Thank you to NetGalley and RB Media for the advanced audiobook copy. The narrator did an excellent job. This book is filled with a lot of emotion. Highly recommend.

When I chose this book, I knew that while it wouldn’t be an “easy” or “comfortable”read, it would be an important one. I was right. Lorraine was a young lady in 1960s North Carolina who had goals. She wanted to be valedictorian of her graduating class, and she wanted to become an astronaut. An unexpected pregnancy, the result of one intimate encounter, disrupts her plans in ways that Lorraine can’t even imagine. Her boyfriend deserts her after she refuses to “take care of it.” Her parents are determined to protect her reputation and their own and sneak her out - laying in the back seat of their car - to a home especially designed to facilitate birth and adoption for unwed mothers. While her baby’s dad enjoys college life and finds a new girlfriend, Lorraine tries to figure out how to move forward in her life. She makes friends but experiences much sorrow with them as well.
Lorraine is such a precious character who is brought to life through the narration of Susan Bennett. The optimism with which she first approaches this pregnancy, her grief at losing her boyfriend and the respect of her parents, her naivete, and ultimately her strength and determination are excellently rendered by Church and enhanced by Bennett. The development of setting is crucial to the novel’s success as well. Church tackles the lack of information that was likely common in teenage girls during this era as Lorraine just passively allows the intimacy to progress - mostly because a marriage has been discussed. My 2024 self rails- “Lorraine you have goals!” But Church quickly delineates why Lorraine thinks differently. Mistakes are not a 60s thing to be sure, but her particular naivete that stretches into how she thinks her parents will respond and further into what the experience at the home will be like - broke my heart. I have read and watched other works about the “baby scoop” era, but the pure evil that was illustrated here still took my breath away. The woman who gets the expectant moms to sign adoption papers was … well evil. I’m not even sure I get any sense that she thinks she is doing the right thing for the babies. She is doing a job that she considers herself very good at. The birth experience was stunning in its cruelty. Church gracefully balances this horror with beautiful - albeit temporary - friendships, a comforting librarian and a teacher there, and even a dance where these girls can experience some temporary teen joy. The girls who are with Lorraine here illustrate more of the horribly painful stories, but they also give us these glimpses of joy. And of course she gives us a Lorraine who slowly learns to take ownership of her life, and while we don’t get the ending we necessarily want, we do get hope for Lorraine’s future.

What a wonderfully written book about such a difficult and heartbreaking topic. I was sucked into this book from the first chapter and felt my own feeling and emotions wrapped up with the hopes and dreams of the main character. Though this book is historical fiction, it does well characterizing the events depicted at the time. Well worth the time to pick up and read. Thank you Net Galley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC of this audiobook.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/ 5 Stars

Happy upcoming pub date to Meagan Church and The Girls We Sent Away on March 5, 2024! Thank you to @mchurchwriter, RB Media ( @recordedbooks) and NetGalley ( @netgalley ) for allowing me listen to the audiobook 📖 for an honest review!

📅 March 5, 2024 is the pub date for The Guest. 📅

🎧 The narrator🎙️for the audiobook is Susan Bennett. 🎧

In 2023, I read The Last Carolina Girl and absolutely loved it! So, needless to say that I was very excited to be approved for Meagan’s new book (The Girl’s We Sent Away)! The result? I’ve fallen in love with Meagan’s writing style and persistence to educate the reader around issues and adversity that young women have faced during their coming of age years throughout different decades. She has definitely been added to my auto-buy list!

Lorraine lives in the perfect house with a picket fence in North Carolina. She is an only child and a student at the local high school where she excels in everything she does. She is by far an overachiever and is looking forward to College in a couple of years. Her boyfriend is set to graduate and go off to College at the end of the year. Lorraine has been wondering if they should break up when he moves away. However, a promise ring and an accidental pregnancy later throws a wrench into those thoughts and her future plans. The story line follows Lorraine’s pregnancy journey during a time when it was unacceptable for pregnancy out of wedlock.

I highly recommend reading The Girls We Sent Away, as well as, The Last Carolina Girl. You certainly won’t be disappointed!

