Ireland, 1937, Mary Margaret Joyce was born and abandoned in the Tuam Home for unwed mothers. This story is kind of his diary. Mary's memory starts after an uncaring foster home in an industrial school, the House Children, where she is given the name Peg, and assigned the number 27.

This was a very heartbreaking and heartwarming story about a little girl who start a hard life while growing! Life in an orphanage and shame in society, knowing her real mother who abandoned her, so heavy that she couldn't understand. Even so, she dreams of a new life, which will be built by her love, forgiveness, and hard work.

The House Children by Heidi Daniele and Narrated by Lauren Reilly was an engaging story about love, family, caring, and selfishness. I really enjoyed it. I sympathize with the characters and got angry to them. Overall this was a beautiful story highly recommended for historical readers. Let's do not forget the excellent narrator with a lovely Irish accent.

Many Thanks to OrangeSky Audio and NetGalley for the ARC, I have given my honest review.

Enjoyed this a lot - a heartwarming and heartbreaking story with pure heavy honesty. It seemed to be well researched and almost like nonfiction as it had to have been inspired by true events. There is a strong component of religious influence with orphan/abandoned children, which may trigger some readers.

The beginning broke my heart so much I wanted to just have a sob session for all the children who had unfortunate circumstances and ended up in a Irish orphanage. I imagined Annie there with them singing "the sun will come out tomorrow ". And as the book progressed there were moments I smiled and had faith in humanity again. Mary/Peg has been through a lot and luckily she got to question why she wasn't able to have a normal family. I felt bittersweet about this beautifully written book. I really enjoyed the writing and the narrator was excellent. I reccomend this book to anyone who wants to feel all of the emotions humanity has to offer, However in the end forgiveness and hope prevails all obstacles.

Mediocre- overall, was this a good book yes. However, there was a lot of back and forth throughout this entire book. This book was based in Ireland essentially explaining how young women were forced to camps and give away their babies when pregnant out of wedlock.

Mary Margaret was born out of wedlock to a mother who couldn’t take care of her. She is “sentenced”to an industrial home, which horrified me. It was as if her crime was being a child and she was being sent to jail.
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When she arrives at the home her name is immediately changed to Peg or number 27. My heart ached as this little girl cried with the loss of her name, the only thing she still owned.
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This is story of secrets, forgiveness, misfortune and hope that is based on actual events. This was beautifully narrated. Thank you to @booksparks @orangeskyaudio and @the.housechildren for an advanced copy.
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I loved everything about this book. The narrator is superb and while the story is sad at times, it is also heartwarming. The book is described as a mystery, but I wouldn't call it that. I would say it's historical fiction that is focused on family and belonging. Peg's journey and struggles from childhood to adulthood kept me hooked on this book and rooting for her and all the other house children, children who were just victims of circumstance and a judgemental society. I was pleased by the way it ended and if this author decides to continue Peg's story I will first in line to read it.

I did like the story line however the short choppy sentences were quite annoying. Some of the characters were flat.

4.5+*: Thank you NetGalley, author, and publisher for the audio arc of this novel.

The House Children, by Heidi Daniele, was an excellent historical read, or in my case audio. I loved hearing the Irish accent of the narrator and the story held my attention the entire time. This is a short audio lasting just over 6 hours. Because it held my attention the whole time, and also because I had the time today, I listened to this novel in 1 day. I cannot believe that this is a debut novel. I am a new fan of Heidi Daniele.

Like most historical novels the topic is heavy and sad, but also interesting and moving. I did feel like I earned more for this one; not many I read are set in Ireland. This may only be the second.

Synopsis: In 1937, Mary Margaret Joyce is born in the Tuam Home for unwed mothers. After spending her early years in an uncaring foster home, she is sentenced by a judge to an industrial school, where she is given the name Peg, and assigned the number 27. At the tender age of thirteen, Peg accidentally learns the identity of her birth-mother. Peg struggles with feelings of anger and abandonment, while her mother grapples with the shame of having borne a child out of wedlock. The tension between them mounts as Peg, now becoming a young adult, begins to make plans for her future beyond Ireland. Based on actual events, The House Children is a compelling story of familial love, shameful secrets, and life inside Ireland’s industrial schools. The novel, based on actual events to orphan's, illegitimate children, and impoverished children. In this novel you could feel the emotions that Peg and her mother must both feel in an impossible situation. There is one more feeling I would love to share, but do not feel I can share without spoiling the end and so I will refrain. Like most well written HF novels, this will break your heart, but also remind you of what the human spirit can overcome with determination and opportunity.

