I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘A Child For Sale’ written by Pam Howes in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

It’s the year 1964 and when Laura Sims tells her mum that she’s pregnant with her boyfriend Pete’s baby she’s immediately disowned and sent to ‘The Pines’, a home for unmarried mothers and their babies run by five Catholic Nuns, where she’ll stay until the baby is born. Laura and Pete want to keep their baby but the Nuns have a different idea.

‘A Child For Sale’ is a gentle thought-provoking novel of the young women and girls who found themselves as unmarried mothers and what happened to them and their babies. Laura starts her story in 1964 as she tells of the ill-treatment she and the friends she made while at ‘The Pines’ received from the Nuns. It then moves on to 2015 when the gardener at ‘The Pines’ finds a small rusty box in the grounds. It’s an interesting story, poignant and touching with likeable characters, that’s kept me enthralled from the first page to the last. It has a satisfying conclusion that’s left me feeling pleased that for some of the women at least there’s a happy ending.

Lovely emotional story from Pam Howes I did not want it to end but am looking forward to the next.The story and characters bring this book to life 5*

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read the ARC (Advance Reader Copy) of A Child For Sale by Pam Howes. This book was written in a dual timeline. It included before the birth of the child (1962) and many years later (2015). It's a heartbreaking story about a home for unwed mothers that is run by the Catholic church (Nuns), and what happened to the mothers and babies. The story brought tears to my eyes as well as happy smiles as I read the book. I really enjoyed this book and would strongly recommend it to others. I gave it a 5 star rating. Well done Pam Howes!

When 17 year old Laura and her boyfriend realize, in 1964, they they are pregnant, they decide to get married. But Laura's family sends her to a home for unwed mothers, and the baby is unceremoniously ripped away from her, right after birth.

Despite losing their firstborn, Laura and Pete have been married for 50 years, when in 2015, they hear of news about the home where their baby was stolen from them. How far will Laura and Pete go to find their oldest son?

This story is heart wrenching, especially Laura's. We see other tangential stories here, but we live it through Laura's eyes in Howe's beautifully poignant storytelling. I know that these types of homes existed in the past and have read a few stories with them featured, but this is among my favorite. [Sometimes we look around and see how much we are still failing each other in our society, and we forget how far we have come. We still have a long way to go, but stories like this remind us that we are still making progress.]

Beautifully written, poignant storytelling. Bring the tissues, but comfortable. Amazing story!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

Reminiscent of the Magdalene laundries, A CHILD FOR SALE is a heartbreaking tale about a home for unmarried mothers run by five Catholic nuns who instill nothing but fear and terror into young girls who needed compassion, understanding and support during what was a life-changing event for them.

Cheshire, 2015: When the remains of what appears to be an infant is found locked away in a tin box that had been buried in the grounds of what had been The Pines, a home for unmarried mothers in the late fifties to late sixties, police are called in.

At their home in Liverpool, Laura and Pete Maxwell are settling in for the night after birthday celebrations with the family when they see reports on the news about the find. While they are happily married now, fifty years ago they were teenagers when Laura had been incarcerated there and their baby wrenched away from her against her will. And despite the years since, they have never stopped searching for their son.

Manchester, 1964: Seventeen year old Laura Sims and her boyfriend Peter Maxwell find themselves in a quandary when Laura discovers she is pregnant. They have decided to marry but as they are under 21 they need their parents' permission to do. Peter's parents are disappointed by the turn of events but grant their blessing but Laura's mother is having none of it. How dare Laura show her up by such immoral behaviour. She refuses their request to marry and before Laura and Pete could make their escape, Audrey has Laura packed off The Pines in Cheshire. There she meets Anna, and the two forge a friendship that will see them through coming years.

But life at The Pines is a harsh one. The girls are treated like slaves with no outside contact with family or friends for the duration - their penance for their immoral ways. They were punished with no food if their work was not completed or they somehow broke the rules. When they go into labour, they are not to disturb the nuns until their contractions are two minutes apart and only then are they taken to the upstairs delivery room. Their cries could be heard from the floor below and no pain relief is given to the girls (more penance for their immoral ways) after which their babies are whisked away and are never seen again. Some of the girls are told their babies have died, whilst others were adopted to "good God-fearing families more deserving of them".

