Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review The Girls We Sent Away. This is the first book from Meagan Church that I've picked up. As a frequent historical fiction reader, I found the topic of the 1960s Baby Scoop era to be a unique and appealing. I also found the main character being a teenage girl to be appealing.

Unfortunately, this book was not a good fit for me and I chose to put it down after reading the first 1/3. I found the main character to be both written with more modern values and ideas, and also deeply naïve, even for her upbringing and setting. I have recently read so many books with unintended pregnancies, that explored the experience in a less trope-dependent manner, so this one fell flat for me. Since I did not complete the book, I am rating this 3 stars to align with an average rating.

The Girls We Sent Away
By: Meagan Church

5 Stars

Lorraine is a bright girl. On her way to being valedictorian her senior year in high school. She has a good boyfriend, Clint, getting ready to head off to college. She will soon be on her way there, too. Until the one night, her life changes forever. She falls pregnant. Her parents then send her away to a maternity home, ultimately, to hide her "indiscretion." She soon learns that their is so much more to life than appearance and even education.

Wow. This book was an amazing and gripping story. I can only imagine how many types of "homes" were available to girls back then. The storyline behind this book was so real. It really makes you think. Back then, in the 60s, being an unwed mother was looked down on. This book brings to light some of what a family will do to hide their secrets.

I absolutely loved this story. It had pain, but it also presented hope for a brighter, better future. This was a heart-wrenching story. It was full of the drama that you want in a good story, but the story it presented was as real as it could be. Keep that in your head as you read, and you will love this story as much as I did.

I'd be amiss if I didn't add that the ending was a bright light at the end of a dark tunnel.

*I want to thank Netgalley and the author for this book in return for my honest review*

Stormi Ellis
Boundless Book Reviews

I really loved this book!
As soon as I began reading it I loved the writing style and flow. This was one of those books I could just tell from the very beginning I was going to love.
The characters were very well thought out and completely jumped right off the page.
Every time I picked this book up I felt like I was a true fly on the wall of Loraine’s life.
The storyline was very well thought out and executed. This book takes a really serious subject and walks us through every small detail of it, but also keeps your interest the whole way through. The book was heart wrenching and the whole time I’m routing for Loraine, but also wishing her life could just go back to normal.
I think this author did an amazing job of tackling a very tough subject with class and grace and making it extremely entertaining. I was on the edge of my seat for this whole book and was dying to know what was going to happen and how everything would turn out.
Thank you NetGalley for my arc copy, I am leaving this review on my own.

★ 5 Stars ★
I usually stick to reading thrillers, but now and then, I like to explore different genres. Recently, I read "The Girls We Sent Away," which is a powerful and emotional story. It’s a reminder of how much women's rights have improved over the years. However, it's a story that requires a box of tissues by your side!

The book is set in the 1960s and follows the story of Lorraine, who becomes pregnant as a teenager. Her boyfriend abandons her, and her parents are angry and ashamed. They send her to a home for wayward girls, where she is expected to deliver the baby and put it up for adoption. And she is expected to keep all of this a secret.

Before her pregnancy, Lorraine was on track to become the first female valedictorian at her school. She had big dreams and wanted to be the first woman in space. However, the pregnancy changed everything.

The home she is sent to is terrible, but the author's writing is excellent. Meagan Church created authentic and realistic characters that made me feel like I knew them. Although this is a work of fiction, it made me think about all the girls who experienced this in real life. I’ll be reading more by this exceptional author!

Sincere thanks to Sourcebooks Landmark and RB Media for providing this book through NetGalley. As always, all opinions are my own and left voluntarily.

#TheGirlsWeSentAway #NetGalley #MeaganChurch #SourcebooksLandmark #RBMedia #HistoricalFiction #WaywardGirls #UnplannedPregnancy #justfinished #ARC #honestreview #thriller #bookreviewer #thrillerbookloverspromotions #thrillerfriendsunite #thrillerobsessedbookishclub #ReadersOfTheLateArc #TalkWordyToMeTeam #lovetoread #bookworms #lovebooks #booknerd #readaholic #bookstagrammer

