Children for Sale

The sign sits on a porch in 1931. It's the time of broken dreams, lost fortunes and heartbreak. What a decision to make - to sell you children. This is the scene which journalist Ellis Reed comes upon while reporting on another story. He decides to take some pictures of the two boys sitting near the sign and wonders "can they read?" Do the boys know what is written on the sign? Heart wrenching and sad.

Lilian Palmer is a single Mother who hides the fact that she has a four-year-old son who resides with her parents and whom she visits every weekend. By chance she sees the photograph that Ellis has taken and decides to bring it to her boss's attention. When that photograph becomes damaged, a new photograph must be taken. That final photograph changes things for both Ellis and Lilian (among other characters) forever.

"Even decent, well meaning people could make poor choices under pressure."

This book was a quick easy read but I found that the pacing lagged at times. I found it to be slow in the beginning, then picked up and then lagged again. My biggest complaint about this book is that even though the subject matter is heart breaking, I did not feel as if I had the emotional connection that I was expecting. I had high expectations for this book in that regard. Again, I was hoping for more of an emotional connection. Can you even imagine putting your children up for sale? What that must have felt like? The reasons and situation which led you to make such a gut-wrenching decision. What must it be like to know your parents are selling you? For the entire book I wanted to know what happened to those initial boys who sat by the sign on their front porch. Were they ever sold? What was their fate? The reader does not know as the story is no longer about them but about Ellis and Lilian and their quest to right a wrong they feel that they committed by taking the second photograph. I was also hoping for more POV's in this book so that I could feel more of an emotional bond with the other children, Ruby and Calvin and their Mother. For me, I wanted to know more about all the children in this book, their thoughts, feelings and emotions.
Still, this is an enjoyable book which paints a picture of what life was like during that time. Tough decisions were made during that time which affected everyone in the family unit. Her characters were likable, and I did root for them. There are situations in this book which do pull at the heart strings. The story does become a tad predictable and everything is wrapped up nicely in the end but ultimately, I wanted more.

I really liked this book. It took a look at a forgotten group of children in one of the hardest times in US history.

One of the best books I have read! Heart wrenching, stunning and satisfying. The Great Depression, children being sold and the intense and horrific times that other human, especially children went through. This is an important piece of work and I was in tears at times and my heartfelt for so many. McMorris takes us in and helps us along the way in this beautifully written with compassion and love. It is one I will recommend for a long time to come.

it took awhile for this book to pick up, I'm glad I stuck with it. It was a journey through the Great Depression that made you feel as if you were standing on the breadline. To top off the adventure of rescuing the kids, you got a love story too! Loved Lily's character during difficult times .

I received this book from NetGalley as an ARC for an honest review. This was an outstanding story about poverty and desperation that forced a mother to sell her own children just to,survive. We follow the story of a young widow with two children and what happens to them when their pictures appear in a newspaper with the caption “Children for Sale”. Many lives are changed and threatened due to a phony caption and a staged photo. The story is well written with many surprising twists

Thank you Sourcebooks and Netgalley for providing me with an advanced digital copy of SOLD ON A MONDAY

I liked this book, and historical fiction is always a safe place for me. I rarely go into a historical fiction novel flat out disliking it, and this one was no different. I've always been fascinated by books written during the Great Depression era (I think I'm a sucker for an emotional reading journey), and I definitely found this to be a great representation of this time period.

This book was inspired by an actual photo that was seen (a photo of two children with the words "two children for sale," written on it), setting the stage for an emotional story indeed. I found that the intensity of the subject matter was well balanced with hope, and the pacing moved pretty quickly for a historical piece.

The writing was not fantastic, but I did think that it was good. All in all, I give this book a solid 3/5 stars, and I'm thankful for the opportunity to have read another book set in this time period.

Sold on A Monday was a great read although at times it was a little slow. I love a story that keeps you entertained while teaching you things. During the pages of this story I was reintroduced to the way that women were treated in our history. How no matter how smart or talented they were they had to fight twice as hard just to be a secretary and how unwed women with children could be treated so badly that they would lie to protect themselves.

I'm always curious about where the idea for a story came from so I loved where the author told us all about that at the end.

A story set in the middle of the Great Depression, McMorris asks the reader to imagine what would happen if children were placed up for sale because their parents could not afford to feed them. This book discusses journalistic ethics as the protagonist, Ellis Reed, develops a story based on a photograph, and then regrets the story that he's told. Ellis and his friend Lily Palmer set out to make right life for the children in the photo and their mother.
This is a good glimpse of the devastation suffered by ordinary people during the depression. Ellis and Lily are fairly complex characters who come to terms with their past and, through their actions, find redemption and purpose.

I didn't think O would enjoy this book based on the description, but I decided to go ahead and read it anyway. I'm glad I did. The story was really interesting and touching. Highly recommend this book.

I enjoyed this book. It did touch on some emotional issues that kept me interested in the story. I do wish it would've moved a little quicker.

It is 1931 Ellis, a struggling reporter has photographed two young children next to a sign advertising them for sale. Lily, secretary to the head of the newspaper, sees the photo and together, they set into motion circumstances that no one would have predicted. There is romance, intrigue and mystery in this well written historical novel that I read in one day.

