PLEASE READ. THE FUTURE OF WOMEN AND THEIR RIGHTS DEPENDS ON KNOWING THE PAST.

This is a great book, and the fact that it is available during our current time in history is also incredibly timely.

Serena Burdick takes us on a fictional ride during the turn of the 19th Century with Luella, a headstrong fifteen-year-old, and Effie, her sickly younger sister, who adores Luella. The girls grow up in an affluent family in New York City during a time when women have no rights and, at the behest of a male (think father, husband, judge), can be "sentenced" to a reformatory known as a laundry house. These sentences ranged from about three years to indefinite. The transgressions for landing a female in a laundry house were anything from kissing a boy to disobeying the head male of the house (again, think father, husband, or brother).

Luella runs away, and Effie, who thinks their father sent Luella to Mercy House as punishment for her bold behavior, gets herself checked into the laundry house to find Luella. We follow Effie's days of work, torcher, and wrongful imprisonment at Mercy House.

Catholic Nuns ran the laundry houses, wherein they took in the wash of the wealthy in the community and pocketed the money. The girls sentenced to these places were often literally worked to death. Many were left there and forgotten; all were abused and abandoned.

We learn about these laundry houses from Ms. Burdick. They began in Ireland and sprung up all over the United States, hundreds of them throughout the country, where thousands of women were sent for any number of transgressions. Ireland has recognized its past in this regard; the United States has not. As a result, these women have essentially gone into obscurity; they are The Girls with No Names.

This book, released in 2020, touches on many issues that people in 2022 need to pay attention to, lest the past repeats itself.

READ THIS BOOK. READ BETWEEN THE LINES AND BRING IT INTO TODAY'S CONTEXT. You will not regret it. (And it's an excellent book besides - bonus!) ( )

Sisters

Beautiful novel about about the lives of the wealthy Tilden family living in New York. Daughters Luella and Effie are loved but what they can do and where they go, other than school and church, is restricted by their parents, mostly by their father.

After discovering a friendly gypsy camp in a nearby woods; the girls visit often as they find the music, dancing, people and culture compelling and enriching despite their parents' warnings. Once they realize their father is no saint, Luella becomes enboldened and flippant with her parents. Then she leaves home without telling Effie. Effie is bewildered, and makes a ruinous decision that changes the Tilden family forever.

This book is similar to Hannah Tinti's 'The Good Thief' recently read. Ren and Effie have similar personalities, are smart, strong, caring; and don't allow their 'weaknesses' to get the best of them. Both eventually get their freedom and find 'home' after abysmal experiences.

Excellent plot, characters, dialog, and timing. Great read!

What an amazing read!!! Heart wrenching and eye opening. You really feel for these and other girls had to endure during the late 1800s, early 1900s. Make sure to grab the tissues when you settle down with the read! ( )

Luella and Effie are young women coming into their own. Born into a rich and affluent family, they both chafe against the rules and restrictions of high society. After befriending a group of Gypsy's that are camping nearby, Luella disappears. Effie believes her parents have sent her to the House of Mercy, a workhouse for troubled girls. Determined to find her sister, Effie pays a poor local to turn her into the workhouse. Once inside, Effie realizes that she has made a horrible mistake.

This book was a bit slow to start. However, it really picked up momentum once Luella disappeared. At times Effie came across as a bit younger than her age, but perhaps this was on purpose to enhance her innocence and the shock of the workhouse. Both Effie and Luella were extremely likeable and interesting. Overall, well worth picking up. ( )