Tina Reads All the Books

Book Blurb:

2 CHILDREN FOR SALE. The sign is a last resort. It sits on a farmhouse porch in 1931, but could be found anywhere in an era of breadlines, bank runs and broken dreams. It could have been written by any mother facing impossible choices.

For struggling reporter Ellis Reed, the gut-wrenching scene evokes memories of his family’s dark past. He snaps a photograph of the children, not meant for publication. But when it leads to his big break, the consequences are more devastating than he ever imagined.

Inspired by an actual newspaper photograph that stunned the nation, Sold on a Monday has celebrated five months on the New York Times bestsellers list and continues to especially captivate fans of Lisa Wingate’s Before We Were Yours and Kristin Hannah’s The Four Winds.

This was pretty good! It was a solid 3 star read and made good use of some cliffhanger chapters. I have realized I am a fan of the cliffhanger chapter, used right it keeps me coming back.

The story is told between the viewpoints of two characters – Ellis and Lily, though only Ellis is mentioned in the blurb. Ellis is the photographer of the photo of the children being sold. And the decision to use it is instigated in part by Lily. This sets in motion a twisty chain of events.

I found the real life photo that inspired this story in an interview done by the author. It’s from 1948:

I also found out that the “twist” involving the photo may also have been true.

The story was exciting and peppered with historical events of the day, some I was familiar with, some I was not. I liked the way the author wove these different events into the narrative. I also liked how Lily’s character was handled, showing a woman’s viewpoint of that time period. I also will mention this is not Christian fiction by any means, but a mention of a character’s faith was handled in a respectful way.

I will definitely be reading this author again. I even have the next book picked out.

Recommend!