I just started reading this and I cannot put it down! Will be on the shortlist for our library's book club for 2019.

Sometimes the cover of a book is so alluring, one can’t help but want to dive in. That is true for this tale of children sold. Actually, the story does not focus on the children but on two newspaper people who were involved in the one reporter’s heart-wrenching photograph and story of children for sale. As a reader, this caused disappointment, due to the failure to deliver on the cover’s promise. That’s not to say that the book isn’t interesting or that the moral dilemma of journalistic integrity isn’t explored. But by centering the story on the storyteller and his friend instead of on the children and their family, is a misdirection that leads to a letdown.

Ellis is a society newspaper writer struggling to be seen as a serious journalist. Lillian is a newspaper secretary who longs to be a writer. The two befriend each other as they dream of shedding a light on injustices and exposing gritty realities. When Ellis accidentally gets his breakthrough (with a little help from Lillian), he gets an opportunity to pursue his dream. Lillian longs for her chance but is a realist about her prospects. Their story is intriguing but what about the children? They are the ones who have a real story to tell.

Readers should know that despite the book being based upon an actual newspaper photograph of children for sale, this is not a story of what happens to a family that is desperate nor how the children fare after being sold. Instead, the family is more incidental to the narrative.

Ellis and Lillian’s determination to help the children is laudable and keeps the family vital to the story. But the two newspaper people are not as sympathetic or tragic as the children, who should be the centerpiece. Ellis and Lillian's story will hold readers' interest but the problem is really with a failure to meet expectations. It isn’t that the book doesn’t highlight a tragic situation but that it doesn’t focus on the true victims. McMorris’ story is interesting but doesn’t have the emotional impact it promised.

Sold on a Monday by Kristina McMorris is a historical fiction. The idea of the novel came from a real photograph the author found advertising children for sale. The ideas are all fictional within the book though with even moving the time frame to that of the great depression.

The book follows Ellis Reed, a reporter that happened upon the children and took a photo of them and the sign advertising their sale while looking for inspiration. And then there is Lillian Palmer who worked at the paper and saw Ellis’ photo and couldn’t help but want to know more. As Ellis’ story hits the papers the book then follows the characters from there but the children are never forgotten from that moment.

The writing is beautifully descriptive and emotionally provocative. The heartbreaking photograph evokes painful memories for both Lily and Ellis, ultimately motivating them to action at any cost. The brilliantly plotted story takes us on a wild ride from that front porch, to the hectic city newsroom, to a dilapidated boarding house, a swanky dinner club, an encounter with the mob, the home of a rich banker, a warehouse break in, and a barn in the middle of sprawling fields. It’s a fast paced novel rich with suspense and full of well-defined characters. Ellis’s struggles with his decisions, his career, and his father were readily apparent and made him seem vulnerable and real. Lily, my favorite character was smart and diligent, and knew she could do so much more than be a secretary. Her strength, persistence and bravery in the quest to make things right is what makes this book come alive.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and highly recommend it.

I received an e-ARC from Sourcebooks via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Imagine this: you are flipping through a newspaper and a photograph catches your eye. In the photo are two young boys and a sign that says “2 children for sale.” Does that not just pull on your heartstrings?! This was an actual photograph that inspired this fictional book. During the Great Depression, Ellis is a newspaper reporter anxious for his big break. He photographs the pair and sets off a chain of events for both parties. This was an original, heartwarming, heartbreaking, wonderfully written tale. For me, Sold on a Monday was ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5 stars. Thank you @sourcebooks for this advance reader in exchange for my honest review.

OMG -- this book is so emotional, distressing and strangely beautiful, all at the same time. It's 1931...the depression is ravaging the economy and families all across the nation. A reporter snaps a photograph of a farmhouse with two children sitting the steps next to a sign. The sign reads: 2 Children For Sale. Ellis Reed never intended to publish the photograph, but he does...and it makes his career. But it has devastating effects on those two children and their family. Ellis and his co-worker, Lily Palmer, work to right the wrong they've done.

I was sucked into this story from the start and couldn't put the book down. I can't even imagine the hardships, difficult choices and heartbreak of farm families during the depression. So many people without work. Unable to pay debts. Unable to even buy food or clothe their children. It must have been so scary. And decisions were made that in easier times never would have even been a possible choice. There are documented cases where children were actually sold. Horrific!

This story is well-written, moves along at a perfect pace and is hauntingly emotional. Kristina McMorris has written several other books. I'm definitely going to read more by this author! This book is fantastic!

