Set in the 1940s and 1950s Ireland, House Children highlights the life of Mary, later known as Peg. She’s never known her mother and, after a terrifying foster care experience, ends up in a home raised by nuns where she’s known as one of the house children. Mary is constantly wishing for a mother and wants a family so badly it hurts. My heart broke for her and I could feel her pain as the narrator deftly described it. What struck me most about this very difficult situation was that her situation wasn’t all bad: there were ups and downs, making her life sad but tolerable with some things to look forward to and take pleasure in. Mary made the most of her life and made herself a family where there wasn’t one. I highly recommend the audio rendition of this. The narrator’s Irish accent is perfection and the story has a nice flow and an abundance of emotion which will keep listeners hooked.

Thank you Net Galley for an audio ARC of The House Children by Heidi Daniele. This story is based on actual events of life inside Ireland's industrial schools in the 1930's. I loved this one. It's really a shame places like this existed.

Who's my mother?

In 1937 it was not a good time for unwed mothers in Ireland. The Catholic church was in control and the girls were forced to give birth in a work home and then their child was taken away. Mary Margaret Joyce was one of these children. Her first years were spent in an inadequate non caring foster home and when the mother up and left with the children after her husband was killed Mary Margaret was left behind. She ended up in an industrial school where she was number 27 and they called her Peg.

The home was strict under the nuns and she complied with the work, the prayers and the rules. She made friends at the school. Her one time to escape was a yearly vacation with a family in Galway. She looked forward to these vacations every year.

On one visit she finds out from her Grandmother, that Nora the lady she spends her vacations with is her mother. Peg struggles with the shame of being illegitimate and feels that her mother abandoned her. She plans to move away when she is older. She wants to go to America.

There is much tension and struggles between Nora and Peg as she becomes a young adult and wants some say in her life. Her mother doesn't want to let go and refuses to talk to her about moving out of Ireland. Peg is conflicted, she is just coming of age and she simply cannot forgive her mother for abandoning her when she was born or even now for not acknowledging her as a daughter.

It is a story of the inside of the industrial school, the emotions and conflicts of a young girl as she grows up and comes to terms with life. Her feeling of love and hate for her mother and her dream of going to America. I enjoyed this story and this bit of Irish history.

It was a good story and I recommend it.

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this audio book, all opinions are my own

The synopsis and cover of this book intrigued me immediately, so I was super grateful to snag the audiobook from NetGalley.

The story revolves around Peg, a young girl whose experience in foster care and an orphanage in 1930s Ireland. The story does a great job of exploring the emotional effects of a life without family and a safe and consistent home life on children.

However, I was waiting for a bigger plot twist or a bit of excitement in the story line, and for me personally it didn’t come. If I had read this when I was younger- perhaps in late elementary or middle school- I think I would have loved it. Therefore, I think the story will speak to its intended audience as it is YA. The narration itself was very odd. The woman’s Irish accent was beautiful, but it almost sounded robotic or auto-tuned. I got used to it and enjoyed the audiobook, but it may be a turn off to some.

Overall, I would definitely recommend this to young adults who are interested in other’s life experiences and time periods! The writing was beautiful and atmospheric.

Wow this book is truly amazing! I was drawn in form the very start. The story follows girls in Ireland that are born out of wedlock or that their family can no longer support and are sent to an industry school to live with the nuns.

I listened to the audio version of this book and the narrator really added great emotion to the story. I actually listened to it in just one day it was that good. Although this book was a work of fiction it was so believable I actually thought it was a true story or at the least based on a true story. This was an edge of your seat book. It is truly shocking how these girls were treated in the home and at school. However, where is sadness there is always light and the girls often got a weeks holiday every year to another Catholic family. I really enjoyed these sections but there is always a twist in the tale when your least expect it. The ending is brilliant you wont be disappointed and no I am not going to give it way you will have to read it yourself. I loved that the book was a complete contrast for shocking story and very heart warming at times. the characters had such a sense of depth that you will easily form love, hate relationship with each one. The writing flowed brilliantly that totally engrossed you into the story and you will not want the book to end. So much praise goes out to the author and publishing teams for bring us this wonderful well wrote and researched novel.

Already published review on goodreads, kobo, waterstones, Google books and amazon and B&N and on my blog

https://ladyreading365.wixsite.com/website/post/the-house-children-by-heidi-daniele-orangesky-audio

I didn't make it very far into this one. It just . . . didn't hold my attention. (Not much else to say, but have to reach the character limit.)

The House of Children has the air of a classic, it explores immortal themes such as family, identity, wanting to belong.

The story is set in the 1930s. Our protagonist, Mary Margaret Joyce was born at the Tuam Home in Ireland. She spent her life either in foster care or in the industrial boarding school. She was abandoned by her mother and she doesn't know a single thing about her family and why her mother left her.

In the industrial school, she gets the nickname Peg. We follow Peg's every day's life and struggles. The beginning of the novel was slow and uninteresting to me.

Not only her life takes a turn, but also the story starts being more interesting when Peg is asked to spend the holidays with a family. She doesn't know why that particular family took interest in her, but she loves them nonetheless.

As she starts to grow up, she discovers the truth about her mother and the reason why she was abandoned.

The ending of the book was as dull as the beginning. All of the excitement was depleted in the middle part of the book.

Considering that this is based on real events, I understand why the story was such as it was.

The writing style was beautiful and easy to follow.

The audiobook narrator was perfect.