I loved this book far more than I expected to. Well-written with characters I just fell in love with, I instantly became invested in this story about a young woman on the edge of adulthood who is faced with an impossible choice after she becomes pregnant just prior to entering her senior year of high school. In 1960s America, this was one of the most precarious situations for a girl to find herself in, particularly when she is intelligent, independent, talented, and motivated to go to college and become a successful college graduate. Her alleged shame also promises to bring shame upon her parents as well and soon, Lorraine's seemingly carefree world and big ambitions are suddenly ripped away as she is sent to a home meant for unwed pregnant girls like her. Our heart aches for her as we witness her panic, fear, and then naive optimism that all will work out alright in the end. Lorraine learns many hard truths and lessons about the world in which she lives and we cannot help but feel for her, sympathizing with the lack of communication and honesty which could have prevented so much. Societal standards of taboo subjects and conversations, twisted expectations of girls for the time, and cloaked reality misled, misinformed, and mishandled many young women of the time, leaving them with little to no rights when they ended up in a situation Like Lorraine. While Lorraine's story is fictional, we learn of the dark secrets behind the skyrocketing number of adoptions during the 60s and of the lengths families would go to protect an image over their daughters, regardless of physical, emotional, or mental damage. This is a perfect book for book clubs because there is simply so much to unpack and discuss. Many thanks to NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Meagan Church for an advanced copy of this incredible and important book and for giving me the opportunity to read and review it.

THE LAST CAROLINA GIRL was one of my favorites.and this one is my new favorite by this author. I experienced a wide array of emotions while reading this book. i loved these women, i felt their emotions. I dont think i will forget this story for a long time.
Thank you so much to Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC! all thoughts are my own

For Lorraine Delford, growing up in the 1960s is not as easy as others her age think. From the outside, she has it all: a picturesque family, a perfect boyfriend and good grades. But she dreams of more: she wants to be the first female valedictorian of her class and then continue onto college. Lorraine dreams of the stars and exploring outer space. But when she becomes pregnant, her entire world around her is shattered. Her parents force her to stay hidden in their home before eventually sending her to a maternity home for wayward girls. Lorraine is forced to reevaluate her plan for the future and fight against a society that wants to take her baby from her.

I can’t recall ever reading a book that left me SO angry at almost every single character! The way Lorraine was treated by everyone was truly heartbreaking. How her family - especially her mother - could send her away at a time when she needed them more than ever left me feeling so hopeless that I only hope we as a society do better for our daughters now. It’s scary to think that this story took place during a time that my mother was growing up in - that women had nearly no say in their futures and were forced to live in shame over something that they didn’t do alone.

This is the second book I have read by Megan Church and I truly admire how she isn’t afraid to tell these stories and speak for the people who couldn’t speak for themselves. She crafts truly resilient, tenacious, unforgettable characters like Lorraine, who will stay with me for a long time. Susan Bennett narrated this story and perfectly brought Lorraine to life.

Thank you to Netgalley, Megan Church, Sourcebooks Landmark and RB Media for the ARC/ALC. “The Girls We Sent Away” releases March 5, 2024.

This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly :)

Really quick read with this one. I finished it last night as well!
Thank you to @netgalley
also thanks to @bookmarked
for the early release copy.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This book is out March 5 and it is a story about a girl with so much ahead of her. Loraine is going to be class valedictorian and wants to be a astronaut. She dreams big! She has a boyfriend Clint, who is about to leave for college and gives her a promise ring. She has sex with him on the last night of him being home and winds up pregnant. Her parents send her to a place to have the baby and give it up for adoption.
It's a coming of age, end of innocence book. She learns a lot in her young age and learns how people in small towns treat "those" girls.
#crazybooknerd
#thegirlswesentaway
#NetGalley

This author's debut of THE LAST CAROLINA GIRL was one of my favorites. I adored that book and this one is my new favorite by this author. This book will take you through the time when females had very little or no say in what happened to them and their lives if they got pregnant. They had to bear the shame no matter what if they were pregnant outside of marriage. Men could just go right on with their lives and do whatever they choose. No rules. No punishment. No shame.

Lorraine was a typical seventeen year old child back in the early 1960s. She was an only child and seemed to be the apple of her dad's eye. Her mom was a bit stricter in that she would call Lorraine on every little thing dealing with decency. How dare Lorraine let her swimsuit strap fall off her shoulder. Too much skin showing. Good grief.

Lorraine was on track to be valedictorian of her high school that year. She had plans to go to college. She wanted to be someone who left her mark on the world. She loved anything to do with space and wanted to fly to the moon one day. All of that was dashed when she found herself pregnant after just one time with her boyfriend. Her friend for almost her whole life. Lorraine and Clint had known each other forever and been dating for two years. But Clint had other plans and that did not include being a husband or father.

