I thoroughly enjoyed this book particularly because it is based on actual events. My only real criticism is that the ending felt a bit abrupt but overall, I thought it was excellent and one I will definitely purchase for my library.

Thank you to the author, publisher and Net Galley for an ARC of this book. This is a character driven novel that takes place in Ireland in the 1930s-1950s. It is a story about a young girl's struggle to find family, love and acceptance. She is born as an illegitimate(child born out of wedlock). We learn what life was like for children born under these circumstances. This book is based on true events. It is not a happy story, but does have happy moments and you want to keep reading/listening to find out what happens to Peg. I liked the narrator. I will recommend this book to people that like historical fiction.

Very well written and well researched. It’s horrifying to think that these places really existed in to care of children in such cruel ways.

Fantastic and easy to hear and well done love this narrator

Thank you to Nick Kelly for sending me this review copy

Spoiler:

This book makes you mad, sad, and glad all at once. Mad that people treated kids and unwed mothers this way. Sad for all the hurt this child endured. Glad that things got better and it's all something of the past. This is a good historical fiction book. However, I would have like to see if her life got better in America. Because we know the Irish were not treated well at all. So even though she got what she wanted I don't know if it was the right move.

This was really interesting! Based on actual events, this was the story of Mary Margaret (Number 27), who was given up for adoption. We follow her story through one of Ireland’s industrial homes in the 1940s. Themes: religion, classism, drama, and family.

Based on a true story, this is absolutely heartbreaking the way unwed mothers and their children were treated in the 1940s. I enjoyed learning about this negative side of history I did not know about. The audio was gripping and would recommend this to others. Thanks #Netgalley for a copy of this story. #TheHouseChildren

This is not what I expected. I really enjoyed the narrator and the author did a great job of building the story and characters. You really could picture it all as it happened, but it wasn’t a topic I wanted to picture. The religious aspect made me so mad. I know things like that really happened, and it makes me mad that the nuns and everyone else at that “school” allowed the appalling treatment of the kids. Some parts of the story was predictable. This was kind of short too, which is nice when you want something for the weekend.

Enjoyable and evocative - really brought to life the realities of life in Ireland in a morally-troubling time.

This was a beautiful and touching book. I loved Peg and admired her courage and hope. I learned a lot about the historical setting and found it quite fascinating. I will be recommending this book!! The narration felt a bit choppy at times. Some of the pauses felt too long and her voice sounded a little monotone sometimes.

Thisis a book that I had never thought about what a child born out of wedlock in 1950 within a very Catholic Irish family. You see how it “ruins” the mothers family. But it also reflects the mental anguish it causes the child. Of unwed parents.. child being left in an orphanage, not given affection or the truth.. leaving it up to the child to just figure it out. Children raised in such a place does take care to make sure the children are fed, clean, with a roof over their heads and totally naive to the ways of the world. I thank NetGalley for an advance copy in return of an honest review. I was totally absorbed into listening to this audiobook and would definitely recommend to friends and family.

I listened to the audiobook. I liked that the narrator had an Irish accent, which made it more authentic, but otherwise, the sound for the narrator seemed like it was Siri and not a person. This book is an interesting account of historical fiction. It follows a young girl who is a "house child" meaning she is illegitimate. She lives in Ireland in the late 1940s when girls who became pregnant when they were unwed were seen as sinners and criminals. It was against the law, so they were sent away to have the children and then forced to give them up. The young girl grapples with her own feelings about being an "illegitimate" child and what that has done done to her. The storyline is interesting and the premise is captivating, but I feel like it got repetitive at times. Thanks to Booksparks for the audiobook.

this books makes you feel as if you are in the journey with the main character who is renames peg, The story is a great example of historical fiction. this was a heart warming story that was heart breaking at times but it had me hooked from the first chapter.

I loved this book. It's a fascinating and disturbing look into how Ireland treated both the children born out of wedlock and their mothers, whom they would likely never get to know. The cruelty of the "industrial schools" is revealed in vivid detail, as illegitimate children are blamed for a status they had no control over, and young women are sometimes put into harm's way, and then left to deal with the harsh consequences of a pregnancy resulting from rape. And yet this story, told from the perspective of Peg, a "house child" (as opposed to one of the better-treated students who have families in the town), has some moments of happiness, as Peg forms close friendships with some of the other girls, finds some satisfaction in work and especially in advanced schooling, and especially enjoys the holiday week she is allowed each summer with the Hanley family in Galway, a family she longs to be part of. When she accidentally finds out the identity of her birth mother at age 13, she has a hard time forgiving her mother, even though she is told--and should understand from what she has seen in how others are treated--that her mother really had no choice. As Peg ages out of the school and embarks on a life of her own, there is reason for hope. I would absolutely love to read a sequel to this wonderful book! I had the great pleasure of listening to the audiobook version; the narrator, Lauren Reilly, is completely charming. Many thanks to NetGalley and OrangeSky Audio for an ARC of this book.

