What an amazing book! It is set in the 1930s during the depression, when desperation led people to do things they would have otherwise never have done- like sell their children, who they could no longer feed. The book is heartbreaking, but at the same time, somehow heart warming. Add in a touch of intrigue and mystery and it makes for,an excellent read. I highly recommend it.

I am always drawn to historical fiction and I can see why this book has many favorable reviews as it is an easy read. It reveals a sad part of history that leaves you with a conflicting feeling of wanted to know more. I did have a hard time connected with the characters as I found them too clichéd. I kept picturing Clark Kent and Lois Lane for some reason which led to parts of the story being melodramatic. I understand the need for referencing events going on at the time to establish the time period (like the Lindbergh kidnapping) but they seemed forced. Overall, I think this would appeal to book clubs as there are a lot of themes to debate throughout the story. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris is full of family, gut wrenching choices, redemption and so much more. Set in the Depression era 1940's, this story is an intense, emotional roller coaster read that grabbed my heart and just wouldn't let go. (As if the book cover wasn't enough of a heart grabber!)

This story is engaging and while at times I needed my tissues to help me get through it, I am SO glad I read it. It's definitely a keeper!

I received this book for free. A favorable review was not required and all views expressed are my own. Thank you to Ms. McMorris, Sourcebooks Landmark Publishing and Edelweiss for the opportunity to read and review this book.

With Sold on a Monday, Kristina McMorris has solidified her place on my favorite author list.

It all started with a picture. Reporter Ellis Reed snaps a photo of two children sitting outside their home with a sign "2 children for sale." This photo drives home the dramatic choices some families faced in 1931. Lillian Palmer, secretary, sees the photo in the darkroom and it speaks to her so she insures that it reaches the publication desk. What follows draws both Ellis and Lillian into a complex situation that has far reaching implications for both of them and a host of others.

I absolutely did not want to put this book down. The plot moves along quickly and has some unforeseen turns along the way. The author does such a tremendous job of making the characters leap from the pages and draws you into the locations and timeframes. I appreciated all the research and historical details that the author included. The note at the end of the book providing additional information about the inspiration behind the story put everything into perspective.

This book is a must read for any historical fiction fan and would make an excellent book club selection. Five star read for me.

I received this book courtesy of Sourcebooks Landmark in exchange for an honest review.

In all honesty, I chose this book based on it’s cover. Yes, a good cover will sucker me in every time. Luckily this one lived up to it’s cover.

The story takes place in the 1930's during the depression. Times are hard. Very hard. So hard that the only option is to put your children up for sale. That is what Ellis found when he was out scouting for an assignment. He came upon two children sitting on a porch with a for sale sign by them. He captured the moment with his camera.

He brought the photo back to the newsroom and showed it to his editor. I loved the newsroom setting. I can just imagine the clicking typewriters, the haze of smoke, the frantic rush to meet deadlines - all before cell phones. The story was a go, except that someone messed up the photo and Ellis had to go back to take it again. The only problem? The family was gone. So, Ellis had to recreate it with a new family and new children. The mother, desperate for money, agreed to do the photo.

This sets up the story that just snowballs from there. The story is told in a back and forth fashion between Ellis and Lily (a secretary at the paper.)

What makes the story even more interesting is that it is based on actual photograph took in the 1940’s showing children sitting on a porch with a for sale sign. The author was moved by the photo and used it as an inspiration for the story.

I loved this story. I love the newsroom setting. Each character was well developed and carried their own secrets and flaws. Heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time.

I received an ARC of the book.

EXCERPT: Another drop of sweat slid from Ellis's fedora, down his neck, and into his starched collar. Even without his suit jacket, his whole shirt clung from the damn humidity. He moved closer to the house and raised his camera. Natural scenic shots were his usual hobby, but he adjusted the lens to bring the kids into focus. With them came a sign. A raw, wooden slat with jagged edges, it bowed slightly against the porch, as if reclining under the weight of the afternoon heat. The offer it bore, scrawled in charcoal, didn't fully register until Ellis snapped the photo.

