4.5 stars
HIGHLY recommend

I received a complimentary Kindle e-book in exchange for an honest review. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Thank you to Ellen Baker, Mariner Books, NetGalley, and Book Club Girl for the opportunity to read this book.

This book is all about the intricacies of DNA and how it affects families in both positive and negative ways. The main character is Cecily who is relinquished by her mother at an orphanage in 1924. Then the amazing life of Cecily unfolds with so many twists and turns, Cecily is one of my favorite characters in recent times - she is smart, sassy, loving, and a survivor!

There are many spoilers in this novel so I am not sharing much about this novel itself as it will ruin the storyline and novel! Please don't read any spoilers - let this novel take you on its journey!!

When you wanted depression as the appetizer and it becomes the entree. That’s the plot of this book. I was hoping for a circus read with some hidden secrets, but for the most part this book is very family focused. I mean there is elderly illness, cancer, divorce, adoption, alcoholism, racism, forced sterilization, a lot of death of parents/partners. I get it because that is how that time period is. It isn’t like I was looking for a lighthearted read when I picked this up, but it is just about more depressing than I thought. The timelines were all over the place. I don’t know if it was necessary to introduce certain characters as their own focus. It made it hard for me to feel attached to any characters. The ending was also quite rushed.

This book publishes on February 20th of this year and I’m thankful to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers to read it early, but it just was not for me.

Pacing:
This is very much a slow burn, and it was a bit too slow (and yet, sometimes chaotic) for me. I started feeling very frustrated about 50% of the way through. I liked the pacing of Lucky and Cecily’s relationship, but that was about it.

Narrative:
I had trouble getting my footing in the narrative. I understand the purpose of time-hops, but the ages kept changing and then there was a whole other (maybe two other) storyline(s) included that didn’t quite make sense. I had to remember who belonged to what and where and when.

Storylines/Characters:
There were a few storylines/character inclusions here that felt like filler/were superfluous.

1. What purpose did Eric serve? He literally added nothing to the storyline.
2. Why was the cancer storyline included when Liz dealing with grief of a lost husband was powerful enough. She could have had the same level of clarification without the secondary lump.
3. The reunion with Molly and Eric felt unnecessary - as their separation felt like an unnecessarily painful inclusion. And I would lose my mind if my son talked to me the way Caden did. What a punk. Was the author trying to say that Caden needed a stronger male presence and Molly couldn’t do this alone?
4. Grace had one purpose. She served it and was gone.
I had trouble keeping all of the characters straight. Eliminating some of them would have been wildly helpful.

Unnecessary Plot Complications:
The amount of adoptions and abandonment in this one family is ASTOUNDING - and frankly, unrealistic.

The Undoing:
The part when Cecily found out about Clarissa and basically steamrolled Liz every time she tried to ask Cecily about her history made me dislike Cecily immensely. She bypassed the hurt that was rightly earned by Liz and brushed her off with, “how’s my biological child?” That was incredibly painful to read - and my sympathy for Cecily went straight out the window when Liz’s history was revealed.

Inspiration:
Part of this story appealed to me personally, as I don’t know a lot about my father’s biological history because “complications” related to his conception. I am going to buy us some Ancestry.com kits.

Overall, I cannot say that I would recommend this novel, but I appreciate NetGalley providing me with the eARC.

Updated: Finished The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson. I really enjoyed this intricately woven novel. There are a lot of characters in this novel, but not too many to become confusing or overwhelming. Cecily's life is really portrayed vividly. I wasn't sure how this was going to come together, but trusted that it would ... and it did.

Only at 47%, but enjoying it so far. Cecily's mother leaves her at the orphanage and agrees to pick her up in a year; a couple years later she has been "adopted by" the traveling circus. The Hidden life of Cecily Larson seems very different from most books. I'm getting a sense of how it might all come together. It is nice having a book that isn't quite so "cookie cutter".

