Book: The Children Left Behind (prev. An Orphan's Hope)
Author: Lizzie Page
Pub Day: March 3rd 2023
About the Book:
England, 1951. In the aftermath of World War Two, Clara’s orphanage is all these children have left. Can she keep them safe and help them to heal? A heart-warming and emotional story of love and loss.
Clara Newton has dedicated her life to taking care of orphans who have nobody in the world but her. From affectionate Gladys, who desperately misses her older brothers, to traumatised Florrie who longs for her father and refuses to eat, Clara loves each of the children like they are her own.
But even though she has opened her heart to so many little ones, when brown-eyed war hero Ivor asks her to marry him, Clara is afraid to take a chance on love. Would married life prevent her from dedicating herself completely to her orphans?
Clara is soon distracted from the troubles of her heart when her beloved orphanage comes under attack. Someone throws stones through the window, and a threatening message is chalked near the door. Why would anyone want to frighten innocent children? And as the attacks get worse, can Clara keep the orphans safe?
Desperate to protect the little ones in her care, Clara takes the children on a day out. Away from the orphanage, Clara hopes that she and the children will be able to put their worries behind them. But when a terrible accident happens, will they all make it out alive? And will it be too late for Clara to tell Ivor how she really feels?
An utterly tear-jerking, heart-warming and unforgettable historical novel, set in the aftermath of World War Two. Perfect for fans of Before We Were Yours, Diney Costeloe and The Orphan Sisters.
(PREVIOUSLY TITLED: An Orphan’s Hope)
BLOG TOUR REVIEW
Review for 'The Children Left Behind' by Lizzie Page.
Read and reviewed via NetGalley for Lizzie Page, Bookouture publishers and Bookouture anonymous
Publication date 3rd March 2023
Previously titled: An Orphan’s Hope
This is the fourth book I have read by this author. It is also the fourth book in the 'Shilling Grange Children's Home' series but can be read as a standalone. The previous books are called 'The Orphanage' which is the first book in the series, 'A Place To Call Home' which is the second book in this series and 'An Orphan's Song' which is the third book in this series and I would highly recommend them both. This book and the previous can be read as standalones but it is better to read in order to get a better insight into the characters.
I was originally drawn to this book by its beautiful cover and intriguing sounding synopsis and title. I am a HUGE fan of Lizzie after falling in love with her books 'The Orphanage', 'A Place To Call Home' and 'An Orphan's Spng' and if this is half as good as that was it is bound to be a page turning read. The synopsis also stated that this book is "An utterly tear-jerking, heart-warming and unforgettable historical novel, set in the aftermath of World War Two. Perfect for fans of Before We Were Yours, Diney Costeloe and The Orphan Sisters.." I am a huge fan of 'The Orphan Sisters' so am looking forward to seeing if this lives up to this statement. I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Bookouture. I have yet to read a book published by Bookouture that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).
This novel consists of 51 chapters, 6 letters and a news report. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!
This book is based in England 🏴, UK 🇬🇧. I always enjoy when books are set in the UK as I'm from Wales and have sometimes visited areas mentioned in the book. This makes it easier to picture where the scenes are set at times.
This book is written in third person perspective and the main protagonist is Clara Newton. The benefits of third person perspective are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything.
'The Children left behind' discusses some topics that may upset some readers or may not be suitable for others. I like to point this out ahead of time in my reviews so you can judge if this book is for you or not. In this book Lizzie discusses/includes child abuse and neglect.
Wow!!! Yet another absolutely captivating heart warming and tear jerking stunning page turner ♥ Well done Lizzie on yet another stunning success!
This book is absolutely beautifully written and it had me absorbed from the first page to the last. The vivid descriptions really put me in the storyline with Clara and the children and the cover and synopsis suit the storyline perfectly.
This series itself was quite unique for me as in I have never actually read a fictional book about a children's home apart from the first three book in this stunning series 'The Orphanage' (book one) , 'A Place To Call Home' (book two) and 'An Orphan's Song' (book three). I have read several non fiction foster books but never any fictional so I have been looking forward to getting sucked into this continuation of Shilling Grange children's home !! The storyline is filled with heartbreak, love, friendship, family, shocks, tension, sadness, hope and much more. My mind and heart was completely captivated throughout and I couldn't stop turning the pages from start to end. I was completely shocked and saddened by certain events. I can't say any more than that as I don't want to spoil it for future readers. There are several parts where I found tears running down my face which isn't an easy feat so you may want a box of tissues on standby and I would definitely clear your schedules as this really is unputdownable. I cannot wait until the next book in this beautiful and amazing series comes out (even though I am gutted it will be the last)!!! If it is half as addictive as this and rest of these amazing books in this series then it is bound to be a winner!!! I absolutely loved how this book ended even if it ended in even more tears!!! This would make an absolutely stunning TV series!!
Although this is the fourth book in the series I had would have had absolutely no problems reading it without the others. Any details or events that have previously happened are mentioned in just the right amount of detail to let a new reader know what has happened and yet not too much to bore a previous reader.
CLEAR YOUR SCHEDULES AND GRAB THE TISSUES AS YOU WILLL BE UNABLE TO PUT THIS BOOK DOWN AND YOU WILL BE HOOKED ON THIS EMOTIONAL ROLLERCOASTER RIDE THAT IS SHILLING GRANGE CHILDRENS HOME!!!