2 children for sale

ABOUT THIS BOOK: From New York Times bestselling author Kristina McMorris comes another unforgettable novel inspired by a stunning piece of history.

2 CHILDREN FOR SALE

The sign is a last resort. It sits on a farmhouse porch in 1931, but could be found anywhere in an era of breadlines, bank runs, and broken dreams. It could have been written by any mother facing impossible choices.

For struggling reporter Ellis Reed, the gut-wrenching scene evokes memories of his family’s dark past. He snaps a photograph of the children, not meant for publication. But when it leads to his big break, the consequences are more devastating than he ever imagined.

At the paper, Lillian Palmer is haunted by her role in all that happened. She is far too familiar with the heartbreak of children deemed unwanted. As the bonds of motherhood are tested, she and Ellis must decide how much they are willing to risk to mend a fractured family.

Inspired by an actual newspaper photograph that stunned the nation, Sold on a Monday is a powerful novel of love, redemption, and the unexpected paths that bring us home.

MY THOUGHTS: This is a quietly powerful novel. It is not written in a dramatic fashion, yet it tore my emotions to pieces. It gave me everything I expected, and more, yet it was nothing like I expected.

'Photography is the art of observation. It has little to do with things you see and everything to do with the way you see them'-Elliott Erwitt

None of us know what is in the hearts and minds of others. We are quick to judge by appearances, seldom taking the time to dig beneath the surface to determine the truth. And we do things ourselves, sometimes with the best of intentions, sometimes to further our own interests, mostly without thinking through the consequences. This is just what Ellis and Lily do. They individually set in motion a chain of events that neither one of them could have imagined and, united in the aftermath, what they find is not what they expected.

After the initial photograph of the children and it's accompanying furor, the book focuses largely on Ellis's career. I kept thinking, 'The children. . . what is happening to the children?' I was beginning to think that the book wasn't about them at all, that it was just an attention grabbing stunt. But I was wrong. The author was making a point, and a very good one, about how easy it is to lose sight of what is important, to be blinded by other things, superficial things that, easily gained, are also easy to lose.

This book is largely about values, about being true to ourselves and our beliefs, about truth and compassion, choices and consequences. But don't go thinking it is at all preachy or moralistic, because it's not. It is a beautifully written, compelling and captivating slice of history that will tug at your heartstrings. But it did leave me with one burning question. . . what happened to the two little boys in the first photo that Ellis took? That haunts me still.

💖💖💖💖💖

I feel sure that this book is destined to become a classic.

THE AUTHOR: 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 Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, and Kensington Books. Her forthcoming novel, Sold on a Monday (Sourcebooks Landmark, 8-28-18), follows her widely praised The Edge of Lost, The Pieces We Keep, Bridge of Scarlet Leaves, and Letters from Home. Additionally, her novellas are featured in the anthologies A Winter Wonderland and Grand Central. Prior to her writing career, Kristina hosted weekly TV shows since age nine, including an Emmy® Award-winning program, and has been named one of Portland's "40 Under 40" by The Business Journal. She lives with her husband and two sons in the Pacific Northwest, where she is working on her next novel.

DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for providing a digital ARC of Sold On A Monday by Kristina McMorris for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.

Please refer to my Goodreads.com profile page or the about page on sandysbookaday.wordpress.com for an explanation of my rating system.

This review and others are also published on my blog sandysbookaday.wordpress.com

There is no way I can do justice to this review. The novel was so beautifully written and after finishing the book, I continued to think about it. There is so much substance to this story, to these characters and their plights. I liked all of the characters and understood the emotional baggage that weighed each of them down. Their actions, even the wrong ones made sense.

It started with a photograph and then a posed lie. In the 1930's children were a commodity. Children could be used to fill a void or work in servitude. Ellis Reed, a struggling photographer during the depression takes a poignant picture. Lily, a secretary and would be writer who helps Ellis, has a few secrets of her own. She struggles with her participation what needs to be done to right this wrong.

