I'd never heard of Willowbrook before reading this book and was horrified, if not surprised, to learn about our country's mistreatment of the mentally ill and disabled children all the way through the 1970s. Wiseman captures the human toll of this horrendous chapter in our history with a sympathetic narrator, rapid pace, and a plot with twists and turns that plunged the reader into the daily terrors of institutional imprisonment. There were times when descriptions of the treatment of Willowbrook residents felt unbelievable, but a quick internet search backed up the author's obviously thorough research.

I highly recommend the book, with caution for people reading who might have trouble processing physical assault, imprisonment, and medical mistreatment and violation of the mentally ill.

Amazing is an understatement! I was completely captivated by this book. I stayed up til past 1am two nights in a row... I could not read fast enough. I was on edge with all the twists and turns. I felt so many emotions while reading, and even today am still thinking about it. It's definitely a page turner and a story that will stick with me for a very long time. I'll be recommending this to all my bookish friends. Historical fiction and a thriller, all in one. Ellen hit it out of the park with this book! 5 plus, plus stars!

(PS - This has all the makings for a fantastic movie. A creepy and sad one, but it would be awesome nonetheless.)

Thank you to NetGalley and Kensington for the electronic ARC of this book. I was given the privilege and honor to read this advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion .

This book was sent to me by Netgalley for review…a twin learns that her sister is alive, not dead as she was told years ago…she has been on a hospital for the insane,,,the different…the girl journeys to find her twin, this opening up secrets that were hidden…the book reads like nonfiction…the characters are not likable…too much pain…the horrors of the hospital are awful…the setting unbelievable at times…his author is talented and gifting at weaving a story such as this one.

Wow, this was a really powerful read. A good portion of it was really hard to read especially when you realize it was based on true events at Willowbrook. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the early read.

Wow!! Just Wow!! This book kept me hooked until the very last page. The characters were well developed and the story was excellent. The topic itself is a hard one to discuss or think about in this day and age. Unfortunately, it is the truth, especially in the time frame of this story. I was outraged, scared and totally invested in this story about our past dealings with the mentally and physically disabled. I am looking forward to more from this author!!

From the first page - hell, the first SENTENCE to the last, this was one of the most engrossing books I've read in a VERY long time. The author clearly has done her research on this place that existed in real life, but she's also created a world where I want to know many of these people, some that I could hug, some that I would like to see prosecuted.

Just a flat out amazing read!

Ellen Marie Wiseman is an excellent historical fiction author. The Lost Girls of Willowbrook is obviously thoroughly researched and is absolutely riveting! It details the horrors of Willowbrook while giving a voice to the victims. This is a book that will not be forgotten anytime soon.

Author Ellen Marie Wiseman’s new novel opens with one of the best first sentences I have come across in a long time: “People still search the woods for the remains of lost children.” WOW! That sentence grabbed me by the throat and didn’t let go until I got to the end. And as I read, Wiseman’s story became more and more horrifying. Stephen King doesn’t write stories as scary as this one.

The novel is set in the real-life Willowbrook State School, a state-supported institution for children with intellectual disabilities located in the Willowbrook neighborhood on Staten Island in New York City from 1947 until 1987. The school was designed for 4,000, but by 1965 it had a population of 6,000. When the novel takes place, it is 1971 with a population of 8,000. Many New York parents threatened to send their misbehaving children there

“State School” is a misnomer. There was no teaching going on in the forty-building campus; It was a dumping ground for mental, physical, and emotionally disabled children. Every scary story you have ever heard about these places comes out in this novel: beatings drugs, sexual abuses, starvations.

The novel opens with sixteen-year-old Sage Winters on her way to Willowbrook. She has recently learned that not only her twin sister, Rosemary, whom she thought was dead, is still alive, but she has spent the last six years there, plus she is now missing. Sage doesn’t know much about Willowbrook, but she knows she cannot rest until her sister is found.

Sage is headed there to form a search party, or whatever needs to be done to find Rosemary. But when she arrives, the staff believe that she is her sister and treat her as such. She is sedated and thrown into Rosemary’s routine. It was an easy way to get inside, true, but the place is a nightmare. The book’s publisher, Kensington Books, says that is “conjures “Girl, Interrupted” meets “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”

There is, however, one bright spot: Eddie, one of the janitors, can tell the girls apart. He vows to help her get out of there. The trip to the tunnels that beneath the building is as terrifying as what goes on above them.