I absolutely fell in love with the kids and I absolutely adored Clara in what she was doing for them in 'The Orphanage' and I was over the moon to "meet" them all again in all of the books since. This series has absolutely captured my heart and I am absolutely devastated to read that the next book will be the last :( ! What are you doing to me Lizzie!!! I absolutely love that the main protagonist Clara is a strong female who went from someone who seemed to have certainly chosen the wrong job and really annoyed me on several occasions with her materialistic ways to a fighter and a role model for the children and I enjoyed watching her grow and develop in 'The Orphanage' and watching her grow and develop even more in each book since. She is as determined as ever in this book and is even more annoyed at how the council and others are continuously letting the children down by allowing them, and her, to slip through the cracks meaning families that could have been reunited years ago are left apart!! . I absolutely love how she fights for the children as well as other things even when it felt like she was banging her head against a brick wall she never gave up!!! She was not only struggling with everything that was going on with the council but with the children, her own emotions and feelings and much more yet she continued to keep going strong even when, at times, she just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry. This book sees her go through even more when herself and the home are being targeted from stolen hats and milk, to her being egged, having threats chalked on her pavement, the grass being painted red and rocks thrown the window. Clara's father also makes an appearance and she has no idea who is to blame. You would like to think that is enough for anyone to deal with but Clara thinks she has made a huge mistake with Ivor and doesn't know whether she can fix it. Does Clara discover the culprits? Will she be able to fix things with Ivor? We also meet new children in this book , no surprise there really, and I will talk more about them in a bit. I look forward to meeting Clara again in the next book in this wonderful series, even though I am gutted it will be the last one :( . I could not stand Mr Sommersby who I found to be horrible, insensitive and most definitely in the wrong job as he didn't seem to care for the children one iota! I was also disgusted with and couldn't stand Davey who I found to be n absolute rat from the start and couldn't understand how he could do what he did to his best friend whether he was around or not!! I fell in love with Marilyn and found her to be a fantastic and supportive friend to Clara and I could absolutely hug her for what she did!!! It is so lovely to see that, although Marilyn is Clara's fiancé's mother (Michael, who passed away) that she has such a strong bond and is a mother figure to Clara and a grandmother figure to the rest of the children. We only get to hear from her in this book when Clara speaks to her over the phone but she is definitely worth a mention as she still plays such a big part in Clara and the children's lives. I hope we get too meet her again in the next book especially as it will be the last one :( (yes more guilt tripping Lizzie, I will keep at it until you change your mind!!!) I loved all the children who each had their own unique personalities. It was lovely meeting the new boys Frank and Trevor who definitely reminded me of Billy and Barry, especially Frank with his A. Quirkiness and B. personality!!!! My heart absolutely went out to them with their constant fear of being drowned and because of something else that happened in this book. I wont say more about it so you will just have to pick up your own copy to find out! Jonathon is also new in this book and my heart went out to him also for the tragedy that he lost his family in and then the reminder after what happens in this book too. It was also lovely to meet/hear from children that I have met from the previous books regardless of how short some of the meetings were. These include the sweetest of all the previous children Peg, the lovely Gladys, the lovely but serious Florrie who I was absolutely landed for because..... nope, go grab your copy ;) ,Evelyn who was adopted by Anita and Dr Carter, Peter who got a job in the comic industry, Clifford who ended up in the Hunstanton Reform School For Boys and Maureen who is studying at secretarial college. I absolutely adore Ivor who is such a gentle and sweet man and is so amazing with the children and I cannot wait to see what happens next after the stunning ending of this book, although I am VERY SAD it will be the last one LIZZIE :( An absolutely fantastic mix of characters and I am looking forward to meeting Clara, Ivor, the current children and the new children in the next book (even though I am SAD it will be the last).
Congratulations Lizzie on yet another absolutely gorgeous book ♥ This is exactly why you are one of my favourite authors. Here's to your next success 🥂
Overall an absolutely heart-warming, soul lifting unputdownable book that will captivate your heart, body and mind.
Genres covered in this book include Saga Fiction, Romance Sagas, Spiritual & Historical Fiction, Family Sagas, Historical Literary, Romance Literary, British & Irish Historical Literature, Saga, Sisters Fiction, Coming-Of-Age Story, Historical Fiction, Literary Sagas and War Story amongst others.
I would recommend this book to the fans of the above as well as fans of 'Before We Were Yours', Casey Watson, Harry Keeble, Shane Dunphy, Louise Allen, Angela Hart, 'The Orphanage', 'A. Place To Call Home', 'The Orphan Sisters', Diney Costeloe and and anyone looking for a heart-warming book on children's homes.
394 pages.
This book is just £1.99 to purchase on kindle, free on kindle unlimited and £9.99 in paperback at time of review via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!
Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.
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Author Bio
Lizzie Page loves reading ALL the books, and she's always loved reading the adventures of women in the past so it seemed natural to her to write historical fiction.
Lizzie lives with her family by the sea in South East England. And with her dog. How did she forget her dog? She enjoys traveling and lived in Japan for several years. Lizzie has had lots of different jobs from waitressing and teaching to admin and bingo-calling - but being a writer is her absolute favourite.
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