The cover drew me in, but the absolutely breathtaking story made me stay. I love stories that cross over multiple time lines and this book did it flawlessly. Ellen kept me glued to her words and desiring more and more. I loved that at every turn I was having a question answered, but then I’d end up with another question! It truly kept me hungry to dig into Cecily’s past and get the answers my heart so desperately needed.
The characters took me a bit to get use to, and there are a lot of them to keep up with, but as you continue reading you’re able to switch between them all without much strain. I grew to love every character and rooting for each one.
The story is so full of heartbreak and hope. Passion and desire. It felt so incredibly real which caused me to have so many emotions while reading Ellen’s amazing work.
I loved this book more than I thought possible and I will highly recommend it any chance I get. Ellen is now one of my top authors and I’m sure she will be for you as well. Love this book, love this book, love this book!

Started slowly and picked up around the middle. Layered and interesting with possibly like one or two extraneous plot threads that could be thinned to make the pacing better. Free copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, book publishes Feb 20

After reading the premise of the book and reading the first few chapters, I knew this was going to be a five star read for me. This was a cross between Before We Were Yours and Water for Elephants, both of which were some of my absolute favorite reads ever. I already know this is gonna be one of my top reads of the year!

Cecily was left at an orphanage with the promise that her mother would return for her but she ends up sold as an act in the Sax and Tebow Circus where she meets Lucky, the love of her life. Years later, her family does a secret DNA test and all her past secrets are about to come to light.

This book had me from page one! It was so beautiful, so heartwarming, so tragic, and so unputdownable. I loved all different timelines and how the author weaved together them together so seamlessly. I felt so emotional reading this book and not many books have ever moved me to tears.

The only issue I had was in the beginning I had a hard time understanding and distinguishing the relationship among the characters and figuring out who was who.

But this book was PHENOMENAL. I will be talking about this and thinking about this book for a long time to come!

Thank you to NetGalley and Mariner Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion on this book.

In the 1920's, Cecily is bought from an orphanage by a circus. There her adventurous and sometimes sad life really begins. Now in her 90's, Cecily ponders what details of her life she is willing to share with her family.

I really liked the first third of this book and some of the rest of it. I found Cecily to be a complex and compelling character. However, many side characters were brought in, some with obvious connections to Cecily and some less obvious. I had a little trouble keeping all of the new characters straight between which timeline they were on and where they fit in. I also wish the author had gone a different way with one overdone storyline line. I did like the conclusion; but I was just a good book, not a great book for me.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advance copy for review.

A heart wrenching, emotional roller coaster of a book. I took off one star because I didn't LOVE all the different narratives - I wish we had gotten more of Cecily's life - but it did all come together well and was in general a really enjoyable read.

The beautiful and fun cover attracted me to this book. I am so glad I took a chance based solely on the cover! This book had me in full on tears by the end. This is the first book to go on my top favorites of the year list.

The general storyline follows Cecily Larson, an orphan who grows up performing in the circus. The story alternates between the past and 2015. In the. current (or 2015) we learn that Cecily has kept a massive secret from her family. It is about to all unravel when a DNA test is done on the family members for a school project for her great grandson. Typically when there is a book that rotates between the past and the present I find myself really enjoying one of the stories and being bored with the other. That was not the case with The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson. I was fully engrossed in the entire book and the multiple storylines. Later in the book there are new characters introduced and as the story goes on we find out how their lives will collide with Cecily and her family. The ending wraps things up very nicely.

A perfect story about finding oneself, family, redemption, secrets, adoption, women's rights, racial segregation, DNA testing, and loss. Grab a box of tissues and don't miss this one!

Thanks to Netgalley and Mariner Books for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the free ebook in exchange for my honest review.

This is such a fantastic read about family secrets that are revealed through DNA testing. Cecily was abandoned by her mother at an orphanage who had the opportunity to marry a man if she had no existing children. The orphanage secretly sold Cecily into a traveling circus where she spent many years learning her act. She fell in love with one of the roustabouts in the circus and had an affair that left her pregnant. Once discovered that she was pregnant, by a black man, in the 1930s, in the south, she is arrested and sent to a home for "feeble minded" women. She has her baby and is told that her baby died. She manages to escape the home before being sent back to prison and lives many years on the run and destitute before her life takes a turn for the best. Cecily is now 90, and has a daughter, granddaughter and a great grandson! Through a seeming harmless DNA project, all of Cecily's secrets are revealed and few have wonderful consequences.

I absolutely loved this story! Its such a different twist on coming of age, family dramas. The characters are well developed, the plot if full with the other characters adding so much to the story. This is a wonderful, historic fiction, family drama with such a happy ending!!!

Highly recommend.

I won't lie. I'm a sucker for books involving the circus. Don't ask me why. It's not like I've ever been to the circus (okay, maybe once as a kid.) But there is something magical about the allure of them. Don't come at me about the treatment of animals either - I know it's not good, and we're not talking about that here.

