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Janet P. (Spokane, WA)
Fascinating story
This story brought forth depression era US so vividly that I felt I was involved in the poverty which became the main story in the early 1930's in this country. The book's cover intrigued me with a picture of a little child leaning over a suitcase along with a sign on the back cover on which was printed "2 Children for Sale." I really couldn't put the book down, basically because of the intriguing story. I've needed to look back to think about the author's ability to build believable characters and create setting because the story itself was compelling enough that I didn't take the time on first read to look at
…more the parts of the whole. Ellis Reed, a struggling young reporter takes a picture of this sign with two young children sitting by it. The picture moves the narrative forward in directions Ellis and his eventual partner in research, Lillian Palmer, could never anticipate. There are many lessons to be learned from this novel. First would be the huge consequences that any of us might face when at first we tempt fate with even a tiny but very public lie. Ellis gets caught up in those type of consequences and in trying to right the wrongs he inadvertently helped snowball, he risks his own life as well as the life of two little children. Lillian plays the role of a motivated "wanna be reporter" who prods Ellis into doing what is moral and right. They develop into a team that searches in dangerous places for the truth of the mess which Ellis set into motion. Kristina McMorris does a great job of gradually revealing the main character's backgrounds. They both have secrets to keep and those secrets are believable and clearly lead both Ellis and Lillian to the ways they deal with the narrative's twists and turns. I read that the novel was inspired by an actual newspaper photo from depression era USA. In the end I feel I just finished a great story by a good author who tells a tale of ambition clouding judgement and the long armed effects of some of our actions that might be good to consider before we make choices which not only effect our own lives, but those of innocent others. (less)
Betty Taylor
Never underestimate the power of a photo…
A sign in a yard – 2 children for sale – caught the attention of struggling reporter Ellis Reed. It’s the Great Depression and people take desperate measures to survive. Ellis snapped an innocent enough photo of the sign and the children, never intending that the photo be published.
In 1931 many people lost everything - their jobs, their houses, and means of making a living. People are living with breadlines, rationing, and hard decisions each day. Every day children are being sold or dropped off at churches and orphanages. Too many mouths to feed.
But the sight of these children is a gut-punch to Ellis, who has
…more a father he can never please and has lived with the belief that when his brother died very young it should have been him instead.
Lily Palmer is a secretary at the same newsroom where Ellis works. She guards her own secret, a secret that she believes could cost her the job and her rooming accommodations if revealed. It is Lily that recognizes the power of Ellis’ photo. Unknown to Ellis, Lily includes the photo with the other photos Ellis took on his assignment that day. Thus is sparked a chain of events that changes several lives – his and Lily’s included.
This compassionate story reveals the heartache of a mother who is forced to give up her children. A mother who tried to ensure her children would have a better life than she could them, but was sorely betrayed. Ellis and Lily set out to right a wrong but find that it may cost them their lives.
The story was inspired by the sight of a photo the author came across online in a 1948 Indiana newspaper. The photo showed four children huddled together by a sign that read 4 CHILDREN FOR SALE. Also in the photo is the mother shielding her face from the camera. The characters in SOLD ON A MONDAY are memorable. They are flawed, but you still love them. They make mistakes, but they own up to them. They hurt, they cry, they love. These are people you can relate to. (less)While Kristina McMorris acknowledges that the story was not true, it very likely could have been. My own mother, as a young girl, was farmed out to an aunt in Maryland because my grandparents could not feed them all with the small rations allotted. I so love that McMorris chose to rewrite this story from this Era with hope. This book reminds me in many ways of Lisa Wingate's, Before We Were Yours, which like Sold on Mondays describes a time in our country when children were taken simply because their parents were poor and therefore deemed unfit. The characters of Lily and Ellis, were humanly flawed in all their
…more wants and desires, yet noble in their determined cause to reunite the Dillard family. This is a time we should not forget least we repeat history. Take care of our children, they are our future. (less)Great historical story set in 1931 Pennsylvania. Based on the research of a factual picture showing a sign selling 4 children on a stoop in Chicago in 1948 - the desperation of just one family. McMorris, after following up with the children in that picture and learning of their sordid life after being sold, made the decision to write this book.
Centered around a journalist who is trying to become a headlining reporter, Ellis Reed, writes a story after seeing a sign which advertises two children for sale. Having to recreate the picture, since it was accidentally destroyed, he later finds out that the children in
…more the staged picture were actually sold. His journey begins as he tries to set his mistake right.
McMorris did a really good job on this book. Based on a true situation it had the feel of realism, as something that could easily have happened in the past. The tension builds as the story sucks you into it's world. Her characters, of which there are few, drove this story. Each character was going through their own problems and struggling to find a solution, a safe place. A sincere, absorbing historical read. (less)I would definitely recommend reading Sold on a Monday. The book is fiction but in some ways it reads like non-fiction due to the author's research and historical detail. I'd give the story an A, the writing a B. I believe this is an author who will become a better writer in time.
Sharon R. (Deerfield, IL)
"It started with a picture"
Another reviewer compared this story to the "fake news" that is prevalent in our society today. This story, however, is not fake, it is based on a true story. A reporter who is looking for his big break to land a story that will rocket his career onto the front page. He takes a picture that sets off a chain of events that includes two children, a single mother, and a reporter that knows the truth about the photograph. His subsequent rise as a journalist is shadowed because he is haunted by the photograph. In fact, many of the characters in this novel are guarding their own secrets.
The author represents the
…more depression in all it's grittiness. The mob, the speakeasy's, and the struggles of families just trying to survive are all brought together in this gem of a novel. Perfect for Book Clubs and fans of historical American fiction. (less)Ellis Reed is a Society reporter looking to become an above the fold breaking news reporter, when he takes a photo of two boys with a sign behind them saying "2 children for sale." Based on a real photograph, author Kristina McMorris has written an engaging novel that crosses genres. Set during the depression, almost every character has a secret and is intent on keeping them. The repercussions of Ellis' article, published with the photograph reach across the United States and he is helped by Lily Palmer, the editor's secretary, whose secrets push her to help Ellis. Part mystery, part romance, this historical
…more novel brings a small piece of the 1930s to life with its portrayal of working class people trying as best they can under at times, harsh circumstances. (less)It was an historical time, unemployment was rampant. In the depression there was not much money available, people did whatever was necessary to survive including selling children. Who would have known that a picture of two children for sale would change several lives forever.