The novel reminds me of the way I felt when I read the novel "The War That Saved My Life", but maybe for a slightly older audience. There is nothing in this novel that would keep a middle grade or High school age youth from reading it, but it felt to me like an adult novel or a novel that could be enjoyed by both youth and adults. The synopsis online suggests age 12+; however it never felt juvenile as I read it, yet I would allow my 12 year old to read it if she wanted. This also reminds me a bit of the novel "The Home for Unwanted Girls". I did like this novel, The House Children, more; however, both are excellent. I have read many fiction novels about orphan's; however, I have never heard of the industrial schools in Ireland. Other than the element of teaching them a trade and giving them an assignment at the age of 15, they seem similar to orphanages in terms of ill treatment. Similar vibes in that regard to "This Tender Land", also a great read.

Themes: YA Historical Fiction, Historical Fiction, Orphans & Foster Homes/ industrial schools, The Catholic Church & Illegitimate babies, shame, felling unaccepted, dreaming of America, the treatment of women, and unwed mothers, forced adoptions, etc.

I recommend this audio or novel to any book lover of historical fiction.

This book covers a very sensitive topic.
Mary's story is that of many children's stories who grew up in the mother and baby laundries or children's homes in Ireland.
I felt it was very well written and while heartbreaking In places it was touching in others.
I enjoyed the writing style, it felt like a memoir really, and I would love there to be another book about the next part of Mary's journey to finding where she belongs and if she ever feels she has found her place.



I voluntarily read and reviewed this book, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

This book was absolutely not for me. This is a very character focused, coming of age type story with a very boring plot. There were no real twists or turns or anything I didn’t already see coming. Just fell flat for me.

Set in 1940s Ireland, the House Children, reads as if it were a memoir of Peg, a girl who was conceived out of wedlock, and due to the Catholic church's strict mandates on morality, is sent to live at an "industrial Home,' a orphanage- like facility run by nuns. The girls are treated poorly, but are educated and able to form a sense of family amongst each other.

Peg is a bright child, who grows into an evolved young woman. She spends vacations with a family who sends for her regularly, and her questions as to their identity are many. Hearing that many young women are experiencing a better life in the US, Peg longs to emigrate. The end of the book is hopeful.

I very much enjoyed this book, that points out the strict Irish Catholic morality issues that governed its women at the time. Peg is a delightful person, who the listener comes to know well. The narrator's authentic accent adds to the flavor of the story.

Thank you to @netgalley @orangeskyaudio for the ALC in return for my honest review.

My thoughts…
Curious. It started off well with Mary Margaret, born in 1938 at a home for unwed mothers, then she spent her early years in a foster home. Prior to school age, a judge sentenced her to an “industrial” school run by nuns who changed her name to Peg. She was sent there because she was found “guilty of being destitute and not an orphan.” Unfortunately, after that, it began to really slow down and my interest began to wane. I think it would have kept me more interested if Peg had a stronger presence. I still finished the book, because the theme was interesting and the narrator’s Irish accent was soothing. 😬

Here is a saga of the hardships and yet the rewards of being part of a family.

I recommend the audio version from OrangeSky as the accents really enhanced the feeling of this historical time and geography.

6-year-old Mary Margaret Joyce is living with a foster family who has absolutely no regard for her. Soon, a judge sends her to Saint Thomas’ Industrial School. It’s 1943, she is an illegitimate child and at this time in history, they are barely treated as human beings. At the first meeting of Mary Margaret, Sister Constance changes her name to Peg. She comments that there are already “too many Marys.”

The Convent life is a tough life on a child, with rigid rules and harsh nuns. Peg despite, the rough treatment is a resilient child, and makes a few friends and the best of a bad situation. She does get a much needed break from the convent when the sisters send her on a one-week holiday to stay with Norah Hanley and her husband, Dan. Peg thoroughly enjoys time with the couple and is sad to leave. Lucky for her these visits become an annual event. Norah and Dan begin having children of their own and Peg longs to be part of the family.

This was a tough time in history for these innocent children. My heart felt great sympathy for both Peg and her mother. Peg’s anger with her mother is understandable, but you will learn her mother has her own sad tale to tell.

I didn’t find the conclusion to be very satisfying, it felt like the author left ending open, with the possibility of more stories of this brave determined girl to come. .Well that’s not a bad thing.. I’d like to read more about Peg’s future.

This book was pretty good but hard to follow on audio and missing a lot of important elements of storytelling. I did like it, but I think that I would have enjoyed it more if it had been in print instead. The narrator is interesting and her accent brought the story to life.

The House Children is the story of hope, loss, love, and finding a sense of belonging. Coming of age as an illegitimate child in an era where that is unacceptable in Ireland, we meet our main character who longs to belong and yearns for the American Dream. Trigger warning for vague child abuse.