Some of my favorite books have involved a circus, Water for Elephants and The Night Circus, and one of my favorite movies is The Greatest Showman.

So, it's no surprise that I loved The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson. This book spans multiple generations from 2015 when Cecily is in her 90s and suffers a fall requiring surgery and hospitalization, back to when she was just a child and her entrance into the circus. And in between, we learn about everything she has endured. In 2015, we meet her daughter Liz (who is going through her health battles), granddaughter, and great-grandson. Her great-grandson is working on a family tree for school and has his family all submit DNA tests to find out more about their heritage, especially knowing his great-grandmother was adopted.

This book is so incredibly powerful and moving. Many layers get peeled back through the entire book culminating in a wonderful ending. While the circus was certainly an integral role in the book, it was simply a point for Cecily's life to take shape. This a book that covers the power of family, female rights, racial inequality, and the power of DNA research and kits.

Phew - that was a long one for me. I suppose I have lots to say about this beautiful book, but won't say too much more so you can enjoy all of the layers of this one for yourself.

Thank you Mariner Books and NetGalley for the gifted eARC in exchange for my honest review!

United States - 1924 to 2019

It's 1924 and four-year-old Cecily has been left at an orphanage by her distraught mother, who promises to come back for her as soon as she can. Cecily believes her, and over the next few years wonders when her mother will return, but she never does. At age seven the orphanage sells her to a traveling circus where she learns to ride horses bareback, and where her trainer, Isabelle seems to be the only family Cecily will have. As she ages, Cecily becomes settled into the circus life, but yearns for something more. When she and a young roustabout named Lucky become close, Cecily has the first inklings of what it is to love someone. But the love between them cannot survive, and Cecily's life is changed again, and not for the better.

In 2015, and at age ninety-four, Cecily is living a quiet life in Minnesota. A widow, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, she is well thought of in her town for all of her charitable works. But after a fall, Cecily fractures her hip and finds herself hospitalized, with her daughter and granddaughter concerned about her future. When her grandson has a genealogical assignment at school, he wants to submit his family's DNA samples as part of the project. Without telling Cecily what it's for, her granddaughter obtains a saliva sample, and submits the entire family's samples to Ancestry. The results are not at all what anyone expected.

THE HIDDEN LIFE OF CECILY LARSON is a broad-reaching saga of one woman's ability to survive, and how her decisions in life affect several generations, and several families over the years. The use of DNA in genealogical research can unearth both the good and the bad in family histories. This is a remarkable, albeit fictional, account of what could happen.

I started reading and by the time I realized I needed to eat, I was at chapter 6.

Wow. As above, this pulled me in immediately and held me tight. During my reading this reminded me a lot of Water for Elephants - other readers have mentioned The Orphan Train (which I haven’t read) - with sooo much heartache.

This was heartbreaking while remaining utterly readable. I cried and cried and I haven’t done that due to a book in a while.

I don’t want to share any spoilers, so will add that while this one is chock full of triggers, it’s a beautiful read and one I absolutely recommend.



Thank you to Mariner Books and NetGalley for the DRC

Thanks to NetGalley, the author Ellen Baker and the publisher for chance to read this novel. The story covers 4 generations of a family and the beginning is enthralling as the orphan Cecily Larson joins a circus. The descriptions of this time in her life and really well written and researched

As the story progresses I needed to go back and forth a bit to keep the character straight in my mind. The surprises that the DNA tests brings .Cecily and her famikyly to a happier life,

The Hidden Life of Cecilly Lawson by Ellen Baker, published by HarperCollins, takes us along with Cecilly as she moves through the highs and the lows of life, from a young orphan to a nonagenarian, from her time in the circus through her time as a civic leader.

The book just drew me in and swept me along and I couldn’t put it down.

Planned publication date is February 20th, 2024

This is a great book and a story about what happens when a family's secrets are revealed.

I was definitely was hooked from page 1 and t was sad that Cecily was given up by her mother because she was by herself. Her mother promises that she will be back to get her but the circus gets her first. The author gives multiple POV please dual timelines which is a favorite of mine in any book. The ability to be right in the past and present is great for the character build and how they relate to one another. Was fantast.