When Laura's baby son is born, she wanted nothing more than to bring him home. She and Pete were to marry, they could give their son a loving home. But the nuns wrenched him from her, Laura's last memory of his dark hair before a black mask was placed over her face and then...oblivion. When she woke to a kindly face in Olive, Laura was told her baby was gone and she was going home. Home...where was that? In the six months she'd been there, her mother had died and her aunt and uncle had sold her home, thus holding the funds from the sale in trust for her to access when she was 21. The only place she had to return to was a room in student accommodation with Pete until they could marry and buy their own home.

Five decades later and the memories resurface along with the remains. Decades old secrets that have long since been buried in those grounds bring with them the hope of being reunited with their long lost son at last. Their firstborn, cruelly snatched away without permission, stolen from them and sold for profit. Laura and Pete, along with lifelong friends Anna and Mick, as well as the police and extended family, begin the search with fresh leads at their disposal. Dare they hope? They have never given up searching for him. They've never given up hope.

Oh my. This has got to be one of Pam Howes' best yet. I have always thought the mother and baby homes, the Magdalene laundries and the like, would make a wonderful (and heartbreaking) story. And while this is fiction, such places did indeed exist. It is heartbreaking that these girls didn't receive the proper support needed in a world that was swiftly changing whilst society refused to keep up. I love the dual timeline aspect as we meet both teenage and middle-aged Laura and Pete along with Anna and Mick, as their stories unfold.

I absolutely adored this book and read it in one sitting. It is THAT good and it is such a quick read. While it may not always be an easy read, it is written in that easy style that makes the pages seemingly turn of their own accord. This story is packed full of family secrets that Laura must face as the past unravels in the present and everything ultimately comes full circle.

A pure delight to read that will bring tears to your eyes and smiles to your face throughout. Packed full of joys and sorrows, sadness and happiness, A CHILD FOR SALE is Pam Howes best yet. It goes without saying - a well deserved 5 stars.

I would like to thank #PamHowes, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #AChildForSale in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

1964. When seventeen-year-old Laura Sims realises she's pregnant, her boyfriend Pete says they will look after and love their baby together; but Laura's mother turns on them in fury. Wrenched from her home and the boy she loves Laura is thrown into a home for unmarried mothers. With no access to the outside world and treated harshly, Laura fights to keep her child safe and to find a way to escape the nightmare....

2015. Despite the anguish of losing their firstborn, Laura and Pete have been married for fifty years. But they've never given up on their lost child. And when Laura uncovers a tattered old diary from someone who worked at the home where she last saw her child, her heart breaks in those who ran the home sold their baby to a desperate, childless family.

This is a heartbreaking tale about a home for unmarried mothers. The Pines was run by nuns, and they were harsh on the young women in their care. The women weren't allowed any outside contact. Once the babies were born, they were taken from their mothers.

This story has a dual timeline - the past, 1964 and the present day, 2015, when Pete and Laura have been married for fifty years. We know these homes existed, and we know how badly these young women were treated if they didn't get their chores done on time. This is what makes this well written book hard to read.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #Booloutyre and the author #PamHowes for my ARC of #AChildForSale in exchange for an honet review.

A Child for Sale by Pam Bowes

Set in two timelines but unusually it's the same characters for both of them.
Young Laura and Pete are madly in love and making plans for their future together.
Laura discovers she is pregnant and tells her mother .
Set during the early 1960s where it was seen as a son to be pregnant unmarried , Laura is shipped off to The Pines a home run by cruel nuns who run the place with cold hearts and evil intentions.

In the second timeline ( 2015 ) Laura,and Pete a married couple are still hoping for the answer to what happened all those years ago.

I cried so many times during this book.
This dual timeline book slips effortlessly between the years as it follows the stories of young girls sent away to give birth. All to save face for the parents who would pretend they were away at college .
Some of the girls, Laura in particular were treated abysmally by their parents who had them taken away by force.
I couldn’t comprehend that happening, although I’m sure it did going by other books I’ve read.
Once in the mother and baby home! It was the friendship of each other that helps the girls through their ordeals which they undoubtedly were.

