Mairin is like any other teenager. She is interested in boys, upset when her brother is sent to Vietnam, and just wants to escape the weighted looks from her step-father. However, when she tells her Mom, she is sent to the Good Shepherd, a Magdalene Laundry. There she meets a ton of other girls, each imprisoned wrongly. Despite the horrendous conditions, she refuses to be broken. With a few other girls, they plot their escape.

I thought this book was incredibly slow moving. It seemed to take a long time to move forward. Then, when something finally happened, the author skipped decades. I would have liked to have read more about the girls after they escaped, and their lives. I think this should have been 2 books, one set during the laundries, and a second providing those much wanted details. Overall, 3 out of 5 stars.

I am a sucker for historical fiction about girls who become pregnant out of wedlock at a time when abortion was illegal. Perhaps this is because it is relevant to my own background.
It is 1968 and we meet six girls who have been placed at Good Shepard. Not all of them were pregnant. Some were also considered problematic by their families for other reasons (like being gay). These girls form a bond which is explored in this serious novel. I have read other books by this author but not in some time and not anything as serious and "significant" as this.
This was mostly focused on character development and relationships, both strong points of the novel. I started out listening to the audiobook and then switched to the kindle version. The narrator was good and I think the novel, which was mostly character driven, lost a little steam for me in the second half when I read versus listened.
Nonetheless, I look forward to this author writing more historical fiction and seeing what she does with that because this was a wonderful foray into the genre.
Thanks to NetGalley, William Morrow and Harper Adult Audio for providing me with this novel and audio in exchange for my honest opinions.

Oh my heart. This book will stay on my mind and in my heart for a long time. This is a gripping and emotionally charged book about a group of girls, sent to reform school for a variety of reasons. Each girl has a powerful back story that reveals a lot of pain, a lot of hurt, a lot of injustices, and ways that society failed them. This book was inspired by an actual real reform school and Susan Wiggs handles this all with care and precision...which is important when telling stories like these. This is a historical account that tells a story of survival, resistance, friendship, found family, and the fierce will to survive and to fight back. This opened my eyes, shattered my heart and me want to fiercely advocate and protect these girls and for anyone that was forced to live like this. This book is truly unforgettable. I rated this a 5 star read on my all my socials and will insists people read this. I am also purchasing my own copy for my own personal library. Thank you so much for this unforgettable reading experience.

Six teenage girls put into a Catholic school are faced with terrible reality, where they are not educated, abused, and more. Throughout, they form friendships to deal with what is at hand, and these friendships help them get through. Based on a true story, this book was very well researched and a new story to me.

Historical fiction account of Catholic adoption secrets in Upstate New York. Heartbreaking accounts of teenage girls who were forced to give up their babies. Surprised it still occur in the twentieth century.

This book really makes you think. It’s historical fiction and full of heart wrenching emotions. A book that explores the patriarchy and women’s rights.

A brilliantly crafted novel with dual timelines, one in the 1960’s when the girls were teens and then present day when they confront the horrors of their time spent in a catholic reformatory.

Wiggs created characters you couldn’t help but root for and villains you hated. I loved the backstory of the girls and how each character felt real, tangible. The hardships they endured by being put in this reform school was hard to swallow and made my blood boil but Wiggs is so adept at writing that I just needed to keep going and found myself unable to stop reading/listenjng.

A super historical fiction that is a must read for anyone looking for books based on real life stories.

I really liked this book. There weren’t any lulls in the story, it kept me wanting more until I finished, and the story wrapped up very well.

A solid 4 ⭐️ read that I would recommend.

I love the way Susan Wiggs writes! While this book was difficult to read at times, it also spoke to the determination to survive and persevere. Wiggs captures the girls and their heartbreaking experiences as well as their journey to healing so well. Prior to reading the book, I was aware of the "Girls Homes" but this was a brutal reminder that it really wasn't so long ago. Thanks #NetGalley #WilliamMorrow

Thank you to William Morrow and Netgalley for the digital arc.
The Catholic Church in the US operated a system of “homes” similar to the infamous Magdalene Laundries in Ireland, and one of them was located in Buffalo NY. Courts, social agencies and families committed young girls to the House of the Good Shepherd under the assumption that education, care, and rehabilitation would be provided. This was a lie. It was a massive injustice. The abusive nuns provided no education, no rehabilitation, no support, minimal food and medical care from a sexual predator. The women worked long hours without compensation with all payments going to the church. The first half of the book describes the situations that led the six girls to be committed to Good Shepherd and the bonds of sisterhood they forged with each other, while the second half deals with their lives afterward. This was an emotional read, but the character development will have you cheering.
#WaywardGirls

I am a huge fan of Susan Wiggs, and I was thrilled to discover her new book, Wayward Girls. I want to thank NetGalley, William Morrow, and Susan Wiggs for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review. Susan Wiggs has a way of writing that consistently makes me care about the characters and their trials. I found, especially with this book, that when I wasn't reading about the characters, I was thinking about them and worrying about their safety. This story takes place in the 1960s at a home/institution run by nuns, and all is not as it seems. I found this home to be very upsetting, and I was constantly rooting for the girls. If you are looking for a story about survival and friendship, then this is definitely one for you. If you enjoy stories with dual timelines and following characters from childhood through adulthood, then I think you'll really enjoy Wayward Girls. I have a feeling that this will be a story I'll return to again and again, and one I'll be buying for people as gifts because I truly loved it.

