Before We Were Yours (2017)

Full Review: https://suspensebookreviews.home.blog/2021/03/05/before-we-were-yours-by-lisa-wi... ( )

It’s Memphis, Tennessee, in 1939. Rill Foss and her four siblings are living the life on the Mississippi River with her loving parents in a shantyboat. Her life unexpectedly takes a turn when he father rushes her pregnant mother to the hospital. Rill is left in charge when strangers come and take them from their boat with the promise of seeing their parents.
In contrast, it is present day in Aiken, South Carolina. Avery Stanford, born into wealth and privilege, seems to have it all: a successful career as a prosecutor, a handsome finance, and a lavish wedding on the horizon. She’s come home to help see her father through a health crisis and has a chance encounter which sends her reeling into her family’s past.
(I wasn’t thrilled with the story line of Avery. It was much better with the story of Rill and her siblings.) ( )

I don't know why I picked this book up from the library, but it definitely wasn't the cover. The history part was very interesting, but I gagged through the love story in current time. I really, really, really dont like love stories. Especially not ones like this. However, I settle in for three stars just for the orphanage part of it, and because I don't want to admit making a mistake.

Note. I also really dislike it when narrators "act" when they read and use different voices. I am perfectly capable of understanding who is speaking when I myself read a text, so please don't underestimate my ability to understand who is speaking when you read a text out loud. When people tell each other stories, they very rarely use different pitches to separate people from one another. Read in a normal voice, please!!! ( )

Back in 1939, Rill narrates her story of living on the river with her parents and several siblings, but they are stolen away when her parents had to go to the hospital when her mother gave birth. In the present day, Avery Stafford has been groomed for the politician role but isn't really sure what she wants in life. When she meets May Crandall at a nursing home, and realizes May knows her grandmother, Avery starts looking in to her family's past despite what a scandal might mean to her father's position as senator or her own political future.

This was compelling historical fiction about a little known but horrific story about... well, I can't really say because I already knew what it was going in, and it took out some of the tension of Avery discovering the connection between past and present. I figured it out pretty early on, and even if I don't tell you, you might too. The writing style and dialog was occasionally stilted, but most of the time I was reading too fast to care. And I'm definitely going to have to add some nonfiction reading to supplement. ( )

Horrifying story of child stealing and abuse, told by an author who seems to have watched movies rather than read books to learn her craft. ( )