Ellen Marie WisemanResenhas

The narration, by Madeleine Lambert, was a bit unnatural--the tone of the character voices seemed exaggerated, probably to distinguish them from each other, and the narrated parts seemed too fast and mechanically delivered. The story is primarily a Holocaust story, with an emphasis on the sudden descent into poverty, fear, and strife that the average compassionate German citizen experienced, being pitted against authorities, mandatory enlistment, and those neighbors who enthusiastically supported Hitler's regime.

This was the story of Clare, committed at age 18 to an asylum for the insane by her father for rebellion. This was the 1920's and women had very few rights. She spent all of her life institutionalized in brutal conditions. This was a work of fiction, but very realistic from the non-fiction that I have read on the same subject matter. I listened to this on audio and it distracted from the story as the reader was overly dramatic, breathless in every sentence. There was a dual timeline, which was totally unnecessary, dealing with teenage angst, for the most part. 11 hours 20 mins

This book was upsetting when reading it knowing that in some respects it was true. There really was a place Willowbrook and it was for children who had mental issues and it wasn’t a place you would want your mentally challenged child to be. The story is about Sage finding out her sister Rosemary, who is in Willowbrook, is missing and decides to go to search for her and find out why she didn’t even know she was there. Sage was told Rosemary had died. When she got to Willowbrook, administration thought she was Rosemary and no matter what Sage said they didn't believe her and they locked her up stating she was really Rosemary. The story goes on about the horrible treatment the children there are treated and Sage trying to find a way to get them to believe she really isn’t Rosemary. Sage finds a friend in a janitor who helps her escape and calls the news to report on Willowbrook but little did she know that Eddy wasn’t who she thought he was. I had so much emotion reading the book feeling sad and mad at how they were treating Sage. I enjoyed the book even though saying enjoyed doesn’t seem right with the subject background of Willowbook.

Being from Staten Island and 67 years old, I found this haunting could not finish reading, Iam sure it was good but not for me.

I absolutely hated this book with every ounce in me.

This is literally the most depressing book I've ever read---there is absolutely nothing redeeming about it whatsoever. No positive spins, no lighthearted anything, just depression on top of oppression. Plenty of critics have talked about the sophomoric stupidity of the writing/storyline/character "development" etc., so I'll avoid repeating all that. It's a disgusting story about child abuse and evil-possessed people and I won't even dignify it with details...except for this one that has turned me off this author forever:

At the back of the book, there's an "interview with the author". The second question says, "what looks like a story about child abuse ends up being about animal cruelty too." The author goes on to address the issue of animal abuse. Nowhere in this interview does she ever address child abuse. The discussion questions that come after are flippant about the issue. This book is disgusting and no one wants to talk deeply about it. It's sick that someone could read this and get their kicks.

NEVER will I read or recommend this author. I'm crawling back into my hole---this world disgusts me.

Based on a true story. An American tragedy of epic proportions.

I'm not going to lie. This was a difficult book to read in the beginning, difficult because it's based on true events, and although we read of the horrors of prisoners of war, concentration camps, and other atrocities, I think what made this story even more horrific is it happened to people who were supposed to be cared for. And the fact it happened while I was growing up (I'm roughly the same age as Sage, the main character in the book in 1971.)
I've read and loved every book by this author, and although I received an eBook copy of this story from NetGalley, I also purchased the paperback because I own all her other books and knew this would be another must-have for me.
The difficult part of the story (for me) was finding out how people KNEW the treatment was horrific at Willowbrook, yet nothing was done about it for years. As with many historical fiction books I read, I often broke away from the story to Google the reality part of the book. Watch the YouTube video of Geraldo Rivera's 1972 as he exposed what was going on in Willowbrook, even though Robert Kennedy toured Willowbrook in 1965 and called it a snake pit.
I love Sage's tenacity as she pushes to find answers to what really happened with her twin sister, and how she manages to self-preserve in a life full of adults letting her down.
I appreciate the story bringing this tragic piece of history to light, and also the plot twists to the story. Ellen Marie Wiseman writes relatable characters and wonderful (if disturbing!) historical fiction. Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book, and I am glad I purchased a paperback of the story so I can read it again.