This was such a good book! It really pulled on the heartstrings hearing what these girls went though. This was so well written. I listened to the audiobook in one day.

Thank you RB Media, Recorded Books for the opportunity to read and review The Girls We Sent Away on NetGalley.

Published: 03/05/24

Narrator: Susan Bennett

Stars: 5

Incredibly hard subject matter beautifully written.

The synopsis stands on its own. The story was a fast read for me. I read this in one sitting -- I couldn't stop.

Without spoiling, Church takes the reader along the journey of one girl who gets pregnant and is sent away to prevent shame on her parents. There are several paths and characters that come along and each serve a purpose. I like that the focus was on the main character and the author didn't plunge into rabbit holes regarding the males impregnating. This isn't their story.

Hats off to the author on the ending: I cried.

Thank you NetGalley for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.
I had high hopes for this book but it was a 3 star read to me. I am very interested in the topic and have read many books about the awful things that happened to unwed mothers during this time.
This one seems like it could have been a good addition but falls short in both the story line and character development. I held out hope that the authors note would add a flair that I look for in historical fiction. But it also didn’t deliver. This one is a skip for me.

Well, this about destroyed me. A thought provoking and an emotional read about a teen in the baby scoop era of the 1960s, sent away to hide her pregnancy and give birth in discreet, with a followed forced adoption.

This fictional novel touches on several aspects of emotional trauma. One thing I was very happy to see included is one of the girls in the maternity home was there due to rape. And trigger warning for this one because of incest. I say I’m happy to see it included because I feel like we still dance around the topic of sexual assault. But it’s important to not exclude it because it is something that happens and it would be a situation that would have landed a young girl into one of these maternity homes in the middle of the 1960s. Something to force yet even more shame upon a girl and landing her in an even more precarious situation.

I do wish the epilogue would have touched more on what was to follow this era with the women’s rights movement. While it makes me sad that women went through this, it also makes me realize that the baby scoop era sets the backdrop to the rights we have today. And I can appreciate what they went through for that reason. Women’s rights might be a bit precarious still now in certain places in the US, but if women back then can overcome and defy, we can continue to do so ourselves today.

*Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC for this review*

I appreciate reading novels based on real events, as a way to get a glimpse into the story of those who lived those events. This story was heartbreaking, thinking of all the young moms who were forced to give up their babies, instead of given options and help to keep them. To a lesser extent, this still happens today.

This book was well done in highlighting the emotions, hopelessness, difficulties, and grief of these girls who were sent away. Hidden, for the sake of facades and public image.

Thanks to NetGallet for the ARC.

I adored Church's debut novel, The Last Carolina Girl, so when I saw she had a new book coming out, I jumped at the opportunity to read and listen. Thank you Recorded Books for my gifted ALC and Sourcebooks for my gifted finished copy and swag. 💕

In 1960s North Carolina, teenaged Lorraine is the all-American girl: on track to be valedictorian, lifeguard at the local swimming pool, has a charming boyfriend that her parents love, and with her good grades, she has hopes to going to college and becoming the first female astronaut.
Lorraine's dreams come crashing down when, through her ignorance and lack of sex education, she allows her boyfriend to go all the way, resulting in an unwanted pregnancy. And as families often did back then, her parents sent her away to a home for unwed girls. What transpires is Lorraine's transformative journey that broke my heart and made me angry.

This book is deeply impactful, emotional, and beautifully written. We begin this book Lorraine, so full of hope and promise, eventually beaten down with her dreams stolen thanks both to her good-for-nothing boyfriend, and to her parents for Lorraine's profound lack of information about her own body. I felt enraged so many times, with society as a whole back then and the way girls were blamed while the boys got off Scott free. At Lorraine's parents for being so unsupportive and cold. For Lorraine's lack of information and sex education. At the staff at the home for their coldness and the calculated way they treated Lorraine.

This book was compulsively readable and I binged it in a day and a half. It is the epitome of unputdownable. It moved at a fantastic pace and made me want to keep coming back for more.

