March 15, 2019
Sold On a Monday by Kristina McMorris
Genre/Categories: Historical Fiction, the Depression, Family Life
*This post contains Amazon affiliate links.
Summary:
‘2 Children For Sale’ is the sign that captures a rookie newspaper reporter’s interest in 1931. The picture that he snaps of the sign and the children on a dilapidated farmhouse porch leads to his big break and a promotion. The publication of the picture has unintended consequences, and the reporter and a colleague set out to right the wrong and reunite the family. This is an imagined story of a real photograph that appeared in a newspaper during The Depression.

Amazon Rating (early reviews): 4.3 Stars
My Thoughts:
Characters. Surprisingly, this story is told from the perspectives of two newspaper reporters and not the children. Because of reading stories like Before We Were Yours and The Orphan Train, I expected the story to be told from the perspectives of the children. It took me a few chapters to shake this expectation and settle into the story from the newspaper reporters’ perspectives. As the story progressed, I became more invested in their fight to right a wrong….but I still wondered about the children.
Writing. McMorris provides vivid historical details helping us understand the dire circumstances and the desperation of 1931. Definitely, I would have connected more emotionally with the story if it had included the perspective of the older child. Overall, this is a solid read that includes a straightforward time line, a page turning conclusion, and themes of redemption, writing a wrong, family life, and mother/child bonds.
Recommended. I recommend Sold on a Monday for fans of hisfic, for readers who might be interested in the newspaper angle of this tragic imagined story; and for those who appreciate stories about individuals who fight to do the right thing and help others at great personal risk and sacrifice.
My Rating: 3.5 Stars (rounded to 4 stars on Goodreads)
Meet the Author, Kristina McMorris
KRISTINA MCMORRIS is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author. Her novels have garnered more than two dozen literary awards and nominations, including the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, RWA’s RITA Award, and a Goodreads Choice Award for Best Historical Fiction. Inspired by true personal and historical accounts, her works of fiction have been published by Sourcebooks Landmark, Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, and Kensington Books.
Kristina’s latest novel, the acclaimed bestseller SOLD ON A MONDAY, follows her widely praised THE EDGE OF LOST, THE PIECES WE KEEP, BRIDGE OF SCARLET LEAVES, and LETTERS FROM HOME, in addition to her novellas in the anthologies A WINTER WONDERLAND and GRAND CENTRAL. Prior to her writing career, she hosted weekly TV shows since age nine, including an Emmy Award-winning program. She lives with her husband and two sons in Oregon, where she is working on her next novel. For more, visit http://KristinaMcMorris.com
Let’s Discuss
Have you read other stories with a Depression Era setting? A story about the Dust Bowl in the 1930s is one that I find especially poignant Out of the Dust by Karen Hesse (scroll down page).
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Looking Ahead:
Look for a review of Gory Road by Lauren K. Denton next Tuesday.
Winter TBR Update
I’ll be updating my Winter TBR as I read and review selections. I have three more quick reads to check off the list before spring! So check back often!
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Unless explicitly stated that they are free, all books that I review have been purchased by me or borrowed from the library.
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Fab review I do the sound of this. How does it compare to Before We Were Yours?
It’s a much easier read……Before We Were yours was so difficult and emotional because much of it was told from a child’s perspective and there was abuse. In Sold on Monday we never hear from or about the children…it’s all from the reporters’ points of view as they attempt to find the children. But the tragedy that innocent children can be stolen/taken/sold is in both stories. I think you’d enjoy it! It’s a solid read…others have given very high ratings.
I loved the audiobook of When We Were Yours but it was heart breaking. I’m glad this isn’t as emotional, as I need to be in the right mood to read it.
I think you’ll find this much much easier! 👍
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This book sounds so good!
It’s a solid and engaging read! 👍 Thanks for commenting!
Great review! Will check this out! 😊
https://jendbibliophile.wordpress.com
I hope you enjoy it! Thanks for commenting!
I think I understand why she did it from the perspective of the journalists, and I find that very intriguing – maybe even more so than had she done it from the perspective of the children.
Yes….the newspaper angle was interesting! Thanks for commenting!
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Thanks for including me! It’s always fun to blog hop! 👍
This sounds like such an interesting story. It’s on my list of books to read. Great review!
Thanks for stopping in and commenting! I hope you enjoy the read! Let me know 😉
This book sounds so interesting. I’d never have thought or known children were really put up for sale #MixItUp
I know! A friend of mine just told me that the older gentleman they bought their camper from told them that when he was a baby he had been sold for 2 cases of beer 😱 …..also Before We Were Yours is a true story of children being stolen and sold for adoption 💔
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