This review contains my own thoughts and opinions.

This is a heart-wrenching and powerful novel exploring the coming of age of six young teenage girls who were committed to hard labor in the laundry of a Catholic institution run by Sisters of Charity nuns (who were far from charitable, to say the least). No one really knew what horrible things went on in such institutions behind closed doors, like this one set in 1960's-era Buffalo, NY, and based on real historical examples throughout the world, except for the young women who had no choice but to endure and live through the experience. The story follows the girls as they make lasting friendships and explore escape possibilities up to their lives afterward when they are older with careers and partners and children/grandchildren of their own. Highly recommended

This book was really good. While the historical stories were shocking, appalling and unbelievable they are important things to know and obviously shape the rest of the story. I had a hard time reading the historical (first) part of this book and at times felt like I was slowly getting through it and hoped the whole book wouldn't be that way. However I made it through and happy that I knew the history for the "current" rest of the story. This second part of the book flowed very nicely and moved along quickly. It then became a page turner for me. The ending part of the book was fantastic and I was not ready for it to end.. I would definitely recommend it.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc.

I believe Wayward Girls is probably one of the best books I’ve read by Susan Wiggs. She’s a fantastic author and she’s one where I automatically buy her books without having to read its synopsis because I have found them all to be really good. Wayward Girls is the story about a group of young girls that are sent away to a Catholic reform school called the Good Shepherd Home. This school, as they called it, is run by a bunch of nuns and it was located in Buffalo, New York. But this is no school, it was a mean, torturous institution that was run as a Magdalene laundry. The girls were worked hard, abused mentally, physically and sexually and fed the bare minimum for their survival. It was a horrible way to live and it caused a lifetime of trauma for these poor young girls. This is a very enlightening and eye-opening read about what it was like back in the 1960’s for young girls who were sent there because they were considered to have unacceptable behavior. This dual timeline story is extremely sad but because of these girls strength and close friendship they were able to come together and expose this part of history and find peace and contentment for their later years in life. One girl was even blessed to find family that she didn’t know existed. It’s a really great story and one I believe everyone would enjoy reading. I’d like to thank William Morrow Books for accepting my request to be an early reader and NetGalley for the arc. I highly recommend this book and I am rating it with a much deserved 5 star rating.

This was a very powerful, emotional, and poignant story. It was painful to read at times knowing that it was based on true events, and yet it’s also a beautiful testament of strong, resilient women. and the bonds of female friendships.

It’s beautifully written, and the storyline and pacing made it a real page turner. The setting during the 60s felt so authentic, and I loved all the music references. These are characters that came to life for me, and their story is one that will stay with me for quite some time.

Thank you NetGalley, William Morrow, and UpLit Reads for a copy. All opinions expressed are completely my own.

A powerful and well written novel about the abuses in Buffalo, NY at the Good Shepherd, a Magdalene laundry facility. From the 1880’s to the 1990’s, girls were sent to these facilities with the promise by the church to educate the girls and cure their wayward ways. Instead, the nuns, priests and doctors were often the abusers, forcing the girls into slave labor in the laundries, and submitting them to corporal punishment. The girls in this novel, set in the 1960’s were based on real stories, but are fictional characters. Mairin is strong willed, but when her brother is sent to Vietnam, her mother sends her to the Church after her stepfather shows too much prurient interest in her. Angela is sent after being found with another girl, with the hope to “cure the deviant behavior.” These two are the major characters in the book and their stories will stay with you long after the last chapter. Highly recommended. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC.

Such a heartbreaking but ultimately satisfying story. You root for these girls the whole way through the book. The story starts in the late 60’s. We know these things happened. We know pregnant girls were treated less than. Wayward Girls does a great job of telling a story of unacceptable pasts.

Wayward Girls by Susan Wiggs is a story of historical fiction based on a true story that takes place in New York. Mairin, along with 6 other girls, have been taken to The Good Shepherd which is controlled by the Sisters of Charity nuns that run a laundry. Each girl has a back story as to why she has arrived at this place but Mairin is determined to break free.
One is able to picture each girl and their despair at being at this place. The story is easy to follow but one wonders how a place like this was able to be in existence in the 1960s. This is certainly a story of survival and how to overcome an extremely difficult situation.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an advance reader ebook to review. I really loved the Wayward Girls, it is a much different book than the other Susan Wiggs books I have read. It is the story of a group of young women whose families have, for various reasons, sent them to live in a a laundry reform school in Buffalo, New York during the Viet Nam War. We follow Mairin before she is sent to the home, and then get to meet the other inmates, all of whom are there for different reasons. Mairin's mother sends her there to protect her from her stepfather, another girl's grandmother sends her because she caught her kissing a girl, one is sent because her parents are detained in China, but they are all working the laundry for no pay, and the living conditions are suboptimal to say the least. It is based on actual stories from a Magdalene Laundry operated in Buffalo until 1970. A lot of the inmates were unwed mothers, and the nuns adopted the babies out according to the wishes of the parents of the minor mothers. It is a very good novel, and I was glad it followed up with how the girls all grew up and lived after their experiences there. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves historical fiction or stories of women(or girls) with grit & determination.

4.5 stars
Thank you to Net Galley and William Morrow for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. I absolutely loved this book, it's totally engaging from start to finish. The story is interesting, the characters are endearing. This is a fascinating look at a very scandalous and shameful topic. A must read in my opinion.