Before We Were Yours is historical fiction based on a scandal in Tennessee involving children stolen from poor parents in every way possible, including forged documents to outright kidnapping. The story is told in the first person by two characters, Avery and adult in the present, and Rill/May in the late 1930's. The two stories, which you know will merge, but not how, are well defined by chapter. This makes for easy reading. The descriptions of the main characters are wonderful, but there were a few I thought could have been even deeper. The places are easy to visualize, even if you haven't been to them. Having been to Mud Island and the museum, I've seen many pictures of what the author describes. I was a bit disappointed in the ending, just because I expected it, but the author's note at the end makes up for much of it.

It's historical fiction, but if you don't read the jacket, you may not realize it. It still stands alone just fine for readers who enjoy a mix of drama and certainly crimes against humanity. It also deals with dementia and the care those patients receive, so be prepared for a bit of that as well.

I was much more impressed with the trials of the young children in 1939 than the present day writing. It wasn't that the people depicted in present day were bland at all, just that in comparison, I enjoyed the former much more.

In my opinion, there was just a little too much given away during the story to have anything but a "soft" ending. That's fine, because the story almost demanded it, but you'll find the twists and intrigue more throughout the book.

I do want to check out some other work by Wingate, because her writing style was quite good.

Angry. First, that this went on at all, but then the duration and final outcome made it worse. And it really happened.

It is quite well written, so if you summary piques your interest, I would certainly suggest a reader give it a try.

No book is for everyone, so if the subject matter isn't to your liking, you may not enjoy it.

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Created Aug 23, 2019 at 5:27pm • Submit your own review...