What a timely read for 2020!
I've read every book by this author and have enjoyed them all, and this one really tugs at your heart, even more-so with the tragedy of Covid this year. It's interesting to read how over 100 years ago they figured out how masks were saving lives from the Spanish flu, yet here we are still disputing it.
The first half of the story was difficult to read only because of how many children became orphans or were placed in orphanages where they were mistreated (one of the characters has the same name as one of my grandkids and I really found it difficult to read about the way she was treated!)
I can't imagine the research done for this book (which has a much more uplifting ending - stick wit it!) and how ironic to have it written before the Covid pandemic.
It's a wonderful story of resilience and what makes up a family.
Another must-read by Ellen Marie Wiseman!

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for my copy of this great book.

I've learned a bit about history in every book by this author. Told from two different eras, Lilly's in the 1930's, and Julia's in the 1950's, the story delves into the struggles both girls face with family secrets and making their way on their own in life.

This novel was as heart-wrenching as Ellen's other books but I really struggled with the way Lilly's parents treated her. The poor girl went from being a prisoner in her own home to a prisoner in the circus.
I was happy she found love and acceptance there--two things she never received at home.

The story will make you think about how we treat people who are "different". The history of circus life was eye-opening for me and I can only hope it has improved over the years. Another great historical fiction book by this author!

I loved this book! I really enjoy this author's books. She digs deep in her research and writes about things that make us uncomfortable to read, bringing reality of how people had to live front and center in our minds.

In this case, it is coal miners back in the early 1900's, and the young children alongside the men who had horrifying, dangerous jobs. And the people who did all they could to make changes to this awful way of living.

I found the descriptive story of what living in an asylum years ago (for someone who didn't belong there!) very haunting, and horrifying to realize that happened so often years ago (esp. to women.)

The other part of the story was equally satisfying - a teenage foster girl who stumbles on the diary of a woman forced to stay in the insane asylum for years (thanks to her heartless dad), and how the girl relates to this other "broken" woman.

I don't want to give away too much, but as with Ellen's first novel, THE PLUM TREE, I felt like I was dropped into the setting of the book, really felt their emotions, and loved the story!

Absolutely loved this book! Well written, great detail of life in Germany during the war, and although it was very disturbing (as reality was for them) I learned a great deal and enjoyed the story a lot. Can't wait to read her next book as that also looks great!

Present day, Izzy Stone's mother fatally shot her father 10 years ago. Izzy believes that mom is mentally ill, although she's serving life in prison, and refuses to read her letters or visit her. A foster child, Izzy, now in her late teens, is taken in by a new set of foster parents who are cataloging items at a closed mental asylum. As Izzy assists, she finds the diary of 18 yo Clara, who was committed by her father in 1929 because she wanted to marry an Italian Immigrant. The story flows back and forth with Izzy's struggles to fit in at yet another school, and Clara's story - some of which was in the diary and some from memories. Izzy has to confront a truth - if Clara wasn't mentally ill after all, maybe her mother wasn't either?

Happy Publication Day! (August 30,2022)

In 1971, sixteen-year-old Sage Winters overhears her stepfather Alan and his friend Larry discussing the recent disappearance of Sage’s twin sister Rosemary from the premises of Willowbrook State School in Staten Island, New York. Unbeknownst to Sage, her mentally disturbed sister had been sent away to Willowbrook six years ago. Sage had been told by her now-deceased mother that Rosemary had died from pneumonia. Sage is shocked by the revelation that her sister, whom she loved and still grieves for, is alive. Concerned for her sister’s well-being, she travels alone to Willowbrook to assist in the search efforts. She has also heard rumors of a serial killer who kidnaps and kills his victims and is said to commit his crimes in and around the area. However, upon her arrival, things do not go as planned. Mistaken for her absconding twin sister, Sage is institutionalized and what follows is nothing less than a nightmare. Sage soon realizes that this is no School but a “dumping ground for the broken and insane and the unwanted”. She witnesses firsthand the neglect, abusive treatment and horrific living conditions within the closed walls of the facility.

What happened to Rosemary? Is there anyone in Willowbrook she can trust? How can Sage prove her true identity before it’s too late? Is the rumored serial killer with ties to Willowbrook more than just an urban legend?

Informative, fast-paced and suspenseful, I found The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman hard to put down. The author brilliantly combines fact and fiction in this hard-hitting, gripping and intense novel.