You get to know exactly what Lorraine went through at home and at the home for unwed mothers. All the hurt and pain she feels. All the fears she experiences. How her heart broke because no one seemed to care. Not Clint or her parents. No one at this awful home either. The librarian was nice to her and tried to help her get her GED. She seemed like a good friend who cared. Until it was time. Until Lorraine went into labor. Then she was on her own. The descriptions of what Lorraine felt in the delivery room felt so real. The way she hurt over losing her baby. Not being able to keep that child almost did her in. I felt her pain so deep. It made me weep.

This book is filled with emotions. You feel it. I didn't like Lorraine's parents. I hated Clint. I adored Alan. I hoped that Lorraine's mother was going to be there but I didn't feel it. After all was said and done it was still about appearances for her.

Do not miss the author's notes at the end. They are perfect. They give a lot of insight into this book and how it came to be. Being a mother is a hard job but it's a fulfilling one also. If that is what you're ready for. No woman should ever be forced into having a baby or giving one up. That is just wrong. It should be her choice. Her decision.

Thank you #NetGalley, #MeaganChurch, #SourcebookLandmark, #RBMedia for this ARC. This is my own true thoughts about this book.

FIVE huge stars and the highest recommendation.

The Girls We Sent Away is a heartbreaking story that needs to be told. Church’s historical fiction portrays the haunting stories of unwed mothers during the 1960s, commonly called the baby scoop era. A powerfully written portrayal and richly detailed plot take the reader on the journey these girls endured.

The main character, Lorraine, dreams of becoming an astronaut. Her excellent grades and drive to be the first female valedictorian at her school point to a promising future until the summer before her senior year. One bad decision and all her dreams are broken. Lorraine discovers she’s pregnant and the father wants nothing to do with her. Her parents, hoping to hide from the shame and keep it a secret, decide to send her away to a home for unwed mothers.

Church’s writing conveys the hope Lorraine clings to and the heartbreak these young girls endured in an isolated and frightening place. The characters are richly drawn creating an immersive story that stays with you long after you are done. The reader will experience a range of emotions from anger at this system, frustration with the injustice and hope for the girls' to endure.

An emotional and thought provoking book perfect if you liked The House of Eve by Sadequa Johnson or Take My Hand by Dolen Perkins-Valdez. Thank you to Sourcebooks Landmark for the advanced readers' copy in exchange for my honest review.

This book is really good but also heartbreaking at the same time. It is based on true stories that happened to young unwed pregnant women up through the 1960s. These women essentially had their lives decided for them by their families. Meagan Church makes you feel so many things with and for Lorraine as she navigates this period in her life, from hope, to determination to sadness, anger, and utter devastation. Lorraine tries everything she can think of to have it all, but in the end the choice is not her own to make. I highly recommend this book.

I’ll start this off by saying that I do think the Baby Scoop Era needs to be talked about more, and restitution needs to be made to those young mothers. It breaks my heart that they were just sent away on their own to go through such a frightening, isolating experience without loved ones nearby or any emotional support.

However, the writing in this book is a bit stilted. There’s a lot of, “she would soon find out that was not the case” and “he didn’t know just how wrong he was…” and similar sentences. They’re a pet peeve of mine. Just tell the story! We don’t need hints or to see into the future like that.

Something the author is great at, though, is making you want to punch every character except the “wayward” girls. This is set in 1964, and sexism and misogyny are rampant. Guys get girls pregnant and then just walk away without a care in the world, while the girls are whisked away from everything they know for months, often missing their chance to graduate high school (which often makes them even more dependent on a “provider” who will take care of them). It makes my blood boil.

All in all, while the subject is important, the writing style kept me from fully connecting with the characters, so I give it a 3.25, rounded down.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks Landmark for an eARC, which I voluntarily reviewed.

4.5 stars

Set in the 1960s, in this novel main character Lorraine has a life-changing summer before her senior year of high school. She saves a young girl from drowning, and along with being a local hero Lorraine is determined to be the first female valedictorian of her class. Then Lorraine becomes pregnant later that summer. Lorraine's parents so want to fit into their community ("what will the neighbors think?"), and they decide to send Lorraine to a young mothers' maternity home hours away under the guise of helping a family member. There she meets other girls Denise and Maribelle and becomes friends with the local librarian while trying to stay away from the ire of the maternity home's Miss Mahoney.

