Growing up I definitely went through a Dionne Quintuplets phase (along with a Titanic phase, Amelia Ehart phase, etc). I remember reading a lot about the quints and enjoying seeing their Madame Alexander dolls come up on Antiques Roadshow. They’ve just been people I’ve always known of in the background of life.

This really fleshed out the reality of their lives. I felt like I knew more than I did before going into this; I did know quite a bit, but still so much was revealed. This appeared well researched, and overall was well written. This type of thing can get to be so DRY, however for me this was a total page turner. I found it fascinating to see what “cutting edge” and “modern” parenting meant in 1935. As a parent who would subscribe to the “attachment parenting” style, most of the way the quints were “raised” (can it be called that??) was horrifying.

I hope we as a society realize how important ACTUAL PARENTS are, physical touch, human interaction... I was cheering every time someone would point this out in their timeline, but they never quite got there (like the one guy who suggested placing them in 5 separate homes?!). Quintland was fascinating. I just can’t even imagine. Reading how their lives ended up was super sad and not surprising in the least from emotional, societal and financial standpoints.

If you have the least bit of interest in this topic I would definitely pick this book up. The only thing that drove me a little crazy was having their names constantly listed out. It made the book feel a little like a term paper. I would have appreciated an abbreviation, or a note saying they’ll be referred to as “The Quints” when all 5 are being spoken about at once. Obviously I didn’t read their names every time, but skimming it constantly added up. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

The Dionne quintuplets is not something I was really familiar with when I started this, I had heard them brought up when talking about how reality TV effects kids but beyond that I knew nothing. These girls where signed over to the Canadian government to get out of a contract to be a side show in Chicago and what was supposed to be just two years turned into 9.5 years. Initially the goal of signing offer the girls to the government was to stop them from being exploited to the public however this happened anyway.

This was a very easy to read book that I had a hard time putting down. With television and YouTube stars are putting more of their families out there for people to watch this is a way to see into the future of how this will effect the children in the long term. I felt this was a well researched book but wish there had been new interviews with the two still living quintuplets rather than having everything come from past interviews and books.

The title of this book says it all. As I read I was taken by the miracle of all five of the Dionne sisters living and by the end I was sad for the whole family and left wondering how their lives could have been different.
I appreciated the author's effort to present the Dionne quintuplets' lives from many viewpoints such as: themselves, Dr. Dafoe, and Elzire and Oliva Dionne. It was easy to see how each of them could be wrapped up in their own desires, pain and worries and have different responses to the same situation.
It was fascinating to read about the public's response and delight in the quintuplets. It is easy to read and mentally condemn them for ogling the girls, but at the same time I was hoping to see photos of them. It made me think about various reality television shows on now with families with multiple children, trying to compare what happened to them to what we do today.

This book is a history of the Dionne Quintuplets, 5 girls unexpectedly born to a French-Canadian couple during the Great Depression. They weren't expected to survive birth, then not expected to survive a few hours, then infancy. But, against all odds, they did survive, but they were also exploited by everyone who they knew -- the doctor who told the midwife that is was useless to try to save them, the government who took custody away from the parents because it claimed it was afraid the parents would exploit them (which then actually exploited them and psychologically harmed them,) their parents who did end up exploiting them and eventually also physically and sexually abused them.

I loved Sarah Miller's previous fictional retelling of the Laura Ingalls Wilder story from Caroline's perspective, but readers of this book should know that this is a straight history. It's not a bad thing, it's just something to know going in. This book was very well researched and more detailed than anything I've read before on the Dionne Quintuplets. She did a great job of slowly developing each of the players so the reader empathizes with so many of them, but especially the girls themselves.

Since this book is technically YA/Middle School, I can see it also being a great teaching tool about social media and what one chooses to share with the world about their personal lives. The Dionne Quintuplets lived their first 9 years in an absolute spotlight with every move they made playing out in front of cameras and crowds, and it definitely had a negative effect on them. It would be interesting to compare that to the world of social media today when so much is made public (that probably shouldn't be.)

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. My opinion has not been influenced because of this.

I received a complimentary copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. I only knew a bit about the Dionne Quintuplets before reading this book by Sarah Miller. I was vaguely interested in the subject matter but adored Miller's earlier book "Caroline" a novelized version of the life of Caroline Ingalls, Laura Ingalls Wilder's mother. I was obsessed with the story of the Dionne quintuplets from the first page. The story itself is unbelievably compelling but the author's ability to craft the story made it hard for me to step away from reading this book. If you know nothing about these quints they were born in the 1930s to a poor family who already had five children they could barely afford. The mother, Elzire was still in her early 20s. The odds are these children would not live as they were super tiny and no quintuplets had all survived previously. The fact that the world jumped into action to keep these babies alive by offering milk, incubators, and medical supplies. That is probably the only nice thing that happened to those five baby girls. From there the government became involved to keep them from being taken advantage of and in the process the government teamed up with the doctor who delivered them to take advantage of those girls. They went so far as to keep those girls locked up in a hospital where they were viewed twice a day by thousands of visitors. This seriously read like they were just animals in a cage at the zoo. I don't want to go further into details and honestly you can find most of this story out there online if you dig for it but Sarah Miller did an extraordinarily fine job of researching and writing this book. I couldn't read this fast enough. After reading this one I immediately bought "We Were Five" an out of print book written with the living sisters decades after the events in this book and I purchased Sarah Miller's book about Anastasia Romanov. I want more on the Dionnes and more books by this author.