Please note that this is not an easy read.
In reality, Willowbrook State School was a state-supported facility for the treatment of developmentally disabled children that was in operation between 1947 and 1987. Though there were rumors of questionable medical practices and unsanitary living conditions (Senator Robert F. Kennedy called it a "snake pit" after touring the facility in 1965), Willowbrook garnered national attention after an expose by investigative journalist Geraldo Rivera in 1972. The atrocities inflicted upon the vulnerable residents of Willowbrook are unimaginable and the author does not hold back in describing the depravity and inhuman conditions the patients of Willowbrook had to endure including the physical and sexual abuse, experimental treatments and filthy living conditions. The author also incorporates the urban legend of the serial killer “Cropsey” with the narrative of Willowbrook. The author’s note at end of the book is quite informative and tells us more about the facility, its history and the aftermath of the scandal. Readers interested to know more can go through the news articles, documentaries and reports on the overpopulated and understaffed Willowbrook State School and its survivors, to get a more historically accurate picture of what went on behind the closed doors of the infamous facility and the events following Rivera's exposé till the facility was finally closed down in 1987.

Many thanks to Kensington Books and NetGalley for providing a digital review copy of this exceptional book. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This book is due for release on August 30, 2022.

After I read the first few pages of THE LIFE SHE WAS GIVEN, I recognized a young adult story, which is no longer to my taste. I would have liked this book when I was 13 or 14, but now it bored me. I continued to read it only because it was my book group's choice for this month. Now I am glad I did because THE LIFE SHE WAS GIVEN turns out to have a lot more to it than a story of a little girl who was sold to the circus by her evil mother.

Two stories are going on here. One is Lilly’s and takes place in the 1930s. She's the one who was sold to the circus after being kept prisoner in an attic all her life. The other is Julia's story in the 1950s. She is solving the mystery of who Lilly was and what happened to her. Julia's story does have a twist near the end, which I probably should have seen coming.

So I did like THE LIFE SHE WAS GIVEN, after all, but it left me with too many questions, which I probably would have just accepted if I read it when I was 13. It was saved by breaking up Lilly's story with Julia's. This kept THE LIFE SHE WAS GIVEN interesting enough to keep me up at night. I call that a success.

(And, yes, elephants really do cry tears.)

This is a haunting reminder of the horrific conditions in many of the state-run institutions in the mid-20th century where brutality, starvation and reprehensible staff members made the patients' lives a living nightmare. When Geraldo Rivera exposed the horrendous conditions of Willowbrook Hospital in New York, it brought the deplorable conditions into the homes of many people who had no knowledge of Willowbrook. This is a well-researched story, describing in vivid detail all that the patients endured.

I felt that the plot was very thin with some parts that stretched credulity, and the characters very one-dimensional. The repetition was extensive. It was worth reading, however, for the historical, irrefutable facts½

This had all the ingredients for a fantastic work of historical fiction. That coupled with the glowing reviews for it is why I picked it up. Having finished it, I don't get it. I don't get what the fuss is about.

The Orphan Collector is set in Philadelphia during the 1918 pandemic. It mainly follows Pia, a 13yo German immigrant, who is left to care for her infant twin brothers when her mother dies from the flu and her father is away fighting in the war. Pia must leave her brothers alone one afternoon to find food but she collapses from the flu and wakes up days later. During that time Bernice, a bitter, racist bitch from across the way, who had lost her own child to the pandemic, steals Pia's brothers. The story also follows her from time to time.

Riddled with the guilt of not knowing what has happened to her brothers, Pia must go to the orphanage run by brutal nuns and figure out how to find them or find out what happened. At the same time Bernice begins a bizarre evil crusade of her own to rid the city of foreign scum.

Don't worry, I haven't even given anything away. That's all just the beginning.

Sadly, this book lacked any depth whatsoever. You couldn't drown a fucking flea in its depths. Despite having a very real backdrop of the brutal and terrifying 1918 pandemic, Wiseman manages to concoct a Disney story complete with the innocent but determined ragamuffin protagonist; the eeeevil, racist baby stealing antagonist; filthy orphanages run by cruel nuns; scrappy Irish bestie; and clean, benevolent doctor and wife saviours. Then she throws in a set of coincidental circumstances which rivals the odds of me becoming a fucking billionaire by this evening.

Even worse, she writes these characters so one-dimensionally that they simply become grotesque caricatures. The writing is lacklustre and repetitive. So much so that it was exhausting to read. She does a lot of telling and little showing. It got to the point where I would read that "Pia was feeling guilty about the twins..." and I would simply skip the rest of the paragraph because I had read it before.

I think this book lucked out with timing. It was released in early 2020 which coincided with the beginning of our current pandemic and I'm sure that helped the sales and excitement far beyond what was expected or, in my opinion, deserved.

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

THE GOOD: Excellent narration that successfully lent a creepy, taut, suspense vibe to the tale. A well-crafted fiction, strongly inspired by actual events, with a "what if" twist.