The portions of the book dealing with Cecily's early days as a circus performer were so rich and mesmerizing. I love multiple perspective and dual timeline novels because of the ability to connect the past and present and better inform how the characters are intertwined with one another. Love and family are definitely themes of this book and was a great read and the writing is wonderful.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

A four year old girl named Cecily McAvoy is left at an orphanage by a mother who promises to return for her when she can. Years later, that girl is "adopted" (actually, bought and paid for) by the owner of a traveling circus. Cecily is renamed Jacqueline Dumonde and trained to be a headlining bareback rider. She finds a home, of sorts, and friends, in the circus, only to lose everything when she falls in love with a roustabout.
Ninety years later, Cecily Larson is living in Minnesota with her daughter, Liz, granddaughter, Molly, and grandson, Caden. At the same time, a middle-aged woman named Clarissa is living in Florida with her daughters, Lana and Kate. All of these women have suffered losses that threaten to destroy their lives.
In this extraordinary novel, described (by someone else) as Water For Elephants meets The Orphan Train, the reader is transported back and forth from the Midwest and the South during the Depression to California, Chicago, and other parts of twentieth century America. The female characters in this book face poverty, abandonment, betrayal, racism, abuse, and tragedy, but, ultimately, their stories are all about love.
There were times when I wasn't sure exactly what was going on or how all these characters were connected, but Ellen Baker is a skillful literary juggler who managed to keep my eye on all the moving parts of her puzzle.
Two caveats - the male characters tended to be comparatively one-dimensional and some of the subplots were less engaging than Cecily's experiences, but neither flaw was significant enough to stop me reading.
The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson is a gem.

“The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson” by Ellen Baker is an emotional multi-generational story about what happens when a family's long held secrets are finally revealed.

I was hooked from the beginning as little Cecily is given up by her single mother. While she swears she'll be back for Cecily, she never returns and eventually she's claimed by a circus own. The portions of the book dealing with Cecily's early days as a circus performer were so rich and mesmerizing. I love multiple perspective and dual timeline novels because of the ability to connect the past and present and better inform how the characters are intertwined with one another.

Love, family and resilience are central themes of this book and I enjoyed it greatly.

Thank you NetGalley and Mariner books for the ARC of this advanced copy.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson.

I was excited to read this since the premise was so intriguing.

In 2015, Cecily Larson is 94 and has lived a fascinating, unconventional life. After a fall has left her immobilized, her daughter and granddaughter struggle to care for her while dealing with their own personal issues.

When Cecily's great grandson's school project on your family tree, the DNA the family submits on Cecily's behalf in secret yields surprising results, and shocking secrets.

The story is about family, not just the ones we are born into, but the family we create with the people we love.

We can never escape the traumas of our past, yet as humans we never stop searching for our identity, who we belong to and who we belong with and that's not a bad thing.

What we have endured in the past shapes our future and our identity for the person we will become, and that can yield extraordinary results.

Cecily lived a full and incredible life, full of excitement and adventure, love and sorrow, sadness and triumph.

I've read about the horrors young girls faced in those institutions Cecily was forced into in other books, and it never gets easier to read about.

I did find the flashbacks of Cecily's life far more interesting and exciting than her present life.

She was an interesting character, and I liked her far more than Liz and Molly, who I didn't connect with. I really just wanted to know how Cecily made a life for herself.

The ending is bittersweet, but a loving testament that family and love surpasses hate and betrayal.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson! While the story was at times bleak and sad, the finding light from darkness was a prevalent theme. The development of the two stories was clever and engaging with a fulfilling ending. The historical fiction parts were a true commentary on treatment of young females especially in the South during the 1920-50s and give a glimpse into those dismal times.

Thanks to NetGalley and Mariner Books for the opportunity to read this wonderful ARC.

I thought this was a great and emotional read. I do wish that some of the varying points of view were a little more fleshed out, but it was overall a good book.

The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson tells the story of Cecily McAvoy, an orphaned little girl who becomes a circus star. At age 95 Cecily is injured in a fall and goes to the hospital. Her great-grandson is doing a family tree project for school and needs Cecily's DNA. What follows is a story of both genetic family and found family. The novel weaves back and forth between the 1930s of Cecily's youth and the year 2015, and the story of both Cecily in the past and her family in the future.

Cecily McAvoy was left at an orphanage when she was a little girl by her mother when her mother met a man who didn't want children. Cecily's mother promised to come back for her but never did. Cecily is sold to the manager of a circus because she can balance on a rail and do a somersault off. The circus owner thinks that she would be an excellent stunt rider and has her train with Isabelle du Monde, undisputed star of the circus. Rechristened Jacqueline du Monde, Isabel's "little sister," Cecily travels with the circus and finds an unconventional family in her fellow circus performers. When Cecily, a white girl, falls in love with a young black roustabout, she is forced to leave the circus and fend for herself.

I enjoyed the parts about Cecily's past and the circus far more than I did the modern day sections about Cecily's family and their lives. The more modern sections don't really pick up until the last third of the novel. The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson proves that trauma can be overcome, but also stays with us our entire lives. Humans are resilient and are a product of their past traumas, for better or worse. I wish the novel had been a little more complete in the resolution of the circus story, as I would have liked to have learned about how the circus fared after Cecily left. The story the novel tells is an important one of survival, family, and love.

A particularly good multi-perspective historical. The circus background made it especially interesting. Highly recommended.