This is not a beach read. It's a hard read, but one that I could not put down. Some of the descriptions of the conditions there made me gag. “The Lost Girls of Willowbrook” receives 6 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.

The Lost Girls of Willowbrook combines historical fiction with suspense to create a heartfelt, poignant portrayal of New York’s infamous Willowbrook school. Ellen Marie Wiseman deftly describes the atrocities committed at the school while giving voices to the victims and creating a heart pounding page-turner. This was one of the best books I’ve read this year!

Ellen Marie Wiseman is by far the best historical fiction author there is! The Lost Girls of Willowbrook is one of those books that you read and don’t forget. The setting is so vivid it will haunt you & the main character feels so real, you’ll cry. If you have only one book to add to your TBR pile, make it this one!

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I have been a fan of Ellen Marie Wiseman's work since I read "What She Left Behind". As an institutional historian, I look for books in which it is clear the author has done their research but manages to build a story that isn't weighed down by that research. "The Lost Girls of Willowbrook" is one such book. Wiseman deftly weaves together the history of institutional care and the history of Willowbrook itself which serves as a backdrop for an incredible mystery that, sadly, is an accurate echo of real-life circumstances in many of these institutions.

For the past six years, Sage Winters has believed that her twin sister Rosemary died of pneumonia. Instead, she discovers that Rosemary was in fact committed to Willowbrook and is now missing. Concerned about her sister, Sage hops a bus to Willowbrook to join in the search for Rosemary but when she arrives, she is immediately mistaken for her sister and taken away to the wards where she witnesses unspeakable horrors, neglect, and abuse at the hands of the attendants as well as the so-called doctors. The only person who seems to believe that she's Sage and not Rosemary is Eddie King, the janitor she sees every day cleaning the overcrowded day room. Eddie engineers some time alone for the two of them and tells her he knew right away that she wasn't Rosemary and he was willing to do whatever he could to help her get out of Willowbrook and find out what actually happened to her sister.

What follows is a series of unexpected twists and turns that take the reader even deeper into the bowels of the institution as Sage fights for her freedom and justice for not only her sister, but for all the lost girls of Willowbrook.

When I heard Ellen Marie Wiseman was going to write a story involving Willowbrook. I decided to do some research as I never really heard of Willowbrook as I don't live in the US. I decided to watch the Geraldo Rivera video he did exposing Willowbrook. I was sickened with what he uncovered.

I recieved an advanced readers copy of The Lost Girls of Willowbrook and this wasn't an easy read but Wiseman has done her research. The characters became like friends to me.

I am beyond emotions right now. Im mad with the state of New York for letting this atrocity happen but sadly its apart of history. Whether people are mentally or physically handicapped. They are still people.

Ellen Marie Wiseman is an author I will always read, as i love her stories. This one is no exception.THE LOST GIRLS OF WILLOWBROOK is yet another one that will forever stay with me.

Thank you to Netgalley, Kensington Books and Ellen Marie Wiseman for this copy to read for an honest review

My thoughts and opinions are my own and arent influenced by anyone else

The Lost Girls of Willowbrooks by E.M. Wiseman, published by Kensington Books is the most heart-wrenching, intense, raw and gritty book I read in 22.
Set in the 1970ties it tells the story of Sage and Rosemary Winters. The twin sisters were separated at age 10 and while one stayed with her mother, the other one was institutionalized in an in-patient institute.
I started reading and it was like my worst nightmare came true right before my eyes. The author masterfully plays to the reader's emotions, gives all the feels, goosebumps and the one or other sleepless minute. This is a book that stays with you, deals with sensitive subject and is raw and gritty.

Wow! The most powerful book I have even read! This book touched my soul, my humanity and it will resonate with me for years!
Ellen Marie Wiseman does not shy away from the hard truths, she mixes and weaves them into beautifully written, deeply researched, experiences for the reader to feel, see, hear and take with them long after the last page is turned.
This book shines a light where there has been darkness!

The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman A remarkable, emotional, and disconcerting read about the history of mentally ill patients and how they were treated in New York’s infamous Willowbrook school in the early part of the 20th century. A difficult and depressing read because of the shocking level of human depravity depicted in it. As always Ms Wiseman penned a well researched and well written novel.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.