THE BAD: The cover art and title. Willowbrook, contrary to the book's title, was not an institution solely for the fairer sex. And, up until the concluding chapters, this was a solid, nerve-wracking novel more of the suspense variety than the cover art suggests. The title and cover art are an unveiled attempt at marketing to the book club fiction audience.

CONCLUSION: Well worth a read (or listen). Different marketing and/or an Author's Note at the end, detailing the history behind the true stories that inspired the book, would have bumped this to five stars. Find an interesting supplement to enhance your read of The List Girls of Willowbrook at https://www.kensingtonbooks.com/between-the-chapters/discussion-guide-for-the-lo...

2.5 stars. I'm so conflicted on this book. On the one hand, I can't quit a book, so I stayed up late to learn what happened. On the other hand, I had to skim in order to make it through.

Parts of this book read like horror. The things described are so traumatic I nearly couldn't read on.

Parts are so over-the-top I just couldn't buy them. (The school knows nothing about their new student's past? A high school psychology teacher would start out a class by telling the class they're going to examine the exact same gruesome scenario that girl herself had to live through? - That's the spot where I exclaimed, "Oh for crying out loud," prompting my husband to remind me there's no rule that I have to keep reading.)

Foster families are portrayed as unrealistically rosy. People are either too good or too bad. There is very little nuance. Big plot lines don't get wrapped up at all. Heavy-handed. Unsatisfying.

"Debes florecer donde has sido plantada", le aconseja su abuela a Christine Bölz, una sirvienta de diecisiete años. Pero ella quiere conocer ese mundo que hay más allá de su pueblo, apenas vislumbrado gracias a la música, los libros... y a Isaac Bauerman, el hijo de la acaudalada familia judía para la que trabaja. El futuro que ambos sueñan compartir tropezará con obstáculos más insalvables que su origen social. Bajo el régimen de Hitler, en Alemania se aprueban nuevas leyes que prohíben a Christine volver a su trabajo y tener cualquier relación con Isaac. Pero ella se enfrentará a la ira de la Gestapo y los horrores de Dachau en su afán por estar con el hombre a quien ama, por sobrevivir al horror y, finalmente, preservar la verdad.

The Lost girls of willow brook by Ellen Marie Wiseman
This story starts out with Sage and she learns her sister who's like a twin to her is really alive. She had been told her died from pneumonia years ago.
She's been living at the state institution Willow Brook and now she's gone missing. Their mother is dead now and they live with Alan, who's not their father.
She plans to head to the woods nearby the building and look for any clues about Rosemary. Love that the mother named her daughters after herbs: Sage and Rosemary.
I received this review book from The Kensington Books and this is my honest opinion.
Bit creepy and very scary for me but a good story. Like simple things like making fairy things from twigs and things found on forest floor.
So sad when she shows up to ask about her missing sister they capture her, inject her and now she's Rosemary.
The state school is described to every detail that is so chilling it's a horror to me. With help from a janitor they find the real Rosemary.
You wonder if she will ever be released as she's not the one that needs to be in there. She only has a few people she trusts....
You also wonder what else is going to happen as things seem calm again...til more show up dead. so creepy and horrid.
I received this review book from The Kensington Between The Chapters Review Books and this is my honest opinion.

I have never heard of Willowbrook but this expose by Geraldo Rivera was before I was born. After reading this book, I did research more about the tragic events that took place at Willowbrook. They are so sad. The residents did not deserve the inhuman treatment that she had to endure.

Reading this book, does showcase just how very important mental health is needed. It is a topic that is getting more spotlight attention shown on it but there is more to be done.

Instantly, I imagined the horror and fear that Sage might have felt when she entered this facility in search of her sister. With each new day, Sage uncovered so many secrets. I really could not believe what I was reading but at the same time I could not stop reading. Having finished this book, I will be checking out more books by this author.

The Lost Girls of Willowbrook is a top-notch well-written historical fiction novel. It was full of suspense and grief that these practices happen. It was really hard to put the book down once I started. The research the author put into this is unmatched!

The horrors of this institution are made worse by the fact that this is based on a true story. I was overcome with depression and anger reading the book. It was only towards the end that I was able to calm down. If I had been admitted to this travesty of a "school" I too would have sought out the Angel of Death.

A History and Socilogy of Willowbrook State School
Public Hostage, Public Ransom, Ending Institutional America - both by William Bronston, MD
Also based on serial killer Andre Rand