The Home for Unwanted Girls, Review Diaries

Hello everybody and welcome back to another review diaries, today I will be reviewing The Home for Unwanted Girls by Joanna Goodman. I read this emotional Historical Fiction, for the Read-Eh-Thon, which was a ReadAThon hosted by Canadian booktubers, that focused on reading books by Canadian authors. The challenge that I completed by reading this book, was to read a book set in a province you’ve never been to. I have only been to one province in Canada, so I had a lot of freedom with that challenge. The Home for Unwanted Girls is set in Quebec, which is a province in Canada that I’ve always wanted to go to. I also felt while reading this book, I learned a lot about Quebec and Canada’s history. Since, this story dealt with the French and English separation, and also the orphan asylums. This was a very emotional novel, which I have a lot of thoughts on. So, without further ado, let’s get into the review! The Home for Unwanted Girls by Joanna Goodman Genre: Historical Fiction (Adult) Format: Paperback Dates Read: 07/06/2018-07/11/2018 Final Rating: 4/5 Stars  

*Trigger Warning: Rape, Sexual relations, Physical and Mental abuse. Plot: The Home for Unwanted Girls is set in 1950’s Quebec, and follows our main character Maggie Hughes. In a time where the French and English tolerate each other with precarious civility, Maggie falls in love with a poor French boy, Gabriel Phenix, from the neighboring farm. Maggie becomes pregnant at fifteen, and her parents force her to give up her baby, Elodie, for adoption. Elodie is raised in Quebec’s impoverished orphanage system. After withstanding abysmal treatment at the nun’s hands of the orphanage, Elodie earns her freedom at seventeen, as an alien. When Elodie earns her freedom, Maggie is married to an English businessman who is eager to start a new family. But Maggie cannot forget the daughter she was forced to abandon, and a chance to reconnect with Gabriel spurs a wrenching choice. Maggie and Elodie’s lives have intertwined but never touched, but they are finally brought together when Maggie goes in search of her long-lost daughter, reclaiming the truth that has been denied them both. When I first picked up The Home for Unwanted Girls, I was really interested in Maggie’s perspective. Through this perspective we got a lot of background on the dispute between the French and the English in Quebec. Which is something I didn't know a ton about, having never really learned anything of Canadian history. I liked that there was a lot of family tension that stemmed from this rivalry, especially when Maggie falls in love with a French boy. I happened to enjoy the romance in the beginning, but when they were older, there were certain choices that Maggie and Gabriel made that really bothered me. But, what I did enjoy from Maggie’s perspective, was that there was a lot of unexpected twists and turns, especially dealing with her pregnancy. What happened during her pregnancy, wasn’t what I was expecting, and while it was heartbreaking, it was still extremely captivating. If there was one thing I wished, was that we got more development from Maggie as she grew up. I felt like the decisions she made as an adult, really made you think if she actually learned anything from what she went through as a child. As for Elodie’s perspective, I felt that there was too much of a full-circle centered plot-line. I thought Elodie was making the same mistakes her mother made, when she didn't even grow up with her mother. I also felt that Elodie's perspective wasn’t really necessary, since we didn’t get too much in her perspective. I thought the story was mainly focused on Maggie, and I think if we solely focused on Maggie, we would’ve gotten more character-development from her. However, I did find the sections set in the orphan asylums, really interesting, as this is a part of Canada’s history that I don't know too much about either. I know that it is a very emotional and harrowing aspect of Canada’s history, and I felt that our author did thorough research on this aspect of the novel. This was a historical fiction, and I really appreciated how much background the author gave the readers on these two major plot-lines. While also tying it in really well with the story. However, I felt like what was happening in Elodie’s later life, was a bit unrealistic, and followed too closely with her mother’s storyline. I was hoping for different character-arc’s, especially since they lived two different lives. Writing: I actually really enjoyed Joanna Goodman’s writing style, and thought it provided for a really interesting reading experience. What I really enjoyed about our author’s writing, was her detailed research on the historical aspects of this book. You could tell she did a lot of background research on the orphan asylums, and the feud between the French and English in Quebec. I didn’t know much about Canadian history going into this book, but I felt like I was getting a very detailed