Helen Klein Ross

I could not put this book down. The only reason I am giving it 4-stars rather than 5 is that I didn't like the ending. I won't spoil it, so you can keep reading...

This is the story of Marilyn. One fateful day, her babysitter calls to cancel so she ends up trying to shuffle work and being a mom without the help that she is used to. She takes her 4-month old baby Natalie to IKEA. While they are shopping, she gets a phone call on her cell phone. This was before most anyone had cell phones, so the reception was terrible. It was an important phone call, so Marilyn moved her body to try to get better reception. She thought it would only be for a second.

This is the story of Lucy. She has tried and tried and tried to get pregnant, but still finds herself childless. She is at IKEA at the same time as Marilyn and happens to come across Natalie in the cart with no adult in sight. She doesn't plan to kidnap a child that day, or ever. She just sees the child all alone and cold from the A/C. She thinks she should take the child to the checkout lanes and find an employee, or maybe outside just for a minute to warm her up. But the next thing she knows, she has the baby in her car and she is driving away.

Lucy changes Natalie's name to Mia. They live a happy life for 21 years. That is when it all comes out into the open. Mian/Natalie has to decide who she is. Does she want Lucy to be punished? What kind of relationship does she want with her birth mom?

I could NOT put this book down!… (mais)

Bridey and Thom leave Ireland for America, planning to wed once they arrive. Thom dies aboard ship, and Bridey arrives in America pregnant. She considers returning to her family in Ireland, but remains. A young woman who helps Bridey helps her place the child with a Catholic charity and provides Bridey with a job. When the woman's own child dies in birth, she adopts from the charity with Bridey still working for the family. The bond between Bridey and Vincent is strong. Bridey returns to Ireland when the family's patriarch dies. The story follows several more generations in a somewhat chaotic matter. The flow between the older generation and the newer ones does not work well for the reader. Genetic genealogists will love the epilogue. The author provides historical notes and a good bibliography, features unusual for a novel. I really enjoyed Bridey and Thom's story, the story of Bridey's first days in America, and giving up the child for adoption. I even enjoyed some of Bridey's story after that point. Unfortunately, the more the story began to focus on the Hollingworth family, the less interested I became in the story being read. The character development that took place in the early generations did not extend to the later ones. Those generations felt rushed. What started as a good read became just a mediocre one for me. I received an electronic copy from the publishers through NetGalley with the expectation of an honest review.… (mais)