My favourite character was Olive. The nastiest has to be Audrey.
I loved the musical references, Pam does love to manage getting them in.
Will there be a follow up!

Heart breaking story about a home for unmarried mothers.
1964 Laura Sims and boyfriend Pete Maxwell go through the anguish of the lost of there baby son who is taking from Laura after his birth and the big fight ahead to find him.
2015 Laura and Pete are still happily married with two daughters but never stopped searching for their son after a television news bulletin they were in for a shock The Pines the mother and baby home that Laura was taking to is on and this leads to a heart breaking story of a child for sale and what the nuns did.
With a lot of other family secrets also to unfold, the mothers come forward on a Facebook group searching for their babies that were sold on by the nuns even shipped to other countries and the babies who later in life find they were adopted.
This book will to open your eyes to the struggle mothers have had to face for years wondering and thanks now to DNA tests.

I loved reading every bit of this book that will bring tears and smiles throughout reading. And a delight to see many happy endings for mothers and fathers that never gave up their search.

The author has captured a remarkable story with a lot of research entailed this novel will definitely become a best seller.

I found this book to be super slow. I think there are people who are going to love it but it just didn’t grab my attention. It also barely had any dialogue which is always a dealbreaker for me.

Ensure that you have a steaming cup of cocoa, perhaps some complementary mint ice-cream and a box of tissues at hand before you dive into this gorgeous book!

The story is a heartbreaking tale of a home for unwed mothers in the mid-60s.
The home, called The Pines, was run by cold-hearted nuns who degraded the young girls and treated them as slaves, with no outside contact, while waiting for their babies to arrive.
Once born, the babies taken away never to be seen again.

Laura and Pete are deeply in love and intend to marry once they are twenty-one.
But seventeen year old Laura finds out she is pregnant and is packed packed off to The Pines by her mother, who is ashamed of what the neighbors might think.

The story follows Laura and Pete between the timeline of the 1960s and 2015 .

I loved the story, and although it's fiction, I remember my mother telling me about such places existing when she was a teen.
How the girls were treated badly, and punishment of no food if chores were not done.

Pam Howes wrote a wonderful book about a horric time that I could not put down.

Thank you to Bookature and Netgally for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review..

May 2015
When a builder digs for foundations for a kitchen extension in Bollington Chesire. He finds a tin box with a small skull and bones. The Police are called in. The grounds which it is situated, The Pines. It was a home for unmarried mothers in the 60’s.
June 1964
Laura Sims is a teenager and has a boyfriend called Pete. When she finds that she is pregnant and tells Pete. He says he loves her and wants to marry her. Which is a rare thing in these times. But when she tells her mother what she is going to do. Her mother has other ideas and doesn’t want to bring shame on the family, so she sends her to a home for Unmarried mothers calls ‘The Pines’ Where it is un by nuns and no access to the outside world. The nuns that run it are not cruel and Laura thinks she is living in a nightmare and the only thing that gets her through the day are the other girls in the same predicament as herself.
Pam Howes has done it again, with another fabulous, heartfelt story. It is an emotional, fictious story, but it really did happen. How teenagers were treated in these institutions in the 60’s. The cruelty that these nuns bestowed on them. Like with all her other books that I have really enjoyed by this author. I couldn’t put this down. I have loved them all. Can’t wait for more. 5 stars from me.

Another great read by Pam Howes, a child for sale is a heartbreaking story of a mother and baby home in the 60’s, which were run by heartless nuns, it was a great story, often thought provoking as even though the book is fiction, this really did happen on a large scale. Laura and Pete are young and find out Laura’s pregnant, Pete wants to do the right thing and marry her, but Laura cruel mother sends to her the pines a home for unmarried mothers, the story follows them as she gives birth then has her baby taken off her and their fight to find him. Such a good read I couldn’t put it down. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I love this time period. It is mine. This talented author has written a cannot put down story of teen pregnancy. There are surprises. There are realistic characters who keep the story moving quickly. I liked this book. I like this author. I felt as if I were with the girls in this novel. Living during the 60’s was fun and exciting. I hope this author writes more books during the same period. Enjoy.