history lesson. I learned a lot about Canadian laws, that are actually really heartbreaking, especially when it came to the orphan asylums. But, if there was one thing about Joanna’s writing that threw me off a little bit, it was that the romance felt more YA rather than Adult. Which, I understand, because Maggie and Gabriel were young adults when they fell in love. However, when they were adults, the decisions and choices they made were a bit immature for my taste. I felt like there wasn’t any thought behind their actions, and they did everything for love. Which to me felt more like a young adult Historical Fiction, when this is categorized as an adult novel. I also, felt that we were missing some character-development, from both Maggie and Elodie. I thought they were making decisions based on love, rather than learning from past mistakes, which took away from my enjoyment of this book. However, I did appreciate the family dynamics, and the historical elements of this novel. World-Building/Setting: Obviously, since this was a Historical Fiction, this book focused more-so on the setting than World-building. I thought the setting of 1950s Quebec, really added to the story. Especially since it focused on the feud between the English and French. Maggie is both French and English, and falls in love with a French boy, something her english-speaking father didn’t accept. So, I thought this historical element provided interesting dynamic, with our main love interest. Another interesting aspect of the setting, was when Elodie was living in the orphan asylum. I thought the author, really captivated the intensity of a child living in an orphan asylum. Since, it wasn't a pleasurable experience to go through. The setting provided an emotional element to this story, which I really appreciated, because normally, it’s the characters that provide the emotion to the plot. Characters: As I’ve stated before, I really enjoyed reading from Maggie’s perspective, I felt that we got a complete story and background of her life. She obviously leads with her heart, and we got to see the consequences of that, not only in her life as a teen, but also as an adult. But, what I really liked about Maggie, was her relationship with her parents, especially with her father. She clearly learned from her father’s job as a planter, as there were a lot of plant metaphors, that she took to make certain decisions. However, I felt that when she was an adult, she didn't make the smartest of choices, because she still followed her heart. I thought some of the decisions she made, were extremely rash and immature. I just thought she would’ve made more smart decisions, from what she went through as a teenager. As for Elodie, I thought she wasn’t that much different from her mother, and that she led with her heart too. Once again, I thought the decisions she made as an adult, were very unrealistic, and mirrored too much of her mother’s past. Which, I don't think is very realistic, especially since she never grew up with her mother. Growing up thinking that her mother was dead. But, I do understand why she made those decisions, considering she never was able to learn anything from her parents. She had to go into adulthood on her own, after living in extreme conditions as a child, that is far from reality. She didn’t really know the difference between right and wrong, so her actions were a little bit easier to understand, as opposed to her mother. While I liked our two main characters, I was hoping that their lives ended up on different paths, instead of connecting at the same intersection. Final Thoughts: All in all, I really enjoyed The Home for Unwanted Girls by Joanna Goodman. It was one of the first historical fictions, I’ve read since High School, and it made me realize how much I actually enjoy historical fiction. Since, I really liked the historical elements of this book, and wanted to learn more about Canadian history. I thought Joanna Goodman did a lot of research, and provided a lot of background on these two subjects, that really added to my reading experience. I also, thought the historical elements and the setting, provided an emotional turmoil that I wasn't expecting. There were a lot of twists and turns, that I wasn’t expecting either, which I really appreciated during this reading experience. While I enjoyed our two main characters, I thought the full-circle story-arc, was a bit unrealistic, and read more like a young adult novel as opposed to an adult novel. But, I did have a really great reading experience as a whole, which is why I gave this book a 4/5 stars, and would highly recommend it. I hope you enjoyed my review for The Home for Unwanted Girls by Joanna Goodman. I would highly recommend this book for people who enjoy Historical Fiction, and want to learn about something they are unfamiliar with. I really enjoyed this book, even though it was very emotional and unexpected. That concludes my review, TTFN and Happy Reading! Chynna Williams @TheCWTorch