I ADORED this book! A family saga involving foster children that was both heartwarming and heartbreaking at the same time. I fell in love with these characters and their stories- the bravery, hope and love they have despite the struggles and trauma they have faced.

A heart felt story that shows us all the importance of love, connection and family.

While I appreciated this book, I was definitely much more invested during the first half than the second. It started off strong and then sloooooowed way down, and I struggled to stay interested. That aspect totally bummed me out because I liked this book, totally think it has potential, and appreciated the emotional aspect of the story.

I want to give this book 10+ stars. A heartwarming story about a couple who cannot have children but foster them. The wife has a tragic story that prevents her from leaving the house, but the children, who also have a lot of baggage,, brings this family together forever!

"I come home, Ma!" she said. That quote there broke me down to the core....

This is a very beautifully written book. A heart wrenching story of a family so mixed and so messed up you will wonder how they are ever going to make it. A story of a love so strong it can weather anything. A mother who cares so much for a group of children you would never guess she is not their biological mother. A family who love each other despite all the things that have happened to them. Even the mother, Dahlia, had deep wounds that kept her locked inside for twenty nine years.

Dahlia and Louie could not have been a better couple to foster children. They could not have children of their own yet had the love to give a thousand times over. They agreed to take three and no girls. Girls were trouble. Or in reality I think Dahlia was afraid for the girls. Afraid she could not protect them. Yet they ended up with two girls that stole both of their hearts. Two girls and two boys. They lost one boy when his father came and took him away but his sister stayed.

This family, Dahlia, Louie, Jimmy, Zaidie, Jon, and Agnes, will melt your heart. They will literally take your breath away. They will worm their way into your heart and not let go. This book will make you weep big huge ugly tears. What a child in the system has to go through is so horrible that we never think of it. But these children got lucky. They finally found their home with a couple that truly loved them with their whole hearts. Loved them just as they were, flaws and all. This is the true parent. The way a true mother and father should love their children.

At times it seems like both Dahlia and Louie are hard but they aren't. They want the children to be their best. You will learn that they have more love for them and for each other and appreciate the way they are. I really loved Dahlia. When she took that huge step for Jimmy it really made my heart thump so hard. This is a story told with such deep emotion. Such tenderness. Such love. You won't be forgetting it anytime soon. It will touch you in ways you never see coming. It has so many feels. It even made me laugh in a few spots. But be warned you will do some big ugly crying too. A whole lot of it.

I loved all the characters in this story except Mr Dean. He's one to truly hate.

Thank you to #NetGalley, #PatryFrancis, #HarperPerennial for this ARC. This is my own true feelings about this book.

5/5 and if I could it would be way more stars and the highest possible recommendation. A must read.

All the Children Are Home by Patry Francis is an unforgettable saga. It is the compelling story of foster parents, the children they bring into their home, and the family they create. Dahlia and Lou Moscatelli are both outsiders in the small Massachusetts town where they were raised and now live. Lou is the hard working local mechanic and Dahlia is a shut in who hasn't left her home in over a decade. As foster parents couple provides two year old Jimmy, then siblings Jon and Zaidie, the structure and sanctuary they need. When Agnes joins the group as a temporary emergency placement she is six years old and has been abused by her previous foster parent. Francis alternates narrators and each character's story is captivating and heart wrenching. Although the Moscatellis' provide these children a loving home, know one can foresee the trauma that lingers for the family just outside their safe haven. This book is impossible to put down and definitely a story that should be read and discussed.

All the Children are Home is set in a small town in Massachusetts during the 1950's and 1960's, and tells the story of the Moscatelli family. Louie and Dahlia are long-term foster parents to Jimmy, Zadia, and Jon. They have also cared for many children who have needed temporary emergency placement through the years. Content with their family, Louie and Dahlia have decided not to accept any more EMERGENCIES as they call them. It's too hard on all of them when the child leaves. Yet when their caseworker begs them to take Agnes Juniper, a six year old Native American girl, for a few days, they find they can't turn her away.

Agnes, severely abused in her last foster home, immediately embraces the Mocatelli family, considers herself to be where she belongs, and refuses to be separated from them. Each of the Moscatellis are equally taken with her, and she brings more to the family than they could have ever imagined. Yet troubled and tragic times lie ahead that will try the strength and spirit of each of them.

