Review: Before We Were Yours

Before We Were Yours by Lisa Wingate
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Our library has a program called "Sizzlers" where they take selected bestsellers and put them at the front of the circulation desk. They have a short check-out period and the idea is you can get lucky if you've been on a waiting list, or see a book you heard about.

It was the latter for me. I've seen this one on the bestseller lists for a while, as well as bookclub lists and was intrigued. Once I started reading this tale of a family torn apart--based on real events--I couldn't take my eyes away.

In the early 20th century, babies, toddlers and young children were stolen from their families in the South and resold through adoption scams. It only worked because the families they were taken from were poor, uneducated, and fighting well-bribed officials.

The novel is wrenching in its depiction of child abuse and the horrors of a criminal syndicate of kidnapping and murder targeting the most vulnerable. There's also a modern day tale of loving families as a framework, and the issues of an aging and also vulnerable population ravaged by dementia and neglect. The romance aspect almost detracts from the overall tale, and may not have been a necessary plot device, but it's handled well. I can see why this novel remains a Sizzler and a bestseller.

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