This was a very touching story. You are rooting for the babies from the get go. I think this is a great way to have children relate to not only how people were in the past but also a great way to show fighting for something you believe in, The language is relatable for kids today and the story kept me hooked from beginning to end.

I love stories about spontaneous multiple births because I have spontaneous mirror image identical twin boys. There are some days I look at them at 9 years old, and I still can't believe that they exist. I will be honest, I didn't even realize it was possible to have quintuplets spontaneously, but that just added to intrigue of the Dionne family story to me. It makes me sad the things these girls went through throughout their lives, including their very strange beginning. While the doctor and nurses may have initially had their best interest at heart, their lives turned into a peep show of sorts for the gawking public. What makes the most sad is that they count those as some of the best times in their lives. As adolescence and adults they also went through some tough stuff. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in non-fiction.

I have always been curious about the Dionne Quintuplets. I did not realize all of the things in their story. It was sad and disturbing at times. I am really glad that I was able to read this.

I didn't really enjoy reading this book. The writing style was very dry in my opinion, and I was often bored, even though the subject was really interesting. I did like learning more about the Dionne Quintuplets and their lives, and I was shocked at what they and their family had to go through. However, the book wasn't very enjoyable and was unnecessarily dry.

No one expected the tiny Dionne sisters to survive long after their birth in 1934. Afterall, there was no record of quintuplets surviving. But, the five tiny sisters were fighters and they soon captured the hearts of their fellow Canadians as well as well-wishers around the world. Help began to pour in allowing the local country doctor to nurse the children through the worst of the dangers they faced. They truly were miracles! They became celebrities, drawing so much attention that the government stepped in, beginning what can only be described as the tragedy of the Dionne Quints. This is a fascinating look at lives and loses of 5 little girls that grew up in the spotlight.

***I received an advance copy of this title in exchange for an honest review***
Is it love to remove a child from their parents? Is it abuse to want to keep your daughters in your own home? Those are definitely questions this book had me asking. It is a sensational story, considering that it is about five identical quintuplet girls it could be nothing but. The five daughters of the Dionne household were born so small and weak that no one could have expected them to even breathe. The following years are described with tact and feeling, explaining how all of the controversies surrounding the girls came to be. It delves unflinchingly into what really happened behind all of the media hype and exploitation of "Canada's Princesses". The Miracle and Tragedy of the Dionne Quintuplets reads clear and concise and is accessible to all types of readers.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Children's, and Schwartz & Wade for an advanced read in exchange for this review.

Gutwrenching. I had never heard of this case until coming across this book. Sarah Miller tells the story so beautifully filled with sadness. I couldn't put it down! The title Miracle and Tragedy sums it up best.

Excellent research! Crazy story!
I had heard of these quintuplets before, but really only in passing. It was amazing to finally get to learn the whole story. The book was just so shocking that I couldn't put it down.

I think this book could be a great book club read for adults and teens alike.

I knew that the Dionne's were quintuplets and had heard my mother mention them when I was young, but don't remember what she told me.

I very much wanted to read this book and am glad I did. The author did an excellent job of research for this detailed book. From birth to old age (yes there are still 2 of them living), this book keeps you glued to the pages. The title was very apropos as it was a miracle that they survived and such a tragedy of a life. To this day they still consider their confinement as paradise. I don't think this could happen today as multiple births and survival rates aren't as rare as they once were, but I would hope they would not be used for financial gain. I've seen a couple of examples of it in the recent past, but I don't believe it turned out to well for the ones who tried to gain money from their children.

I couldn't believe this was listed as a young adult read, I would say it's very much an adult book. There are pictures that add to the story.

I highly recommend this book, you won't be disappointed. Thanks to Netgalley for a copy to read and review.

This book presents the life and tragedy of the Dionne Quintuplets. The book tells the story of both the quintuplets and the Dionne parents and siblings that were left behind. The author worked hard to present a balanced picture, presenting both sides of the story. Overall, well written and well worth picking up.

Interestingly enough, while reading this book, I saw an article on Time magazine that made the connection between the Dionne quints and the modern trend of exploiting children on social media. While I don't think the comparison is fitting, it made me realize how timely and relevant this story still is and how many discussions it could fuel for a class.
I really liked this book. I had never heard of the Dionne quints and as I started reading about them, I found myself really fascinated by their story. I think Miller has done a nice job of weaving together the complexities involved with the quints and their unwilling lives in show business. She definitely causes Oliva, in particular, to be a sympathetic character and I find myself really perplexed by the idea that they really had no right answer from day one.
My only complaint was that the beginning was a bit slow.

A well-researched and overall fair look at a set of sisters with whom teens today might not be familiar, though Miller's clear, engaging writing will appeal to adults as well. A bit of context regarding the broader historical appetite for "freaks" and atypical medical phenomena might have rounded things out a bit, but overall this is a worthwhile entry to the nonfiction collection, especially when given to the right reader.

Just not my taste in books and the content was diffuse and I did not understand a lot of the issues being discussed I suppose, this could be because this happened in a different country and time than I am familiar with truth be told right!!

Thank you #Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book!

I was unfamiliar with the story of the Dionne quintuplets. Having not known the background, I quickly became intrigued with the girls story. I could not believe the things I was reading! I did feel bad for both sides of the family, the quintuplets and the other siblings. Neither set of kids got to live "normal" lives. I was extremely surprised to see how involved the government was invested and involved in these children's lives.

You could not help but feel bad for all that the girls went through, up until the very end. I was in shocked with the last chapter and the recent turn of event in the 2000's, these women have been through enough!