Thank you to NetGalley, for introducing me (yet once again) to a new to me author. Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for approving my request to read The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson in exchange for an honest review. Publication date is 20 Feb 2024. Approx 384 pages.

Loved having a book with a Midwest setting. Highly recommended.

This is a wonderful, touching novel told in dual time- lines that upon opening the pages of this story, gave me an emotional jolt.
Cecily's mother drops her off at an orphanage with the promise that she will return.
However- she fails to make good on that and Cecily is sold at age seven to a traveling circus owner.
Under a new name and life she learns and becomes a bareback rider. She loves her job and Prince her horse, but also realizes she is missing a family and friendship that she has lacked.
The journey and life of Cecily begins to now unfold as time goes on.
I adored and admired her both as a child and as an adult.
The descriptions and rawness of Cecily and all she loses and gains, will surely not be forgotten, both from long ago and also in present days.
This is a beautiful, heartbreaking, and absolutely fabulous historical fiction story that everyone will fall in love with!

Thank you to @NetGalley and to @Mariner Books for this incredible ARC and allowing me to read and provide my own review. Well done!

The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson is for a certain type of reader. This is perfect for someone who loves saccharine, family-orientated stories that have a mystery that needs solving by multi-generations.

There's a circus, there's a orphanage, there's a sanatorium. It's got all of the clique points of popular historical fiction.

I think this will do well, and probably be made into a movie, but I just couldn't connect. It was too overly twee for me.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

This was such an emotional roller coaster of a book! I went in thinking that it might not be for me, I was hooked in the first two chapters. It’s such a lovely story about how families are made. It covers all of the emotions of family-love, grief, sadness, confusion, joy. The characters are well rounded and the storyline plays out so well. I will definitely be purchasing a physical copy of this book so I can loan it out to my mother and sister.

Thanks so much to Ellen Baker, Mariner Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advance copy

Cecily Larsen is left in an orphanage by her mother in the mid 1920s, eventually ending up with a circus, training to be their 2nd bareback girl under Isabelle DuMonde, becoming Jacqueline DuMonde. In 2015, we meet Cecily's daughter Liz and her granddaughter Molly after Cecily falls and breaks her hip in Itasca, MN. How Cecily went from being a circus performer to a doctor's wife and all that fell in between is what this book deals with. Unbeknownst to Cecily while she recuperates from her broken hip in the hospital, Molly and Liz collect her DNA to send in to Ancestry.com for a school project for Molly's son Caden. Once the results come back, all of Cecily's hidden secrets come to light and the family must deal with the fall out.
This was my first 5 star read for 2024. I could see where the book was going, but I was invested and interested to go along for the ride and the experience. The writing was emotional and evocative, and the different narrative voices were distinct and easily distinguishable from each other. My heart broke for Cecily, but the conclusion of the book was extremely satisfying and beautifully wrapped up each thread from the story. Overall, I found the book to pull me in and refuse to let me go until I read it to completion, it was unputdownable and both heartwarming and tragic.
Thank you to Book Club Girl, Mariner Books, and NetGalley for the electronic ARC of this novel for review.

I really enjoyed this historical fiction novel with dual timelines, but I don’t think it’s a fair comparison to The 7 Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. There are a TON of characters, which was a bit challenging, but it all makes sense at the end. Cecily’s timeline as a girl and into young adulthood is beautiful and captivating. I also thought her daughter’s storyline was interesting as well. My challenges came with the trio of additional characters introduced about halfway through, as well as Cecily’s daughter and granddaughter. This might be an excellent book club choice with so many topics to discuss.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book by a new author to me. All I can say to describe this book is WOW. I really loved this book. The historical piece was intriguing but heartbreaking to see how young orphan children where treated in the early part of the 20th Century, The main character Cecily who is now 94 in 2015 experienced so many hardships and losses through out her early years. Her family rally around her but have no idea about her past. This booked used the technology of DNA testing to bring people together who didn't even know how the events of yesterday changed their life trajectory and their future. I really loved this book and it is a big recommend for me!! I am looking forward to reading other books by this author.

