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.