I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

The story starts with a picture of the Great Depression. It is a photograph including a sign reading, two children for sale. Horrible, yes, but imagine a single mother who is sick, and possibly terminal with no means to care for her children or herself. It’s the 30’s and everybody is struggling to survive. There are no agencies available to help her like there are today.

Hard working wannabe photojournalist Ellis Reed, has captured the image of two young boys offered for sale on the porch of a downtrodden house in the community of Laurel Township, Pennsylvania.

Disturbed, Ellis nonetheless brings his roll of film to the office, knowing that shooting unsanctioned photographs on the company funds is against the rules. Enter into our story, secretary Lily Palmer, an unwed mother whose four-year-old son Samuel lives with her parents out of town. This part of her life is a guarded secret. Lily discovers Ellis’ picture. She immediately realizes she has captured an important story, and arranges for the editor in chief to see them. He commissions a feature from Ellis, based on the circumstances surrounding the picture. But Ellis is reluctant to track down and interview the children and their guardian for the article.

Unfortunately, Ellis’ negative and picture are ruined in a printing accident, but since this story is huge for his career, he’s compelled to find a proper replacement. The children and their original guardian are long gone. Thinking no one will be the wiser, he substitutes Calvin and Ruby Dillard, two children he finds in the same neighborhood, for the children in his original picture. He lies to their mother Geraldine to obtain consent, allowing him to photograph her children. It may provide after all a little needed money.

Ellis’ article and accompanying pictures land him a job with the New York Herald Tribune, where he hopes to bring attention to the plight of other suffering children in the world. As lies always do, it all comes back with a fury where many are hurt because of his deception. The innocent children and mother Geraldine are the ones who suffer. Since this is all their fault, Ellis and Lily team up to track down the kids and make sure they’re being taken care of. The path is long and difficult. Remember this is the 30’s and not the ready information world we live in today. The cover up throws Ellis and Lily into mafia violence and the world of black market adoption.
A tender love story enriches the complex plot, giving readers a story with grit, substance, and rich historical detail. Rarely has a book affected this reader so emotionally.

One picture can change the trajectory of a person's life. This is a heart wrenching story where the power of journalism and images can draw people in. Set during the Great Depression where many families were unable to put food on the table and children were often sold, left and dropped off community services locations, the novel follows journalists that wrote about two children for sale, but were they really. This tale will stick with you long after you are done reading.

Although Kristina McMorris's Sold on a Monday explored issues that truly occurred during the Great Deoression, i fould it to be very predictable.. The characters were well developed and relatable but I knew the story's conclusion before I got halfway through the book. I found it to be quite readable but the storyline was just okay. It would not be on the top of my list of reccomended books.
Thank you for giving me the the opportunity to read and review this ARC.

I love books written in this era and this one did not disappoint. I think the writer
does a wonderful job of taking us back there. She also as a huge plus,
explains at the end of the book how she got the story. I loved this book. I have
been sick so it took me a while to do a review. It's as wonderful on the
inside as it is on the cover!

I was intrigued by the cover of this book when I saw it. To think that people could actually sell their children was unbelievable.

This story begins with a new reporter on a newspaper seeing a sign with 2 children saying 'children for sale'. He drives away but the image haunts him and he returns to find the children gone, but the sign still laying on the ground. Ellis sees this as an inspiration for a story which will get him attention at the paper, so he spots a couple of local children and pays their mother to allow them to recreate the image he saw. What happens after that is a story of lost children, heartache, desperation and other factors that kept me turning the pages of this book. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and was interested to discover that the author was inspired by an actual photograph that was spotted from the same era in the 1930's when times were tough and people were desperate. Thank you to Net galley and Sourcebooks for the ARC of this book for an honest review.