3.5 stars rounded to 4

I was interested in The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson based on the cover and the premise. I've loved stories about the circus ever since I read Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and Ellen Baker mentions this book as part of her inspiration in the acknoledgemnt sectionI was interested in The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson based on the cover and the premise. I've loved stories about the circus ever since I read Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen; Ellen Baker mentions this book as part of her inspiration in the acknowledgement section.

The first section of the book drew me in and I was lost in the world of Cecily and how she came to join the circus. There is a section break and we are thrown into the life of Kate, an aging actress who just crashed her car. The transition was jolting and confusing. Because there are so many people we are introduced to, I thought Kate was a character who was briefly mentioned in a previous chapter and it took me a bit to feel catch up with the story.

At times, because of the constant jump within the timelines, the introduction of a lot of characters, and people having multiple names, I found myself confused. I couldn’t remember when/where important moments of Cecily’s life happened. We’re also briefly introduced to a lot of characters I didn’t feel added value to the book, such as Eric. When he reappeared at the end of the book it took me a moment to remember how he was tied to the story.

While the reader can piece together how everyone is tied together throughout the novel, the author has done a good job of leaving a twist at the end of the book I didn’t see coming right away. Even when I knew there was an added layer of mystery I couldn’t figure it out until it was revealed.

Overall, the book was an enjoyable read. Thank you NetGalley and Mariner Books for an eARC copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is one that will stick with me for a long time. The tragedy of trying desperately to find a family of her own, Cecily becomes an amazing woman and makes a wonderful life for herself. Orphaned by a mother who could not financially support her and then sold to the circus, Cecily has a resilient attitude that always helps her find the positive in every situation she is given. Guardian angels seem to find her along the way to help her though some difficult situations. She hides her past and keeps her secrets close. Only when her great grandson tests the families DNA do the secrets come to light. Meanwhile, her biological daughter several states away is trying to understand the secrets plaguing her past as well.

I loved the way this book all came together, but it was a trial to get there in the beginning. Things got a little bogged down in the introductions. I did rate it high because I really enjoyed the story and the way it ended. I felt satisfied and the story felt complete.

The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson by Ellen Baker is a story about a trauma, loss, and love. It is a story about a woman who hides her past from her daughter and grandchildren so that they never need to feel unloved or used like Cecily did. Cecily had a hard life filled with trauma, heartbreak, and emotional damage. Yet Cecily rises above it all to become a wife, a mother, a grandmother, and a community friend.
The story is told from multiple viewpoints and multiple characters, all with connections to Cecily. Cecily was an orphan who was abandoned by her mother, bought and used by the circus, mistreated by the law, and then saved by a man she would grow to love. Cecily is a 94 year old woman who is in the hospital holding on to all of her secrets, until her grandson's science project reveals them all.
The story had me in tears. My heart broke for Cecily. I also cried for her daughter and her granddaughter, who were struggling with their own secrets and heartbreaks. I loved the way Cecily's past was slowly revealed. I was caught up in this story and didn't want to put it down.
Thanks to Netgally and Mariner Books for the advanced copy of the book. The opinions are my own.

"The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson" initially seemed predictable, but a captivating twist added depth to the plot. The second half raced with intensity, keeping me engaged. However, a desire for more back story in the conclusion lingered. Overall, a good book delivering an intriguing narrative.

Ok lets get one word out of the way. This book is all about adoption whether illegal or legal, it came down to adoption.

Part 1 was beautifully written. Haunting, the prose was describing a time, landscape that I could get lost in.

Then Part 2 and all of that was beautiful turned clunky, unweilding and uninspired.
I struggled with Kate and the jarring left turn that went from a traveling Circus to a car accident with a used up hollywood actress.
Kate's story arc itself was unnecessary and completely derailed the book.

Further, then we get to Cecily 'adopting" a baby. What the actual heck was going on. You just happen across a car accident and there is a free car baby? NO! Just no!