Church's writing is amazing. I felt like I understood all these characters so viscerally, and I don't think I will soon forget how immersive the reading experience was. I was rooting for Lorraine to achieve her dreams and have the outcome she wanted for her baby. At times the plot was a little slow, but that was outweighed by such richly-drawn characters. It was apparent that the author had delved into history on maternity homes.

A very interesting read that will make the reader appreciate how times have changed for the better since the 1960s.

#meaganchurch #thegirlswesentaway #netgalleyreview #bookstagram #march2024release

A Meagan Church book is meant to be savoured. To be poured over line by line, word by word so it is absorbed with every part of your being. Her writing is rich with metaphors and symbolism that will stay with you, haunting and lyrical, long after the book is closed.

This one’s for the hurting, confused, intelligent, innocent, beautiful, unique, unbelievably strong, and courageous young women who were sent into maternity “homes” until it was deemed appropriate to return home and pretend that the previous nine months had never happened.

Like the snow melting away and leaving no trace, Lorraine Delford is expected to disappear until she is able to re-emerge post pregnancy as though all is as it was. Like a collage torn into little pieces this book might just break you, much like many girls’ hearts were broken in maternity homes that promised to help and to heal but really meant only to shame and to hide.

Your mind, body, and heart will ache for Lorraine. For Janet. For sweet Mirabelle. For Denise. For Grace. You’ll want to rage against the system and shake sense into everyone. Few will be redeemed though even then forgiveness will be a long time coming, if at all. For some readers, this book will break you. For everyone else, it will haunt you; but some stories need to be told to allow healing to occur so that these mistakes shall not be repeated.

Cheers to the young women who chose a future that they themselves wanted and managed to forge a future of their own accord despite the odds that were stacked against them. Who recognized the power of choice and what was right for them despite the voices that tried to fill young minds with society’s version of what was right. Cheers to the parents who gave their children the power of that choice and allowed their children to overcome within a society that still to this day judges harshly and unfairly. And cheers to the women who were sent to maternity homes and had all their decisions stripped from them. May they know peace, love, and hope drawing on strength they never knew existed to survive what was taken.

Thank you NetGalley, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Meagan Church, Writer for the advance #drc (digital review copy), Available March 5, 2024 - order yours now so you don’t miss out!!

This was my most anticipated book of the entire year and it did not disappoint!

#mustreadbooks #historicalfiction #maternityhomes #secretshame #teenpregnancy #meaganchurch #mchurchwriter #thegirlswesentaway #fiction #youshouldreadthis #bookfluencer #bookrecommendations #bookreview #femaleauthor #femalewriter #sourcebookslandmark #powerofchoice #bookgeek #booknerd #bookworm #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #booksbooksbooks #thisbookwillhauntyou #mustread #thisbookwillwreckyou #mostanticipatedbookof2024

Thank you so much to Sourcebooks Landmark for the ARC!

I just finished this story and was fighting back tears at the end! I really felt connected to Lorraine, the main character.

When Lorraine becomes pregnant in high school, her parents will stop at nothing to make sure their name and reputation is not blemished by their daughter. Set during the "baby scoop era" in the 1960's, this book opened my eyes to the horrible ways young girls and women were treated and the subsequent research I did broke my heart.

This story was told with such heart and I really felt for Lorraine and felt as though I were walking her journey with her.

I did wish for a little more at the end, but still think it was done well!

If you enjoyed ONLY THE BEAUTIFUL by Susan Meissner or THE FOUNDLING by Ann Leary, you may enjoy this one!

This will be available for purchase March 10, 2024!

This book just made me want to scream. Scream at so many of the characters. Scream at the injustice. And scream at the fact that so many stories like this are actually true.

I'm going to try really hard to stay off my soap box with this one, but this book really points out how a lack of sex education is an injustice to teens and young adults. Lorraine had no idea about the possible consequences and then her family asking/yelling how she could let this happen. I almost had to quit reading because I was fuming.

I think my extreme reaction is a hint at well written this novel is. The imagery was so clear. I can still picture one specific scene so clearly in my head. I love historical fiction because it brings history like this to life that I don't think a textbook or journal article could do. And it's just such a preferred way (to me) to learn about history that some people prefer to keep swept under the rug.

