2020 Book Review #28: The Girls With No Names

 

I was on the waiting list for this historical fiction novel for quite some time and finally had a chance to read it!

It did not disappoint.  It's a powerful story.

STORY SUMMARY

Luella and Effie Tildon are the daughters of Jeanne and Emory. They are growing up in NYC in the 1910s and even though they are a wealthy family, their freedoms do come with limits.  One day they discover a shocking secret about their dad and Luella, always the bold one, makes a decision  to engage in a rebellious act.  And the consequences change both of their lives as well as their parents' lives.  One morning, Luella is gone.  She has vanished.

 

Effie believes that her dad has sent Luella away to the House of Mercy, a religious institution for wayward girls.  In fact, they live very close to the House of Mercy. It is run by nuns.  Effie devises a plan to get Luella away from there.  Little does she know, she will spend the next year locked up in that horrible home. Escaping this house seems impossible until she meets Mable.  

Mable and Effie's lives become intertwined and they learn they must rely on their precarious friendship in order to survive. 

MY THOUGHTS

This book is a work of historical fiction based on the very real House of Mercy from the early part of the 20th Century.  It was a horrible place where women and girls were abused and mistreated by nuns. And yet many of us have grown up never hearing of this supposed "house of reform". 

The characters are all very well-developed and each one has a different voice in the book with her own chapter.  We hear from Luella, Mable, Jeanne, Effie.  Other characters are introduced in their chapters.  

The author also includes "gypsies" also known as the Romani people and she did extensive research into their life style and community.  She does explain why she uses the word "gypsies" in her writing.  I was ok with it, given the  time period of the book.

This story centers around family relationships, friendships, abandonment, adultery, teenage unwed pregnancy, women's rights (or lack thereof), the suffragette movement, and child abuse and neglect. It also touches on stillborn deaths and poverty. It touches on love, forgiveness, betrayal, and bravery.  It is a story of hope and perseverance in the midst of great struggle.

The book is a very realistic look at life for women in the turn of the century and the different socio-economic-educational circle of Effie/Luella, Mable, and Marcella/Tray.

There were a couple of quotes that stood out to me: 

"There was so much hope in that dress.  Maybe a little hope is all it takes to blind us." (pg 151 The Girls with no Names by Serena Burdick, c. 2020) 

"I'd loved her, and doing something for someone you love is always a little bit self-serving." (pg 325, The Girls With No Names by Serena Burdick, c. 2020)

In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 17 and older (due to some mature content).

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 10.