The thing that got me was the amount of females to keep track of: Cecily, Isabelle, Kate, Molly, Betsy, Ann, you name a female name its going to be in this book.

This was an epic that fell flat for me on so many levels.

It dragged out the adoption revelation and the reaction from Cecily's daughter was just awkward at best and downright...focus on me so much that it really turned me off.

Overall, I can't recommend this book.

The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson takes us in a journey of discovering the mysterious past of the Cecily. She was dropped off at an orphanage at age four, then sold to the circus at age seven. This story flips from 2015 when 94 year old Cecily is in the hospital struggling to recover, to her past starting at age 4, and peaks with her love stories.

I loved the depth and layers that are revealed in this story. There is an element of DNA testing which ultimately leads to family drama.

There are multiple trigger warnings and sensitive readers should research before reading. Some themes and character reactions were difficult to read.

If you are looking for an emotional, heartfelt story I recommend this book!

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers Inc. for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own

In 1924, Cecily was a 4 year old abandoned by her mother in a Chicago orphanage. Her father is dead and her mother never returns. Three years later, Cecily demonstrated her balancing skills on the orphanage’s staircase railing and, voila!, suddenly she’s being trafficked to a circus as a junior apprentice to a beautiful bareback rider, Isabelle DuMonde. In 2015, Cecily is a 94 year old living in Minnesota who has just broken her hip, with a widowed 68 year old daughter Liz, divorced granddaughter Molly, and teenaged great grandson Caden — a seemingly full life for a former circus orphan. But she’s never really spoken about her early life, beyond a mention of a stay in a TB sanatorium in Rhode Island. Then a “gift” from the family, a DNA test (plus a discovery hidden in her underwear drawer of a young man) changes that and we’re drawn into a parallel story of another family as well.

This is an emotional multigenerational story that unfolds like a gentle mystery and highlights the cultural differences about single motherhood and adoption that have evolved since the 1920s as well as the importance of parent-child relationships regardless of genetic links. The circus story is a bonus as it adds color and drama to Cecily’s early life, but the second family story adds so many more characters that it was often hard to keep up. It’s also a tale about DNA tests — the ones in the book clarified everything, although, in real life, DNA can muddle relationships (my husband’s family witnessed this). Honestly, I wanted this to end with a visible Ancestry family tree illustration or a link to that spoiler. 3.5 stars for a sweet complicated book about family.

Literary Pet Peeve Checklist:
Green Eyes (only 2% of the real world, yet it seems like 90% of all fictional females): YES Grace has green eyes.
Horticultural Faux Pas (plants out of season or growing zones, like daffodils in autumn or bougainvillea in Alaska): NO Cecily inexplicably stops crying when Sam says “tulips.”

Thank you to Mariner Books and NetGalley for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review!

#TheHiddenLifeofCecilyLarson by Ellen Baker.

This book begins with Cecily being dropped off at an orphanage in the 1920’s by her mom.
She is adopted by a man who runs a circus. This book switches from the past to 2015 and Cecily’s current life. Her family does not know of her past and this book tells the story of bringing this all to the family’s attention.
I thought that this book would be more of a historical fiction, than what it was. I felt this book was a little drawn out and too long.
Thank you to @netgalley for the book.

I love circus stories and had high hopes for this one. I loved Cecily's story but felt a little lost in the timelines and the jumping around. A good story but the pacing felt off and was hard to follow.

What a wonder this book is! It's a story of missed connections, love, loss, and family secrets.
Cecily is only 3 when her mom drops her off at an orphanage, promising to return for her within a year. After 3 years, Cecily is given to a man for a fes, and that man introduces her into the life of a traveling circus.
The story switches between time periods and families, and the crux of it is DNA test results. As a librarian in the genealogy dept, I was fascinated by this aspect and enjoyed watching it unfold.
Trigger warnings: forced adoption, miscarriage, family trauma.
The book was engaging and deep - definitely recommend!