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book via NetGalley. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**

I felt like the writing was scattered. There were many parts where different ideas would be brought up about different situations that were not relevant to the book. Many times there were instances were chapters felt unimportant as well. I had a hard time paying attention to the story. I have a hard time putting something down after starting it but it was honestly something that I wanted to put down and not finish many times. I think the book focused too much on Ellis and Lily without focusing on the bigger picture or the history behind the issues. The time period is also not developed very well in the story and some necessary setting details for understanding are lacking.I

Ellis's rise to success was not explained enough and just seemed random. His dealings with the mob were lacking and unbelievable for me. I don't know if I was so disinterested in the book that I never really picked up on Lily's life before Samuel other than her struggle g with the idea of him. Was it mentioned and I was just not paying enough attention ? I'm not sure but it was N issue for me in regards to liking the book

I felt like much of this story was thrown together. Too much was happening that was unnecessary and too little of what would have made the book more interesting for me. The end for me was also underwhelming. I wanted to love this book but I struggled the entire time. It would have been a DNF for me had I believed in quitting books.

I found this book quite compelling, intriguing and emotional. It is well written and moves at just the right pace, keeping you interested and wanting to know more till the very end. The combined story of the children and a side story of romance between two of the characters led to an excellent book. I will look forward to reading more from Kristina McMorris in the future.

This well-written story is set in the 1930s. An ambitious young journalist sees his big chance when his editor assigns him to write the story behind a photograph showing two boys beside a "Children for Sale" sign. Disaster strikes when the photo and negative are accidentally destroyed. The journalist/photographer tries to recreate the photo and this leads to a terrible mix up that threatens the family that was photographed. The young journalist sets out to correct his mistake with the help of a young single mother who wants to be the next Nellie Bly.

This book, chronicling what happens when a staged photo tears a family apart, is compelling and suspenseful. The back half of the book reads much faster than the beginning, as the plot heats up and the characters begin to resonate with the readers. The soft romantic triangle offers an interesting side plot and contributes to the happy ending.

The ending is somewhat predictable, but nonetheless enjoyable. A great Sunday afternoon read!

4,5Stars rounded to 5

When i saw the cover and title of this book, i knew i had to read it.
When Ellis Reed took the picture of the two brothers offered for sale, little did he know how much this particular photo would change his life and many others around him.
It's the 1930s, people are still struggling under the Depression, and the journalisme world is still not ready to admit women willingly into its sphere, so Lillian Palmer had to content herself with being a secretary.
Her path and Ellis's cross because of that one photo and the consequences of its publication.

I found the story fascinating, with a background of the prohibition and the era of the great gangsters/businessmen.
i didn't really like Ellis at the beginning, he was however a complexe character and i enjoyed watching him change and in a certain way "grow-up".
The story was not fast paced, it was more a story about families, different kind of families, and the entangled webs of relationships, secrets and regrets.
I enjoyed it and i would definitely recommend it.

I’m a huge fan of Kristina McMorris and this book was such a treat. First you learn of the photo and then the story unfolds into something much deeper. The tragedies of families who were poor and hungry and perhaps ill are sad by themselves. Then add in the choices people make to sell s story and complicated doesn’t touch this book. Ellis and Lily are quite different but yet both are hiding secrets.
Loved the journey this book took me on. Learning more about the early 1930’s and loving the newspaper aspect in the tale. Highly recommend!! I had the chance to hear the author speak as well and the research that went into this and all her books was fascinating. Grab this book soon!!

I received an ARC from Netgalley for a review. It all started with a photograph and a reporter who needed a story. 2 children on a front porch with a sign that read “2 children for sale”. It is Ellis Reed’s big break as a reporter. Problem is when he goes back for a interview the family has vanished. So he stages it; and the story takes off. Sold on a Monday was a good read; I had some issues with it but overall most people will enjoy the story.

Ellis Reed, a struggling reporter, comes across an old farmhouse with two children sitting out front on his way back to work. This in itself would not be would be anything out of the ordinary, except for the sign on the porch that reads, "2 Children For Sale". It's a sign of the times. Families are ready to do just about anything to survive the depression.

Ellis cannot stop thinking about these children and decides to go back, only to find the children and everyone in the house gone. However, he finds the sign and decides to recreate the scene with children from a farmhouse nearby.

This sets off a whole chain of events for Ellis Reed. Ellis Reed takes us on a thrilling ride through the depression era.

It's 1931, and Ellis Reed, a newspaper reporter, takes a picture of two young boys with a sign near them saying 2 CHILDREN FOR SALE. The picture wasn't supposed to be published, but Lily Palmer sees the picture in the darkroom and passes it on to her boss, the editor. What ensues afterwards is a haunting story about damaged people and what happens when you try to right a wrong. I can't give more details because I don't want to give away any of the story. The is the first book I've read by McMorris, but it won't be my last.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy. This was my honest review.