The characters are realistic, engaging, complex, flawed, evolving, broken, yet hopeful. Each struggles with their past, trying to rise above it, and with current situations and heartache that challenge them. It is fascinating to watch each character grow and come into their own, reclaiming their power and sense of self. This novel reminds us that being family doesn't require a genetic connection, but one of the heart.

This is a memorable read, and I recommend it highly!

My thanks to NetGalley and Harper Perennial for allowing me to read an e-copy of the book. All opinions stated in this review are my own.

Be prepared for a heartbreaking story about a foster family. Set in a small Massachusetts town in the 1950’s, the Moscatelli family has raised siblings Jon and Zaida as well as Jimmy as their own, they are asked to take a child as an emergency placement. Agnes has been ignored since birth and the developmentally delayed 6-year-old has been placed in multiple homes. Although not wanted by the adult Moscatellis, Agnes sees the family as her “real” family even after being placed with a wealthier family who wants to adopt her. Agnes keeps running away from what should be an ideal home to return to the Moscatellis and chooses to grow up with them while being scorned as “crummy foster kids”. Jon and Zaida’s biological father reappears and takes Jon back to Colorado with him. After serving in Vietnam, Jon returns to his foster family. Agnes is in high school and a frightening person from Agnes early childhood threatens the family again. The multiple viewpoints and well-developed characters portray a resilient family who survives heartbreak and hardship.

A book that speaks about people with broken hearts and a family. A story about foster parents that touches your soul. A simple and straightforward narrative that delights and charms you as well as gets you thinking. I liked the fact that it brings tot he forefront that we all are flawed individuals yet crave to build bonds and ties that are deep.

I was enchanted by Agnes, the abused child who is placed with the family, but most intrigued with Dahlia, the home bound foster mom who has suffered agoraphobia for years. From the beginning you can tell something horrible happened to her in the past. Most women will guess the gist of it but when she finally reveals the details it is both heartbreaking and enraging. Dahlia and her husband Louie have taken in many foster children over the years. Dahlia has tried not to let herself get too attached to them so as not to have a broken heart when it's time for them to leave. She and her husband sometimes appear cold even towards each other but their love for each other and the children is fierce.

This was an intense story of neglect and abuse, love and loss and proof that families don't have to share DNA to be real., Though set in the 1950s it somehow felt timeless, in that the foster care system of those days is as broken today. There were a couple of little things bothered me about what seemed like inaccuracies for the time period for example I am pretty sure the term Bipolar was never used before the 80s, back in the 60s it would have been called manic depression, but the depth of the characters and the way they engaged with each other felt genuine to me.

All the Children Are Home
A Novel
by Patry Francis
Harper Perennial and Paperbacks
You Are Auto-Approved
Harper Perennial
General Fiction (Adult) | Literary Fiction
Pub Date 13 Apr 2021 | Archive Date 08 Jun 2021

I've been trying to avoid sad or emotional books through this pandemic, but this one slid by. I knew it would be sad, but I wasn't expecting to be so drawn into the story and the failed Foster system. Get your tissues!
Thanks to Harper Perennial and Netgalley for the ARC.
5star

In a small town in Massachusetts in the 1960s, Dahlia and Louie Moscatell have finally found a rhythm as long-term foster parents. Then a social worker begs them to take on one more foster child - a six-year-old indigenous girl who will change their family dynamics forever. Patry Francis hits the emotions hard in this powerful story of love and family and the struggles of the foster care system. I cried with their heartaches and rejoiced in their victories, and can emphatically declare this the best new release I've read all year.

An emotionally gripping page turner that explores the true meaning of familial love. You won’t be able to put it down!

I knew this would be a little sad but parts of it really broke my heart and made it hard to continue. The characters felt like real people to me and I was really invested in their story. Get your tissues.