I enjoyed listening to the Irish accents on the audio version of this short but touching book, and learning Peg's story of being born an illegitimate child in early twentieth century Catholic Ireland and living in a boarding house for most of her childhood. Every summer she was able to go on a holiday to a host family in nearby Galway, and she soon suspects she may be related to them in some way. The theme throughout the book is of heartbreak over not belonging or feeling loved, and my heart broke at the thought of all the children in the world and the history of the world who haven't felt loved. It seems it should be an inalienable right for children, and they definitely need to feel loved during those formative years. This book is based on a true story, and I loved learning about a piece of history I wasn't aware of. The book ends somewhat abruptly, and occasionally feels repetitive throughout, but otherwise is an enjoyable one to read.

5 stars to The House Children audiobook! Beautifully narrated, the story comes to life and makes you really care about Peg and her plight. A must listen!

Peg is one of the house children. She started out in a terrible foster home. When that deteriorated, a judge sentenced her to one of Ireland’s industrial schools. She is one of the few orphans, out of the many in the home, which actually gets to go on holiday. Peg has no idea why she has been chosen to go on holiday. But as time goes on, secrets begin to unravel.

Peg is a scared little girl. And her situation tears at my heart. The whole situation in Ireland for the children and the unwed mothers during this time period is appalling.

This is a unique book and to know it is based on a true story is even more amazing. I don’t think I have read a book about Ireland’s orphanages. So, this was interesting to say the least.

The narrator, Lauren Reilly is more straightforward than I like. it is almost like she is just stating the facts instead of reading a story. But, the book itself is very well researched and heart wrenching in places.

Need a good historical fiction book…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this audiobook from the publisher for a honest review.

This book, a Historical Fiction, is fiction only in its characters. The life depicted by these characters was real and existed not so long ago.
While most of us are well aware of the Magdalen Laundries: the Industrial Schools were a term unfamiliar to this reader. These schools existed for children who fell under many categories: indigent, unwanted, rebellious and were now under the eye of a religious order, in this case the Sisters of Mercy. The school depicted here was an all girls facility. Attending these schools were considered an advantage in some cases: meals and a roof were a luxury for some.
Mary Margaret (renamed Peg due to the popular use of her give name) arrives at the school after stays in foster homes that were brutal both emotionally and physically. Her birth, unaccepted by her Mam’s family, forced her to be sent away but the Mother tried to keep her daughter in sight while remaining unseen as her real mother.
The reader follows young Peg as a 6 year old till she’s 15: the age when the girls leave to go to work. As she grows up, you live through all the emotions of neglect, being unloved, learning to deal with the not always kind nuns and how the outside world thinks of them. Peg learns that those at the school are her family more than the birth family she so wants to connect with and be a part of. We follow Peg trying to make her way through and out of the traditional “track" the girls that were sent to Industrial School always followed.
Peg knows there is a better life to be had, has dreams and does what she can to make them happen.

A heartbreaking tale of a girl born out of wedlock. Raised in .an industrial school she pines for a family of her own. Forced to work and come to terms with the shame of her background, she pursues a better for herself. She must also face the feelings of abandonment when she discovers who her mother is. Why was she condemned? No big twists but an enjoyable read.

I liked this book. It was interesting to see how things were in the past. The enjoyed the main characters point of view and how she narrated her story. The pacing of events was really good and didn’t drag along. However, once I put it down I wasn’t really pulled to pick it up again.

Thank you @booksparks , @orangeskyaudio & @the.house.children for sending me an audiobook ARC of The House Children! I had absolutely no idea what this book was about but it was actually SOO good.
•
The character development was really good. I felt myself really understanding the way Peg experienced the world. I felt betrayed when you felt betrayed, excited when she did and at points confused like she was. I really thought this book was really well done and I def recommend it!!
•
This is also a historical fiction (go me) which is usually negative thing for me, but I honestly didn’t even feel like I was reading a historical fiction. It’s got some good family-type drama which i always love 😂