I DEVOURED this audiobook. This book came at the perfect time and filled a historical fiction gap in my reading life.

Between 1869 and the late 1930s, over 100,000 orphaned and destitute children were sent to Canada from Britain to be basically indentured servants. Many of those children were treated poorly in their new circumstances. Dubbed the British Home Children and overlooked by, their stories are being brought to the public’s attention in part thanks to this novel.

Following the fictionalized Winny’s story from 1938 to 2018, the author weaves the highs and lows of a girl who had to make her own way when life kept providing her with terrible circumstances. This book asks the questions: What is family? What is the power of a promise? How do you find the will to survive?

Readers who love stories of found family, hope in hopeless circumstances, unknown historical fiction, and dual timelines done well will enjoy this one. It reminded me of Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon and Schuster Canada for a free digital copy that I read in partnership with the audio.