This one was a unique read for me. I did not think I would like this book, but I fell in love the characters which made me read the whole story in one sitting

A heartwarming romance set in 1903 Brampton where four year old girl is living a normal Bramptonian life with her family and uncovers some secrets in her family . I loved reading this book by Lynne Golding . The story is written in much depth which keeps the reader glued to the book .

I loved Jessie and her relation with her grandfather , how her brother calls her "little one" , her mother's obssession with shoes and her fear of scary scott .

Anyone who has an interest in Historical fiction will find this book interesting . The story is set in Brampton 1903 . Jessie tells about her family , her extended family , her friends , her good and bad days along with history of Brampton and how it was formed .

Lynne golding is great granddaughter of Jessie's aunt Rose . this book is somewhat fiction because a lot of characters are from author's imagination but it is a good read <3

Jessie's family is not allowed to set foot in the town's Presbyterian church even though her grandfather was involved in the design and construction of it.
This intrigues 5 year old Jessie as, being the youngest in her whole extended family, no-one is prepared to tell her why.
The story is told from her perspective over 7 or so years. Seeing pinnacle events and happenings in their hometown through Jessie's eyes as she tries to find out the reason why they can't enter the church.
The story is based on true accounts told by the real Jessie.
I was a bit disappointed as not all the issues were resolved in this book, but it seems to be part of a series, so I presume the reading of the next books is required to understand what happened.
Otherwise this was a nice read and a window into another world 100 years ago. I do think I would read more of this author's work.

Easy to read pleasant book about a young girl growing up and discovering her world in the early 1900's in a small Canadian town. There is a family secret that she seems to be the only one because of her young age that doesn't know the answer to it. She asks her family members but they say she'll know when she's older. She becomes an expert eavesdropper . Young children are very insightful and understand and know much more than we realize. The book moved slowly and was not one of my favorites.
Pub Date 30 Oct 2018
I was given a complimentary copy of this book from DigiWriting through NetGalley. Thank you. All opinions expressed are my own

Brilliantly written! I loved the vivid descriptions and how the author Lynne Golding brought the small Canadian town and the people of Brampton come alive. Set in the early 1900s the period appears to be accurately portrayed capturing its essence. Told from the perspective of Jessie starting when she was 4 years and progressing to teenager years, the story of her family, their and her trial and tribulations are told. The story gives insight into family life in a small town. This is an exploration of a family and a town, as she grows so does the town. There really isn’t much of a story line or plot - it is more an historical depiction with atmosphere. While it is easy to read it is more a relaxed book that doesn’t have you on the edge of your seat. A sit back and chill type of read.
As a debut novel it is very well written and a first in a series it will most likely continue to follow the life of Jessie.


Thank you to Netgalley and Blue Moon Publishers for an ebook copy to read and write an honest review.

The Innocent is such a strange, slowly winding book. I can see a lot of current day readers possibly being bored with it because it was so slow – but I wasn't. I loved it. The book is slow and comfortable, despite always running around a theme of a secret that the family keeps from the child. The mood of it contrasts so well with the safety of growing up in a rural town. You can't place a lot of events at first, but they aren't without meaning – they form a bundle of yarn, spun together, and merge in the end. You can see the bigger picture of seemingly unrelated events through a child's eyes, and can't help but interpret them as an adult. The book is made up of small story blocks, it's more like a family saga with loads of descriptions and detail. It circles around the theme of keeping secrets in families, on the pretense of some people being too young to know them. In the end, I'm not entirely sure if I got what this book was about – but I did like the journey, and I would like to follow the characters through the sequels as well.

I thank Blue Moon Publishing for sending me a copy for review in exchange for my honest opinion. It doesn't affect my opinion.

In Lynne Golding’s debut novel, Jessie Stephens tells her story of growing up in Brampton, Ontario, Canada in the early years of the 20th century. When a new Carnegie Library is dedicated in the town but her family avoids the religious ceremony at the local Presbyterian Church that follows, Jessie sets out to uncover family secrets as she shares stories of their everyday life. As Jessie grows, so does Brampton, from a small tight knit Methodist community to a city with emerging industries, one of which gives the location its lasting nick name: “flower city”. The death of a childhood friend, an adulterous affair, the home town lacrosse team’s path to the Mann Cup, and a scarlet fever epidemic shape the lives of Jessie, her brother Jim, and her sister Ina.

