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A look at the all-too-recent, almost-forgotten piece of history: the corruption and abuse inside the Tennessee Children's Home Society. I hadn't heard of the underhanded, illegal, and cruel practices of Georgia Tann. Her villainy rivals any fictional character the author could have come up with; she was a Trunchbull without the Olympic medals, a Cruella DeVille without the Dalmatian coats or catchy theme song. I am glad for books like this that teach a little bit of history, particularly untold
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Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge—until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents—but they quickly realize that the truth is mu
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Poignant, well-researched and written, heartbreaking and unforgettable. The subjects of this story were fictional but the framework of the tale is historical and based on events and accounts of real individuals. The tragedy humans are capable of causing is horrific while the resiliency of the human spirit is at times absolutely amazing.

May 30, 2017
Kim
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