by Lisa Wingate
First published 2018
In 1939 Memphis, 12-year-old Rill Foss and her siblings are wrenched from their river shantyboat home and thrown into a cruel orphanage. Decades later, a wealthy woman named Avery uncovers her family's long-buried connection to this notorious scandal. An uplifting tale of resilience and redemption. The emotional heart of this poignant novel based on a true story is the unbreakable bond between Rill and her siblings as they fight to survive in the face of unspeakable cruelty.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, 21st-century, family-drama
Vibes: atmospheric, emotional, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, resilience
384 pages · Paperback · Ballantine Books
Content warnings: child-abuse, emotional-abuse