Many thanks to Netgalley and OrangeSky Audio for providing me the audiobook of the House Children in exchange for an honest review.

4.75⭐️
A debut novel. I had the 🎧audiobook version. I loved the accent of the narrator. It made listening a pleasure.

Based on actual events in Ireland’s infamous industrial schools. Set in 1937 Joyce is born in a home for unwed mothers. After spending her early years in uncaring foster homes she is sent to live in an industrial school, given the name Peg and the number 27.
It’s a story of love, shameful secrets and life in the harsh industrial schools. While reading it’s evident that Pegs life is harsh, even more heart rendering is that she comes across others who have been in even harsher situations while in the care of the church.
It kept me engaged throughout, I really enjoyed it. It was emotional in places, that the children born could never escape the stigma of being born illegitimately.

A dark glimpse into Ireland's industrial schools. The awful place where children were treated like numbers and really had a lack of belonging and future. Individualism was definitely not encouraged, hence the grey clothes and numbered uniforms.

Mary Margaret, changed to Peg just wanted to find her family and sense of belonging. The sad truth of the world was how low value was placed on women, especially those thought to be illegitimate or a lower class.

I enjoyed watching Peg do what she could to try to better her situation as she came of age.

The only part I didn't like about this book was the way America was viewed as this magical place. That may have been the sentiment at the time, but it didn't come off as realistic.

The narrator was engaging and helped keep my interest when listening to this book!

The best part of reading this book is that I learned about the industrial schools since I had never heard of them before. This book was enjoyable and educational.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me a copy of this Audiobook for my honest review.

Heidi Daniele has effortlessly transported me to another place and time with her wonderful debut novel, The House Children, a story about the industrial schools that were established in Ireland in the late 1800s to care for neglected, orphaned and abandoned children. This is the story of young Mary Margaret Joyce (Peg), an illegitimate that was sentenced to live her childhood at the industrial school purely because of the circumstance to which she was born. My heart broke for Peg as she struggled to come to terms with the identity of her birth mum and her own identity as an illegitimate child of those times.

A fascinating story with a compelling backdrop, this would have been a five star read but the ending was too abrupt for me. I hope we hear more about Peg and where life takes her.

Thank you to NetGalley (@netgalley) and OrangeSky Audio (@orangeskymedia) for the opportunity to listen to this fantastical advanced audio copy. The narration by Lauren Reilly (@laurenreilly) was FANTASTIC. Really brought this one to life.

So Very Powerful and Endearing

💛 So… the systematic practice of sentencing (sentencing?!) children to imprisonment and a lifetime of ostracization. Not the lightest of subjects, I think you’ll agree. I know I spent a good deal of time wanting to yell at history. And yet this book did it in the most endearing way possible: Through the eyes of a child. This provided some levity in the way only a kid’s thoughts can, but also a stark contrast between complete innocence and mind-bending cruelty. Consider me fascinated, moved and not a little angry.

💙 The child in question is Mary Margaret. She is, quite frankly, adorable. I believe it was Marge Simpson who once said, “I wouldn’t mind tucking that in at night” and that definitely applies here. Intelligent, funny, thoughtful, amenable, but ultimately her own person, I loved spending time with her thoughts.
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SOUNDBITE

🎧 Lauren Reilly is perfect as the voice of Mary Margaret. Likeable and lovely to listen to, she managed to convey both the light and dark aspects of the story and I was totally immersed in her performance.
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SHALL I COMPARE THEE TO…

I felt echoes of the film, Sleepers (1996). Admittedly that was even darker than this, but there are lots of parallels. Too young to remember that one? Okay, well there’s also Never Let Me Go (2005), a book and a film and also with lots of similarities. I highly recommend both by the way.

And if 2005 is too far back for you… I just… I need a minute.

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A quick thanks: This honest review was written after listening to a Netgalley ALC from OrangeSky Audio.

Set in Ireland 1940s & 1950s, “The House Children” tells a tale of one child’s journey within an Industrial School for neglected, orphaned, and abandoned children.

Author, Heidi Daniele, told an eloquent tale portraying the emotional rollercoaster growing up as one of the many “House Children” leaving me with a strong desire to learn more about the Industrial Schools.

I listened to the audiobook version of “The House Children” . Narrator, Lauren Reilly, did a wonderful job as the story flowed with ease, emerging the listening directly into the tale from the very start.

A sincere thank you to NetGalley and OrangeSky Audio for providing me an advance copy (ARC) of this audiobook in exchange for an honest review. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to read this story and leave my review voluntarily.

Having a child out of wedlock in 1930’s Ireland was a mark of shame, unmarried mothers were forced to give their children up. Mary Margaret, “Peg” or number 27, is born in a home for unwed mothers. Growing up in the orphanage, Peg gets no affection from the nuns, only endless hours of grueling work. Once a year, she is allowed time away with a kindly family, and that holiday is what sustains her through the rest of the year. As a young teen, Peg discovers the identity of her mother and wrestles with her conflicting feelings of anger, betrayal and longing, while her mother struggles with her own feelings of shame and regret. A powerful story about the fate thrust upon women, simply because of their ability to bear children

Thanks NetGalley and OrangeSky Audio for the audiocopy of The House Children by Heidi Danielle.
Born out of wedlock in Ireland, Mary Margaret Joyce was sent to instutional school. Mary's life in the school and her yearning for a family showed how tough it was for such Irish children in 1937. The story was fast going, thorough and emotional.
Overall a good audiobook.