A very informative and harrowing historical fiction. It shed a lot of light on a very serious issue that deserves to have the spotlight it gained in this book.

The Girls With No Names By Suzanne Burdick is a story of hope, courage and perseverance. These girls are sent away for not being what or who they were expected to be. Yet they become stronger and show the world their resilience. What a wonderful book!

It has been some time since I read the "blurb" for what this about and actually listened to it on audiobook. I was expecting a complete different story strictly based on the title. If I was expecting more if a historical fictional presentation on The House of Mercy, I think I would have been disappointed. Because I had no expectations going in, I was able to immerse myself in the telling if the story and really enjoyed it. The author deftly weaved together common threads and unique backstories to create a beautifully told story.

I went into this one blind, and was actually thinking it was a WWII book due to the cover but I could not have been more wrong. This is set in New York City in the 1910’s, Luella and Effie are sisters that do not want for anything, and grow up in a mansion very close to the House of Mercy, which is a work house for wayward girls. Luella is the outspoken sister, and Effie is the quiet younger sister that has a heart condition, and wasn’t expected to live as long as she has. The sisters learn a secret about their dad and Luella acts out, causing her to be mysteriously gone one morning. Effie doesn’t get the answers she wants regarding her whereabouts and assumes Luella has been sent to the House of Mercy. She decides to get herself committed to help her sister and quickly realizes she has made a grave error, and must now rely on a girl named Mable to help her if she has any hope of getting out of there alive.

What a story! I listened to this via audio and there were several narrators, and all of them did a fantastic job. I was hooked on the story, connected to each of the characters and could not stop listening until I knew how this would end, and it did not disappoint. I knew nothing about the House of Mercy prior to reading this, and was sad to know this place existed, but not altogether surprised. This is so well written, such a great historical fiction novel, and I thought the ending was beautifully done. I highly recommend adding this one to your TBR if you haven’t read it yet.

Thank you to NetGalley and Park Row Books for the digital galley to review.

The Girl with No Names by Serena Burdick was well-researched and plotted. Set during the woman’s suffrage movement and told from different perspectives, The Girls with No Names was a poignant look at how far women have come over the past 100 years and the atrocities of that time.

I received a review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley for my honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own.

I’m a sucker for historical, knowing this novel story happens during the women suffrage movement got me sold. Told from three perspectives: Effie, her mom Jeanne and Mable. I have to say I enjoyed Effie the most, loved her innocence and I was submerge in her character. The other perspectives were necessary too and merged really nice with Effie’s, making all fit together. One more thing, the use of the word gypsy in this novel is very cringy. There is an authors note explaining the use of it but just a heads up!

NYC, 1910s - two young sisters, Luella and Effie Tildon, enjoy an affluent life growing up. As they learn a secret about their father, however, Luella suddenly disappears. Effie fears she has been sent to the House of Mercy, a home for unwanted girls where young girls are used and abused. Effie succeeds in deliberately getting herself thrown into the House of Mercy to save her sister. When she arrives, to her horror, her sister is not there. Now she is trapped - can she escape or even survive? She befriends a girl, Mabel, who she is hoping can help her escape and find Luella.
This was a hard book for me to get through - while the characters and the story itself are very intriguing and well written, it was incredibly depressing. And to think this was a reality in that time!
Thanks to Serena Burdick, Harlequin and NetGalley for the ARC.

The Girls With No Names by Serena Burdick was kind of like the parts of Annie where she's in the orphanage, but there wasn't any music, and it was just really, really sad. The story focuses on two sisters Luella and Effie. One day Luella disappears. Effie suspects that Luella might have gone to the House of Mercy, a home for wayward girls in their neighborhood. So, Effie decides she's going to get admitted to the house to find and rescue her sister. Except here's the thing, she's not there. However, Effie cannot just leave the House. This is her new reality, and she must do the work expected of her. The environment of the House of Mercy is rough, and it was hard to read about this place that was offering anything but mercy. It was also hard to read about the anguish Effie's family felt as they tried to find her. This was a really, really heavy read. I knew this might be the case when I read the description, but it was also more feels than even that led on. Thanks to NetGalley for the look at this recent release.

The powerful story of several women in New York. All in different ways are struggling to survive in a place and time unforgiving to women being anything outside a strict guideline. Effie, Mable and Jeanne are memorable characters in an interesring historical fiction.

“The times they are a-changin’…” So goes the line in the song by Bob Dylan and so goes the overall theme in Serena Burdick’s The Girls with No Names.

Told from the point of view of a variety of individuals, The Girls with No Names is a story about change. The changes that come with age, that come with knowledge, that come with the inevitable march of time. Events that change the way one sees the world regardless of how large or small it is.

As it is primarily set in the early 1910s, the way of thinking of some characters might be off-putting for some. When Effie and Luella come across the Romani camp at the beginning of the book, they are enamored of the “other” ness of the group. There is a sense of playing with the forbidden when the girls continue to visit the camp even after their parents express their distaste. It is something that comes up again when the girls’ Grandmother complains of “foreigners” taking over the city.

I personally found myself captivated by the story of each individual character in this book. Each woman is connected to the others in numerous ways – by blood, by love, by circumstance. Each connection bringing another layer to the story until it is a veritable tapestry.

Overall, I enjoyed reading The Girls with No Names and was able to finish the book in just two days. While there is some difficult subject matter, I found it to be written about in a way that sensitive without being overly so.

Readers who are looking for well written female characters are likely to enjoy this book. I recommend they give it a go.