This is an excellent historical fiction novel about the 1960s and girls being sent away if they were unwed and pregnant. One I would definitely recommend to learn more about recent history.

This book hit me right in the heart. My emotions bubbled to the surface, and I felt all the pain and anguish that the characters were experiencing. I always knew I was glad that I was not born during the Baby Scoop Era (1945-1973). How can parents send their own child to a home for mothers? To wait out their last three months of pregnancy. Their time away is filled with confusion, no one will answer questions, or will lie to your face. They were not allowed to say their last names, the towns where they grew up, who they were before this nightmare began. The women in charge always seem at their wits end. They were there to have the mother sign over their rights to their child, so they can put it up for adoption. The way in which everything was handled, rips any normal person's heart out.

Lorraine has big plans. She will be the first female valedictorian of her class, the first female lifeguard, the first woman in her family to go to college. She has enormous dreams and the courage, strength, and smarts to do it. Her boyfriend Clint is leaving for college. He is a boy she should dream of marrying. On the night before he leaves, he takes her on an adventure. An adventure that ends in pregnancy. She ignores all the signs, the nausea, weight gain, tender breasts, every single thing and sweeps it under the rug. Until she can no longer ignore it. For all his declarations of love, Clint tells her she is on her own if she decides to keep it. Utterly alone and terrified of what her parents will say. Lorraine's final year of high school is not how she dreamed it would be.

The last half of this book destroyed me. I become so utterly mad when the men have no consequences of their actions. Well, you are the pregnant one, I will continue on my life's path to greatness. While the woman's life implodes. The sense of shame, guilt, and anxiety that fills Lorraine is horrifying. Her parents hid her in the hopes that no one in town will know what she did and keep their family name untarnished. The family secrets that rise to the surface will make your heart race with anger. Thank you to Meagan Church and Sourcebooks Landmark for this telling read.

Set in the 1960s, The Girls We Sent Away follows teenage Lorraine through her unexpected pregnancy. The setting was excellent, I could envision it perfectly.I could NOT put this book down! I loved every second of it. It was suspenseful and heart wrenching! I can't wait to read Meagan Church's previous novel now!

The 1940's to 1970's was known as the "Baby Scoop Era". It was a time when young, pregnant and unmarried women were sent away for fear of bringing shame upon their families. With no resources and no help, these women had no options. Or none they knew of anyway.

In this story set in the 60's, we have Lorraine Delford who is different than many girls her age. She is smart and knows what she wants. Poised to be valedictorian and go to college, she also dreams of space and becoming an astronaut. Most importantly, she is a "good girl". So it's a particularly devastating surprise when she becomes pregnant and is then sent away in secret like all the others. Lorraine is sent to a home where she is expected and expects to give her baby up. Lorraine has always been able to think for herself though and while she's there she begins to think about what she truly wants.

This is a heartbreaking story. It's disgusting to think about how society treated young women, with their own families turning on them. In the home Lorraine is sent to we see that every girls has their own story. The pain and frustration, confusion and helplessness is shown.

There are not many surprises in this story but you will root for Lorraine to get what she wants, whatever it is. This is a story that is familiar yet the impact on lives is rarely talked about. The Girls We Sent Away is heartbreaking. The writing perfectly captures the characters' feelings. We cry as Lorraine cries.

There is some quick shifting of perspective within chapters that occasionally threw me off. The ending also feels a bit rushed. The writing throughout is really good though, and there isn't a single dull moment. There are mostly sad moments, and some with hope. This is a story that will leave an impact.

The Girls We Sent Away is set in the 1960’s, a time when women, teenagers, and even young girls had little to no say in the trajectory of their lives. Lorraine, the main character in this novel, has been able to buck the system somewhat, becoming the only female lifeguard at the community pool, on track to become valedictorian of her class, with lofty dreams of going to college and becoming an astronaut. In other ways, too, her life has been mapped out for her, with a family-approved boyfriend whose future seems linked with hers. Lorraine has always toed the line and done what’s expected of her….until she doesn’t. Lorraine’s story isn’t an uncommon one, but it is told here honestly and sympathetically—-and not just her story, but the stories of many young women. The prose in this book is beautiful and breathtaking, as the author delves into all the complexities of the time, as well as what is happening personally with Lorraine. There is a thoughtfulness to this book, one that I’m sure will stir the emotions of everyone who reads it, and will undoubtedly give readers a lot to think about and discuss afterward. This would be such a great novel for book clubs to read!