A poignant story set in Philadelphia in 1931. It brings to life the hard times the Great Depression had on the American families. Ellis, a photographer takes a heartbreaking photograph of children with a notice that they are for sale. These are the lengths the families have gone to in order to survive. For Lily and Ellis in their reporting role, there are lots of changes, crossroads and decisions to make as they desperately try to hang onto their jobs. The story brings out well the secrets they keep and how they affect them. It's a beautifully written book, historically fascinating book which is detailed and well researched - although a little slow at times for my taste. Thank you to NetGalley & Sourcebooks Landmark.

I love the fact that this book is based on an old photograph. While haunting and beautiful at the same time, this story paints a picture of true desperation and the lengths a mother may go to give up and save her children. This was a novel about the power of one moment in time and how it has the ability to change the course of a life.

I was looking forward to reading this book but I just couldn't get into it after the falsification of the photo- I could only cringe as I imagined the eventual fallout once the public found out. Perhaps if I had been able to get into the main character more I would have cared more about the choices he made and hope everything works out for him. The book is written in 3rd person and that might contribute to why I didn't feel a connection with Ellis or Lily, the 2 main characters (as far as I could tell).

“(Lily) considered the disparity of fortunes between bankers and too many of their patrons, those with little choice but to live in shantytowns or to beg on the street. Or, God help them, to sell their own children.”

I enjoyed this historical novel set in Depression Era 1931. It starts when journalist Ellis Reed snaps a picture of two children in front of a sign that says “Children for sale.” When parents don’t have the means to feed or clothe their children, giving them to parents with money to adopt makes sense, but the idea of selling kids is, to our modern sensibilities anyway, abhorrent. Older children often have a difficult time being adopted and are often bounced from foster home to foster home. All I could think when these kids were bought was, “Oh no, how are they going to be abused?” (Sexually? Slave manual labor?)

Ellis works with Lily, a woman who works at his paper as a secretary, her dreams of becoming the next Nellie Bly (one of the first female journalists to make a name for herself in the then-all-male world of journalists) seem to be just that—far off, never-attainable fantasies. They work together to find out what happened to the children in the picture and remedy any wrongs. This is a highly readable, fast-paced novel. Recommend.

I recall being shown the iconic black-and-white photo of young children behind a sign "4 children for sale," taken in the 40s. A journalist had captured it and the image captivated readers as it spread across the United States.

The image haunted author Kristina McMorris. As she imagined circumstances behind it, she created the novel Sold on a Monday.

We experience the story through two main characters, journalist Ellis Reed and newsroom secretary Lily Palmer. Themes of family, loyalty, and responsibility are addressed.

Overall, the story is solid and is a pleasant enough read. I admit, however, that I was never fully pulled in. To borrow a phrase supplied by an iconic Supreme Court decision for my own purposes, I can't always say what it takes for a story to become literature, one that envelops me and makes me forget that I'm reading, but I know it when I see it. This wasn't quite there, but I can see some book clubs enjoying a discussion on this.

I appreciated the additional information at the close of the book, including the original photo and details on what happened to those children, a reading guide, and a conversation with the author.

(I received a digital ARC from NetGalley and Sourcebooks in exchange for my honest review.)

Sold on a Monday written by Kristina McMorris is a beautifully written story about choices, consequences, and integrity. There are times when we can look back and see a pivotal moment...a specific choice that changed our path. (Hopefully it was a good choice!)

In Sold on a Monday, Ellis Reed is taking photos while his car engine cools off. He happens upon two boys next to a house with a sign that states "2 children for sale". He takes the photo, not realizing that it will spark something in his colleague Lily, who sees the photo when she goes into the darkroom. Lily is moved by the photo and she makes sure the boss notices the photo. Excited that his photo is going to be published, Ellis quickly starts working on the story to go with it. When the negative to the photo is damaged, Ellis has to return to the house and take another photo in order for it to be published. When he gets to the house, he discovers the children are gone…and in desperation for his move up in the newspaper world… he winds up creating a new photo with two other children who aren’t actually for sale.

Within Sold on a Monday is the story of these two people, the secrets they keep, and the steps they take within the story. I liked both the main characters, and also liked Clayton…. Lily’s love interest. Now that is enough on the plot as you don’t need any more teasers to read the book. The characters are likeable, the pace slow as if we took a slow stroll into the 1930’s. I also really enjoyed reading why Kristina McMorris wrote the book and what inspired her. Very good writing and I look forward to reading more of her work!!

A special thank you to NetGalley and Sourcemarks Landmark for an advanced reader copy of this book to read. As always, my opinions are my own.