This is an important story about the foster care system. I enjoyed the part about Agnes and how she bonded with the family being from another race. The author showcased the love as well as the heartache in being part of this type of a family unit. Well researched! #AllTheChildrenAreHome #PatryFrancis #NetGalley

Foster homes and orphanages always leave me conflicted. I've had family members and friends raised in both, so reading about them is always interesting. I have co-workers who have had family members in foster care and heard horror stories. I've worked with children in foster care and heard about the families they were from and their horror stories.. Orphanages seem to have disappeared for the most part in the us, BUT they still exist in other countries. I requested and received this book to get another view. Tho' fictional, I think it might be an accurate account of a particular family's experience. It wasn't a bad read exactly, but one that gave me a new perspective- neither good or bad, just new. I think Ms. Francis has written a read worthy story that readers will feel satisfied reading.

Another hit by Patry Francis. Couldn’t put this down, I had to find out what happened to all the characters. You get vested in the kids right away. You root for them and can’t believe how broken the foster care system is. Great story, a must read.

This book is set in the 1950s and 1960s and follows the Moscatelli family who live in a small town in Massachusetts. Dahlia and Louie are foster parents to Jimmy, Zaidie, and Jon. One day Agnes shows up to live with them, but Dahlia really does not want to take in another little girl. Agnes comes and is deeply connected to each family member and shows the strength and bond possible in families. Over the years, we follow the family as they experience many heart-wrenching situations that force them to fall back on family for support.

I really loved the characters in this book. Each was very dynamic and we learned a lot about their background and why they are the way they are. I really loved the inside look into a foster family and found myself rooting for each character throughout. Jimmy was a very devoted older brother that struggled with his fathers past, but would do anything for his foster parents and siblings. Zaidie was extremely sweet and caring and went through so much trying to care for her brother Jon. She took Agnes under her wing and the two were inseparable. Agnes was deeply troubled and experienced so much as a young kid. She had bounced around with so many different families and truly bonded the Moscatelli family. Both Dahlia and Louie were very complex characters that we learned about throughout the book.

I do wish there was more description of the town in which they lived. I was a little confused in the beginning with who each person was and what their background was and it seemed to take some time to learn about each persons past, but it may have made things more clear early on. Overall, I felt very invested in the lives of the characters and I would love to read a sequel to follow the characters on their future endeavors.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

All the Children Are Home is an Epic Saga about a foster family. I happen to really like books about the foster system. A lot of these books mostly shed light on the ugly part of the foster care system, but this book shared a family that was really doing good.

I thought this was written very well and had a very interesting storyline.

I have always liked sagas, as well.

Definitely recommended.

A story about families and what each members bring to it. Parents who sponsor foster children and the difficulties and pleasures that each new member brings. I didn't like this book in the beginning but i was determined to finish it and was glad that I didn't put it down. Each character was wonderfully developed ; gives the reader an understanding why people foster children and why it is not always an easy adjustment. Will recommend, I feel like this book would be an excellent book to discuss at book clubs.

Dahlia Moscatelli's life is bound to her foster children. Initially, she told social services that she only wanted boys but they managed to talk her into taking a few girls. Dahlia knows the horrors that girls face and she doesn't want to be an observer to this. She herself suffered some horrible trauma as a young woman that keeps her housebound with her foster children. Her husband Louis has a stern exterior but a heart of gold.

One day, social services comes to Dahlia begging her to take in a young Native American girl named Agnes. Agnes has suffered long and terrible abuse and is barely able to speak. One of the older foster girls, Zaide, takes Agnes under her wing and helps teach her proper speaking and comforts her when she fearful. Agnes is frightened that Dean's car, the one her abuser drives, will come for her and she will not be able to escape. Every night she watches for it. Nightmares overrun her sleep and she often gets into Zaides's bed for protection.

The other two children in Dahlia's care are Jimmy, a teenager who is struggling with first love and his hormones, and Joe, Zaide's little brother who is a toddler.

Agnes has bad asthma and she is told never to run. She has no knowledge of her heritage except for a box she carries everywhere that contains mementos of her past life.

At first I really enjoyed the narrative and story line but then it got a bit bland and distant to me. I couldn't connect well with the characters and I found too much of the novel repetitive and prescient. This is not to say I did not like the book, it is only to indicate that had it been edited more, and the character development been richer, it could have been a much better novel. 3.5 rounded up to 4.