Sold on a Monday is a beautifully written story that is based on depression era desperation, when families, who couldn't afford to feed their children, sent them to relatives, or gave them up for adoption. This novel is based loosely on a case that some children were sold to less than scrupulous people.

Ellis Reed, a struggling newspaper reporter, is out in the country outside Philadelphia, where he finds two children perched on a porch holding up a sign, "Two Children for Sale". .After taking a photograph, his career takes a turn, he is faced with a dilemma that will veer his career path to a place not suspected. Ellis then needs to decide if doing the right thing is worth the career ending choice. The book examines ethics, as well as a sweet budding love story embedded in family dysfunction and struggles.

Kristina McMorris has developed characters that are relatable and heart warming, as they make mistakes and attempt to do what's right, all within a great story.

I highly recommend this novel to others who enjoy historical fiction.

Thank you to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Kristina McMorris for the ARC to review. I am a fan of historical fiction and I was drawn to this book by the cover. I have never read anything by Kristina McMorris before, but I will more of her stories. I really enjoyed this one.

It made me think of my Grandfather. My grandfather grew up in the depression. Several of his younger brothers were placed in an orphanage, because there was no one who would take them. My grandfather was able to secure a job. He took his brothers out of the orphanage, after he got two of his Aunts to take his brothers in, as long as he sent them money, This is one, of many, of my grandfathers stories of the Great Depression.

Ellis Reed stages a photo to replace the one he lost. Ellis and Lilly, the chief's secretary, want to find out what has happen to these children and so the story begins. We get a look into the lives of Ellis and Lilly. There trials and tribulations. And then the children's mother shows up at the paper, they know what they must do.

A captivating story, of a very depressed time in our history, beautifully done. A must read.

Heartwrenching, Heartwarming and very Memorable. Young photographer Ellis, is snapping pictures of two young boys sitting on their porch on a sweltering summer day. When he brings his camera more into focus, his heart breaks when he reads the ragged sign by them "2 Children For Sale".

This story is inspired by an actual newspaper photo that ran in Valparaiso, Indiana in 1948. Ms. McMorris does a thorough job of giving us a tender story with wonderful characters, most especially Ellis and Lily, who make a formidable team. Highly recommend reading.

**Thank you to the publisher and Net Galley in exchange of an honest review.**

Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris was inspired by an actual photo that appeared in a paper that was reported to be of a mother selling her children. In this book a reporter writes an article using a similar staged photo and that article and photo sets a chain of events into motion that will end up changing several people's lives. Lots of drama and activity in this riveting tale. Read and enjoy!

The history behind the novel is fascinating. I did my own research on the subject and found it very interesting. I felt the book was softly written. Could of been more intense/more elaborate. I would consider the novel a soft read. A recommendation for book clubs only because there would be a great discussion on the subject.

I enjoyed this book but wished it had spent more time focusing on the children than the adult characters. I felt there were a couple of unnecessary side plots and that the ending was diluted and rushed.

Historical fiction spun from a photograph that was likely a fiction, yet picked up and carried by newspapers far and wide during the Depression. This might-have-been tale is fast and gripping and fills modern readers with the comfort of knowing such awful things can’t happen now. As long as they don’t read about today’s news too closely. Very little has changed for those without financial resources in the face of medical bankruptcy and isolation.

Sold on a Monday was a gripping historical fiction novel about survival during the depression in 1931. and being torn between being ethical or having success. Ellis Reed, a newspaper reporter, happens on two children perched on a porch holding up a shocking sign. After taking a photograph and developing it, his career takes a turn, where he is faced with a virtuous dilemma that will snowball his career path to unknown depths. Ellis has to decide if doing the right thing is worth the possibility of his newfound success ending. Throughout the tale, there is a sweet love story budding, family struggles, and constant quandary of morality.

Kristina McMorris developed interesting characters that you wanted to rut for as they made life-altering decisions. A sequel would be perfect for this book. You won't want to miss this one! I was stunned and compelled to keep reading this mouth-dropping tale.

I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.