Before We Were Yours

by Lisa Wingate
May 17-June 7, 2018

I wanted to love this. I anticipated that I would rate it a seldom-given five stars. But it was only OK. I found many flaws, but I have ideas on how it would have been better.

It's no secret that I hate politics. (I'm also the first to admit that I am not educated enough to express any public opinion on political matters.) So the beginning of the book dragged for me. To the point where I wasn't sure I could continue on. I just didn't get the relevance. Then, when the author took the reader to the past on a riverboat, I failed to see the connection. Once the children were kidnapped, it started to make more sense.  I found it extremely difficult to read about the abuse the children suffered while in the orphanage. I also had doubts whether these tales were actually based on a true story. But because the author continued to refer to a place specifically, the Tennessee Children’s Home Society, I deducted that this must be based on facts.

I just don't think that the story benefited in having the connection to the present as far as the political "controversy" and the story of Avery, one of the adopted children's granddaughter. The present-day portions were shallow and sloppily told. It was too much. The novel would have been great on its own if it had just focused on the Foss children and what became of each of them. Avery was a selfish, self-absorbed, unlikeable character. I also failed to see why finding out your grandmother was a "river gypsy" and adopted was such a scandalous fact. So what?

Overall, good potential, poor execution.

* * * * *