A pleasant historical novel. It did seem pretty predictable, yet an interesting read that didn’t take much thought it keeping straight who was who in the book.

I have mentioned before that, these days, I often go into a book “blind” without knowing much of anything about a book.
That was the case here. I joined the #BookSparks pop up audiobook tour for The House Children without knowing what the book was about. I really do like all genres so I don’t have to be too picky. From the cover and the title, I was expecting it to possibly be a horror story. Well…
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That isn’t really the genre, but growing up as an illegitimate child in Ireland in the 1930’s-40’s is a horror in itself. This historical fiction novel is based on actual events and that always gets an extra shutter or two from me.
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Mary Margaret was born in 1938 at a home for unwed mothers. Her early years were spent in a foster home where the dog got scraps of food before she did. Just before she reaches school age, she is sentenced by a judge to an industry school. Her crime? She was found guilty of being destitute and not an orphan.
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The book follows her years growing up under the care of the nuns at the school, as one of the “house children” in the community, a new name and a number to identify her. She gets one week a year as a break from this hard life and a chance to be a “normal” girl at the home of a kind family in Galway.
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Even that respite changes some as she gets older, the host family grows, and long kept secrets are revealed. Mary Margaret is smart and has goals, the things she learns sidetrack her a bit, but she shows wonderful strength and wisdom to make her path forward.
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This is a very simple, entertaining tale that was great to listen to while my hands were doing other things. The Irish accent of the narrator, Lauren Reilly, was easy to listen too and helped me really feel immersed in the story.
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First, I am just an avid reader. Not a publisher, professional book critic, or blogger with millions of followers. I'm an average almost-middle-aged elder millennial. I give this context because it's important to my review, as I feel the heady nature of this book might be undersold by my following words and I wouldn't want to take potential readers away from what is, undeniably, a good story at its core.

This story lags on and stalls in places I wish it would have had a bit more mystery, intrigue, or adventure perhaps. I do think that is the point, and that Daniele is quite clever in conveying this sense of despair, doom, and monotony. I was previously unaware of the concept of 'House Children' and this was an eye-opening peek into Ireland's past which not only felt terribly unfair but was downright cruel. The arc of the story never really climaxed to a pivotal moment in which the main character fundamentally changed or grew her voice. Again, I believe this is the point and that her voice is yet to be developed (without spoilers). I wish more time would have been spent on Peg's emotions, she comes across as rather washed out, passionless, and dutiful (but how else could she be when she would have been beaten into submission?). In the end, I just don't think my likes and expectations for the novels I read aligned well with the concept and storytelling of this book, but it is a great book if that is your cup of tea.

I love the story line of the book. The characters were very relatable. Sad to see in that time period how women were treated. The narration was good other that you could tell they was sitting in an empty room while reading it out loud.

The plight of girls and young women in Ireland during the first half of the 1900s was appalling. Yet, I am fascinated. I read or watch everything I can on what happened to them. Often we follow the young women who are pregnant as they are pushed into a system that makes them criminals and forces them out of society. Some get back in. Some do not.

This time we follow one of those children. From the age of six, when Mary Margaret is being treated like an unliked animal, I knew this would be a different perspective. Firstly, a six year old doesn't know tat what is happening isn't right. As she grows, Mary (renamed Peg because there are far too many Marys), does learn about the injustice of her life. The book tells the story of her life with the nuns, being an illegal person, watching loving families from the outside and never quite getting in, and trying to break free from her circumstances.

The fact that she had no control over her own birth and no one seems to care about the men involved always enrages me during these stories. I believe all girls and women should realize how little we are removed from being controlled and owned. This history isn't that far behind us and could be in our future if we are not careful.

Loved this historical fiction and will be recommending it highly to all of those who ask me. Thank you NetGalley and Heidi Daniele for the opportunity to read this.

*Thanks to NetGalley and SparkPress for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.* My first reflection on this book is I don't know how people can be so horrible to children. Having grown up in a different place and time to when this book was set, it is hard for me to understand how anyone could justify how single mothers and their children were treated in Ireland for a large chunk of the twentieth century. Whilst at times 'The House Children' may make for uncomfortable reading, it is an important story, that needs to be told. The story begins in 1930s Ireland with the birth of Mary Margaret to a young, unwed mother. The book follows Mary Margaret (soon referred to as Peg, due to the multitude of House Children already called Mary) as she comes of age in an Ireland controlled by the Catholic Church and the patriarchy. A beautiful, if at times tragic, read. These stories need to be told, so that we can do better for the generations that follow.