While the book itself is a sad one, there are some happier themes blended in as well. Friendship, a second chance at love, and Lorraine's inspiring determination. Though the tone throughout is mostly somber.

I read parts in print, but the majority on audio. Susan Bennett is a favorite of mine. I first heard her narrate Diane Chamberlain's books and immediately fell in love with her voice and the way she performs books. I notice she does a lot of North Carolina settings and she's perfect for this. It was a brilliant, 5 star performance and I recommend this book with my whole heart.

This is Meagan Church's second novel. I read her debut The Last Carolina Girl. The topic and setting of the books feel very Diane Chamberlain to me. However, both lacked the emotional connection that I find with Diane Chamberlain.

I enjoyed The Girls We Sent Away, as well as The Last Carolina Girl. I just didn't love them as much as I had hoped to.

The Girls We Sent Away tells the story of Lorraine. Seventeen and about to start her senior year of high school. She is on track to become the first female valedictorian of her school. Her boyfriend, Clint, is about to leave for college. Lorraine is pretty ambivalent about Clint. They have been together so long, their future is basically inevitable. She is more concerned about graduating and going to college than marriage. Before he leaves for college, he plans a romantic date. They have sex, and not because Lorraine particularly wants to. But because he expects it of her. And, of course, she ends up pregnant. She then has to deal with the realities of being a pregnant high schooler in the mid 1960s.

This book is mainly told from Lorraine's point of view, but it does switch to about a dozen other POV's throughout. It is told in third person. Early on, while in Lorraine's POV, I found it odd that her mother was referred to as "Mrs. Delford", even in Lorraine's thoughts. Minor things like that is what prevents me from becoming emotionally connected. Others may not have that issue, but for me, it makes me detached from the story.

Susan Bennett narrates the audiobook. I found her an odd choice, because this is mainly told from the POV of a seventeen year old girl. Susan Bennett's is way too mature. Her narration is often slow, and I listened at 1.75.

I received an advance audio copy in exchange for an honest review.

The book is incredibly well written and engaging. The story never quite went the way I thought it was going which is refreshing and the topic matter was handled with extreme care. The only reason why it wasn't a complete 5 stars for me is because I think we have been told this story a lot of times and although the delivery was great the idea wasn't new. However I will be recommending this book on my social media this month @thebookishflor, covering women's history month.

This was a vibrant, eye-opening book. The author put me directly in the main character’s shoes and I could viscerally feel her heartache and despair as she was thrust into a maternity home and forced to give up her future. In the 1960s, there was still massive amounts of shame if unwed women got pregnant, and it didn’t matter that Lorraine Ward gifted and exceptional. Once she was pregnant, she was a pariah.

Her time in the home had her surrounded by vivid characters while the rules were stifling.

Her final revelation will break your heart. This is a beautifully written, affecting book.

The Girls We Sent away is a beautifully written, powerful novel. This book is a poignant reminder that while the 1960’s was not that long ago in the big timeline of world history, it was a very different era with some very shocking and heartbreaking practices. Lorraine’s seemingly perfect world comes crashing down around her when she is faced with the dreaded and taboo teenage pregnancy. Apparently a girl’s dreams to reach the stars can only be obtainable when having to conform to unrealistic and unfair societal expectations. While the author tackles some really big issues, the writing and plot development tells a story that is so gripping that it is hard to press pause while listening. The Girls We Sent Away is an exquisitely written book that allows a unique glimpse into the past that also offers a fresh lens into our own current milieu. A truly moving tale of how far we have come and how far we still need to go.

Thank you so much @Netgalley and @sourcebook for giving me the opportunity to read #TheGirlsWeSentAway. This releases on March 5th and I definitely recommend it!

As you can probably guess from the title, this book is about pregnant teen-aged girls in the 1960s sent to “homes” for the last few months of pregnancy.

Hearing about 17 year old Lorraine’s experience brought out such emotions! She was striving to be valedictorian and head to college to become an astronaut, but instead landed at a home for wayward girls.