This book is a collection of loosely connected anecdotes which the author’s note reveals are based on the childhood memories of a real-life Jessie, a cousin of the author. Much more literary novel than plot-driven historical fiction, this is a rich but overly lengthy account of early 20th century life from a young girl’s perspective. The writing is lovely but so heavy with details that it’s hard to maintain momentum to get you through its many pages. Jessie is sweet and precocious, but the book feels more like a memoir than a novel.

*Will be posted on HNS Reviews online...*

Jessie Brady is an astute young girl growing up in a small city of Brampton in 1907. After a ground breaking ceremony at the Carnegie Library, she notices that her family does not follow the town to the Presbyterian Church. Jessie's inquisitive nature gets the better of her and in her attempts to discover the answers to her questions, she finds out more about her family history and the town in which they live.

I would classify The Innocent as a historical literary fiction novel in which a young girl inquiries about her family lineage and how it pertains to the township in which she lives. The characters are charming and the narrative feels true to the historical period in which it is written. At times this novel reads a bit more like a historical documentary; which one might find interesting if they want to learn more about Brampton in the 1900's. Although the novel was well written I felt like some of the narrative was a bit tedious and incessant. I think this novel had a lot of promise, the characters were appealing but the narrative might need to be a bit more entertaining to capture the reader’s attention. Overall it was a simple novel about a young girl and her family that would be perfect for readers to enjoy historical township accounts and lineage.

In her novel, The Innocent, Lynne Golding has done a magnificent job of capturing what life was like growing up in small town Canada in the early 20th century. The setting for this novel is Brampton and while I cannot speak to the facts as outlined in the novel I can speak to the characters as well as both their mindsets and the authenticity of the activities they participated in. I, too, spent the formative years of my life in a similar small Canadian town and, although half a century later, I could relate to many of the same experiences as described by Jessie (the narrator of the story who ages from four to a tween during the story). Back then small town Canadian life was one of freedom and innocence. Children cavorted about neighbourhoods, most families had several children, households were multi-generational, citizens had a particular pecking order as befitted their background, almost everyone was white and Christian, mothers stayed home to work as homemakers while the men all held jobs and everyone knew everyone else's business. All this and more are captured in this sweet tale.
Through Jessie, Golding paints a canvas of the seasonal rhythm of small town life as experienced by a child – the excitement of holidays, the blissful heat of summer, the thrill of local sports teams, going back to school upon the return of the cooler nights of autumn, the magic of Christmas and outdoor ice skating during winter, and the anticipation of new life as well as the possible annual devastation caused by spring floods. She even includes a brain damaged adult who is perceived as a boogie man by Jessie who has to walk by him on her daily walk to school, an occurrence which exactly mirrors my own daily walks back and forth to elementary school!
This books stands as an historical document of a time when family and community were paramount. Golding is to be congratulated for listening to the stories of an elderly friend and capturing its essence in this book. I look forward to the next instalment of this trilogy.
I received a free copy of this ebook via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I’m sorry to say this book didn’t really do it for me. It was incredibly dull and insipid. I waded through hundreds of pages of Jessie’s observations on the comings and goings in Brampton in the early 1900’s. Jessie is 4-6 during these events. Nothing much goes on. The Innocent has plenty of detail in it and some of it is very beautiful. Unfortunately, that’s about it. The book is rather flat I’m sorry to say. The book is an easy read but offered little to hold my interest. I found it so dull.

Thank you Netgalley and Blue Moon Publishers for the ARC.

I'm halfway through and not sure what to make of this book.
So far I've read tons of observations on the comings and goings in Brampton, Canada early 1900's and followed young Jessie from age 4 to 6. All the while wondering what the story is. The book has a historical setting, but I would call it literary fiction. The writing is very detailed and beautiful but way too slow for my liking. I'm starting skipping pages just to get on with it. My cue to give up. Maybe one day I'll have the patience to finish it.

This an easy to read,pleasant story of a young girl discovering the world in a small Canadian town. Like anywhere else,it has its secrets and its animosities. The girl tries to discover family secrets barred to her and becomes an expert eavesdropper. Her family goes through the usual tribulations but survives. The town grows as she grows. The understanding of the young child's approach to the world is full of insights and surprises, This is not a mystery or a novel of suspense. It is like being the eavesdropper on the girl who is so expert at that skill. There is another follow-up to come.