I was drawn in by the cover as it's a first by me by This author. I loved every page of this book!! Any loved of historical reads I highly recommend this well written novel!

It is 1910 in New York City, and women have strict upbringings and very few rights. Suffragettes are marching in the streets, and working conditions in factories are terrible.

Effie Tildon comes from a wealthy and socially affluent Manhattan family. After discovering a shocking secret about their father, Effie's older sister, Luella, acts out and is gone the next day. Effie is determined to find her older sister. She believes that Luella has been sent to the "House of Mercy", a type of women's reform institution, by their father to punish her for breaking the rules. When Effie comes up with a plan to have herself committed to the "House of Mercy, she is shocked to find out that Luella is not a resident there. And much to her despair, getting out of Mercy House is much harder than getting in. No one will believe that she really shouldn't be there!

At "Mercy House" life is hard; the residents are forced into grueling labor, and are often punished, Another girl, Mable Winter, befriends Effie and they try to come up with a plan to escape.

"Mercy House" reformatory is based on the Magdalene Laundries in Ireland, run by the Catholic Church. In these institutions, wayward and unmarried, pregnant women were forced to work and horribly mistreated. Ms. Burdick has done an extraordinary job of portraying the horrors that went on in these institutions. She has deftly woven the historical events happening during the early 1900s into the plot and the plight of women during this time period. I particularly enjoyed the descriptions of the Romani people, their camp, and their everyday activities

Effie and Mabel are portrayed as strong, persevering characters. This is a novel of friendship, love, courage, and hope. I highly recommend it for older high school students and public libraries!

I’m not sure what I was expecting from this book but it’s not what I got. Nothing was necessarily bad; however, it was a little flat and boring. The characters weren’t my favorite and it seemed to drag on.

A well researched historical novel about two sisters set in 1920 NYC. The story deals with how girls were treated during this time period. The book was well written but I found the storyline dragged and I did not connect emotionally with the characters.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publsiher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a sad but interesting story about two young sisters and the struggle they have with growing up, finding who they are, and how to get the freedom they want in their lives. Effie is the younger sister. Born with a heart defect, her mother always worries that any moment Effie could die from one of her "blue fits." Effie's father lets his wife do all of the worrying and focuses on Effie's living day by day. The older sister and Effie come across a Gypsy camp one day in the summer. The sisters are instantly taken with the music, freedom and dancing. Effie is not as involved with the friendships formed, but goes with her sister anyways. After a fight with their mother, the older sister tosses her ballet slippers out of the moving vehicle and is soon mysteriously gone. Effie is desperate to find her sister and bring her home. She has made a mistake on where she chooses to look for her older sister. Effie finds herself trapped in the House of Mercy and no one believes she is who she says she is. She must find a way to cope with her mistake and find a way to escape. The House of Mercy is a cruel place to be and the girls are worse than the adults in charge of the place.

The Girls with No Names by Serena Burdick is set in the context of a Magdalen laundry in Manhattan and the Romani community in the area at the time. The story itself is about two young women - Effie and Mable. Effie's story is about family, her illness, and a horrible misunderstanding. Mable's story is the stronger one as it relates to the history of this book. Learning about the history is by far my favorite part of the book and the reason I love historical fiction.

Read my complete review at http://www.memoriesfrombooks.com/2020/06/the-girls-with-no-names.html

Reviewed for NetGalley.

I am very thankful that the publishers chose me to read and review this book. The following is my review as posted on Goodreads:

I really loved this book. Turn of the century NYC, Gypsies, a “prison” for women, a storyteller...what’s not to love? I fell in love with Effie and pulled for her throughout the whole book. I loved Mable’s story and how her character was redeemed after a seemingly unforgivable past. It was also a great story of family dynamics and how relationships change, break down, and/or strengthen over time.

In the early years of the 20th century a wealthy family could control an unruly child by admitting the child into The House of Mercy as a way to bury a "dirty little secret." The Girls with No Name by Serena Burdick explores this piece of our history with a compelling story.







The story is told through the viewpoints of Effie, her mom, and another patient by the name of Mabel. The two girls meet at the House of Mercy and although they are from completely different backgrounds, the two create a strong bond in order to survive their stay. The story shows their compassion, bond, and dedication to one another.



Effie's circumstances make the punishments given by the staff unbearable. The staff was heartless and the punishments designed to not only wear physically on the patients but to break their spirits. Effie is there to find her sister Luella, who she is certain has been admitted by her father. Effie finds a way to get herself admitted under false circumstances. Once in though, getting out is almost impossible.



I love the story for the strength of character Effie displays and for the bravery of all the patients, and Luella herself, by finding a life that is free from her father.


Author's Bio: SERENA BURDICK graduated from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in California before moving to New York to pursue a degree in English Literature at Brooklyn College. Her passion for theater, writing, the visual arts, Edouard Manet and the Impressionist movement combined to inform her debut novel, GIRL IN THE AFTERNOON: A Novel Of Paris. She lives in Western Massachusetts with her husband and two sons.

Thank you so much for the copy. I tried to pick this one up but it did not work for me. Thank you for the opportunity to be an early reader.

A horrifying look at a little known subject. Also, a look at families and how important being honest with each other is. It's a look at how secrets destroy. But it's also a story of forgiveness and redemption. Of love and finding oneself. Of family and growth. I did wish the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire hadn't been glossed over but I understand it was only a small part of the story. The church run laundry's and what the girls suffered was inexcusable. Overall, a well written story with depth of characters and well thought out and believable resolutions.