The way society shamed these girls and changed the trajectory of their lives, while the boyfriends walked away without taking ANY kind of responsibility made me so mad. The way the home got the girls to sign the relinquishing papers made me furious. I felt like I had Lorraine’s back throughout this book and was hoping everything worked out for her

'This review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review, netgalley." The 1960s and Lorraine Delford who is a senior in high school has dreams and inspirations of becoming more than most. She was raised well and is an avid sky and space fan. She hopes to see that one day we will make it to the moon when everyone else around her does not believe in any of that.
She then believes she is in love with her current boyfriend and they have an intimate moment that changes the trajectory of her life as she knows it. This was written so well and the Narrator in this audiobook was great. The characters were easy to understand and to follow and the story can break your heart or motivate you depending on how you take the messages being followed. I give it 4 stars and it was a quick easy read, I did wish for more at the end I felt like it was cut short and could have given us just a bit more at the end.

Lorraine was a typical 17yo child in the early 1960s. She was an only child and 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 & had plans to go to college. She wanted to be someone who left her mark on the world. She loved outer 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 & 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.

Maybe this book has me in my feels because my sister is expecting her first child, but I seriously can’t stop thinking about it. We grew up in NC, and it’s wild to think a few decades past, this could have been the norm for teen moms. I loved this author’s first book as it shed light on a pressing social issue set in NC, and this book held up to that. I think this book, however, did a much better job on character building. I myself haven’t been pregnant yet, but the descriptions of Loraine’s pregnant body and what it felt like to carry a baby in the womb made it feel so real in way I haven’t experienced in a book before.

The internal debate is a good one, too: I found myself wondering who I was rooting for — did I want her to keep the baby or not??? What is truly best? And I think the way it ended was perfect. Nothing too sappy or dreamy. I do think the main characters in Church’s novels so far have been a bit too innocent and ignorant to feel realistic. I understand it’s a choice to move us as reader through a plot point, but I wish they figured things out faster. It could open up more room for more twists. In total, this book is one I will think about for a long time.

This is a character driven book. Yes there is a plot but mostly we are in the heads of the characters. I think this is a really important time of history to discuss. The Baby Scoop era was just disgusting and shameful. It’s not hard to imagine that still happening now but also makes me thankful that is not the norm anymore.

Title: The Girls We Sent Away by Meagan Church - A Heartrending Journey of Teenage Mothers in the 1960s

In Meagan Church's poignant novel, "The Girls We Sent Away," readers are transported to the tumultuous era of the 1960s, where unwed teenage girls faced the harsh reality of societal judgment and coercion into relinquishing their babies for adoption. At the center of the narrative is Lorraine, a determined young woman on the cusp of academic achievement and dreams of a future in space exploration. However, her aspirations collide with the stark complexities of an unexpected pregnancy, thrusting her into a world of profound decisions and societal expectations.

Church masterfully portrays the emotional turmoil of Lorraine and her companions, encapsulating the palpable anguish and resilience of these young mothers-to-be. As the narrative unfolds, readers are drawn into a web of conflicting emotions, feeling a profound empathy for the protagonists as they navigate through a landscape fraught with societal stigmatization and familial pressure.

The portrayal of the adults in the story is equally compelling, showcasing a generation grappling with entrenched beliefs and societal norms that dictate the fate of these young women without regard for their own desires and well-being. Lorraine's mother emerges as a complex character, eliciting a spectrum of emotions from readers, ranging from frustration to a deeper understanding of the societal constraints that shaped her actions.

While the narrative delves into the harsh realities of the time period, Church deftly weaves a thread of empathy and understanding, prompting readers to contemplate the complexities of human nature and the power dynamics that shape individual choices.

"The Girls We Sent Away" is a tour de force that resonates with authenticity and emotional depth. It's a testament to the strength of the human spirit and the enduring power of hope amidst adversity. For its compelling narrative, rich character development, and profound thematic exploration, this book unequivocally earns a five-star rating. Church's storytelling prowess leaves an indelible mark, inviting readers to reflect on the past while illuminating timeless truths about love, sacrifice, and the resilience of the human heart.