Although this book was genuinely heart felt.... It wasnt what i thought it would be. It didnt stick with me

What a story! It takes place during the Great Depression, in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. A look at the difficulty of making it in journalism at that time. A look at women's rights. A story about a photograph that changed two families forever. Fiction at its finest, as readers encounter one surprise after another.

The Great Depression was a tumultuous time in our nation's history. Out of desperation, people did things that, under different circumstances, they would never do. In 1931, on a hot summer day in Pennsylvania, a newspaper reporter takes an innocent picture that sparks a chain of events that is a complete game changer.

Children for sale. It's a concept that is unfathomable to many of us, but no one really understands unless you're put in a dire situation. It is the choice that one mother makes for her two beautiful children, for her own personal reasons, despite many judging her. While this family deals with the effects of that choice Ellis, the reporter responsible for the photo, becomes famous overnight, and completely changes his life.

The fact that Ellis's success came at the expense of this family being torn apart, and two children being sold, gnaws at Ellis until he cannot take it anymore. Ellis, and his friend and fellow co-worker Lily, vow to do everything they can to make sure the children are safe in their new home. It is this choice that begins an investigation that leads both Ellis and Lily down a dark and unexpected path.

Though Sold on a Monday took a different turn than what I had originally thought, I really enjoyed all the twists and surprises. The suspense made me unable to turn the pages fast enough, and the ending did not disappoint. Well written, Kristina McMorris knows how to draw her reader in and not let go until the very end. A few instances of foul language is my only complaint about the book, but that's the newspaper biz, so I had to brush it off despite not liking that component.

You really feel like you're there for every moment, giving you a taste of some of the effects of the Great Depression. 2 children for sale. Sad indeed.

I really enjoyed this book because it combined a compelling mystery with a great historical perspective that I was unaware of previously. Sprinkle in a little potential romance and you have a great read.

It was the cover of “Sold on a Monday” that attracted my attention, a child sitting alone with a small suitcase that perhaps contain everything he owned.

And then the blurb “Philadelphia, 1931. A young, ambitious reporter named Ellis Reed photographs a pair of young siblings on the front porch of a farmhouse next to a sign: “2 children for sale.”

Those two things tugged at my heartstrings and when I started reading the book, that little gasp that could easily turn into a sob stayed with me until the final page. And that was when tears fell.

The description of the book says it all. It’s the story of Ellis Reed, a budding journalist and Lily Palmer who worked as a secretary at the newspaper. There was the requisite romance to add to the depth of the characters, but the main story revolved around the responsibility of a journalist.

Journalism is not a job, it is a vocation. Except for a very few, the pay is not that great either. And in this era of fake news and sensationalism, when a name or a slogan becomes a target, when a nobody becomes somebody because he or she is ranting about a certain someone, reading this historical novel make me realize that things have not changed much since the Depression.

That Ellis Reed and Lily Palmer are unforgettable characters is a given. Kristina Morris gave them depth of characters. But, then again, this is not their story alone. It is the story of an era. And that is where Morris excelled. She brought the audience to an era which is a distant memory to many.

Most of the people alive during that time are gone, or if they are still around, they are very old and chances are living in a home. So, reading “Sold on a Monday” can be likened to a looking into a “nation’s memory” and to remember the lessons that era taught us.

“Sold on a Monday” is Rated T for Teens.

This book was amazing!! I could not put down! Kristina McMorris did such a great job creating such a great book!

Kristina McMorris's Sold on a Monday was a heartwarming and heartwrenching tale. I enjoyed that it was based off of an actual newspaper clipping. It also begs the question of what one might do to survive. Many moral conversations can be stirred with this book. Aside from that, it was also an enjoyable read.

Imagine your life being changed by a small sign. In 1931, in rural Pennsylvania, a reporter with a camera was drawn to a hand made sign which was advertising an unimaginable offer...2 children for sale. This desperate choice led to much heartache and many complications.

In a tough newsroom, it was hard to catch a break. Ellis had always wanted to write stories that mattered. Stories that would get noticed and read by many. His haunting photograph became the ticket to his success.

Ellis became known for his human interest stories. And, well written stories by talented and observant journalists could and did bring about many needed changes in society. Ellis had wanted to be a brave newsman since he was a young boy. Loved that Ellis had been an avid reader, my kind of character!

Lily also worked at the same newspaper. She was a hard working, quiet girl who kept to herself. She was filled with untapped talent and...secrets.

The lives of Ellis and Lily intersected and this continued to happen as they began to trust each other professionally. Ah, might they also depend on each other personally?

As Ellis had chosen to stage a photo, his choice led to a string of seemingly never ending consequences for all involved. Some families fractured and were torn apart, while others were newly formed, although their seams were also unraveling.

A strong urge to right some really huge wrongs set an exciting series of events into motion. Unexpected alliances were formed as goals were accomplished.

The characters were well developed and filled with depth. I truly cared about them and they will be hard to forget. I really enjoyed traveling back to 1931 and spending time with Ellis and Lily.

This was a moving story about choices and regrets, right and wrong, despair and hope, consequences and second chances.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from Sourcebooks Landmark through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This was a easy, quick read that definately pulled at my heartstrings. It was a bit predictable and slow to start but overall I did enjoy it. It shows what a tough time the thirties were and paints a very clear picture. Characters were well thought out.