the efforts to gain apologies and reparations for the survivors of Magdalen Laundries.
etotheb's review against another edition
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
booksuzi54's review
5.0
The Magdalen Girls highlights an unfortunate period of history in which girls/women were committed to work in the Catholic Laundries --against their wills--for such infractions as: sex before marriage, unwed pregnancies, thief, etc. Their parents signed the papers hoping the nuns would straighten them out ,and to avoid the embarrassment of having a wayward daughter. You will note that the boys involved got off scot free, as it were. The laundries operated mostly in Ireland with chapters in Canada, Australia, the US. It is a dark period of abuse in the history of the church, with many lives crushed.
Though the subject matter is tough to read, it is told in a fictional story of three teens who are incarcerated there. In places the author seems a bit heavy-handed with the girls, but her research backs her up. As the old saying goes, if we do not want a repeat of this less than pleasant history---we must learn from it.
I am glad I read this book, learning something I knew little about, of the history of the Catholic laundries. It has stayed with me, the treatment of those girls and women.
Though the subject matter is tough to read, it is told in a fictional story of three teens who are incarcerated there. In places the author seems a bit heavy-handed with the girls, but her research backs her up. As the old saying goes, if we do not want a repeat of this less than pleasant history---we must learn from it.
I am glad I read this book, learning something I knew little about, of the history of the Catholic laundries. It has stayed with me, the treatment of those girls and women.
khoughton's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
mollyaj's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
rola_sal's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
dpsmom's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A heartbreaking story of young girls in Ireland who are unjustly cast as promiscuous and ultimately forced to live a tortuous and hard life. Given minimal food, forced to work hard labor and endure minimal contact as outcasts, these young women are given little hope of redeeming their reputations and leaving the harsh conditions in which they live. In spite of these conditions, three girls form an unlikely friendship. Their stories show the unfair treatment of these young women during this time, and how they overcome their circumstances.
eskanerd's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0