The Forgotten Daughter by Joanna Goodman –416 pages
ARC from Harper Paperbacks and Netgalley for an honest review
Book Blurb:
1992: French-Canadian factions renew Quebec’s fight to gain independence, and wild, beautiful Véronique Fortin, daughter of a radical separatist convicted of kidnapping and murdering a prominent politician in 1970, has embraced her father’s cause. So it is a surprise when she falls for James Phénix, a journalist of French-Canadian heritage who opposes Quebec separatism. Their love affair is as passionate as it is turbulent, as they negotiate a constant struggle between love and morals. At the same time, James’s older sister, Elodie Phénix, one of the Duplessis Orphans, becomes involved with a coalition demanding justice and reparations for their suffering in the 1950s when Quebec’s orphanages were converted to mental hospitals, a heinous political act of Premier Maurice Duplessis which affected 5,000 children.
Véronique is the only person Elodie can rely on as she fights for retribution, reliving her trauma, while Elodie becomes a sisterly presence for Véronique, who continues to struggle with her family’s legacy.
My Review: 3.5 stars
The Lost Daughter is the follow up, which can also stand alone, to 2018’s hit, The Home for Unwanted Girls. I was beyond thrilled to learn that a sequel was on its way, but also a bit wary at the same time. In my experience, sequels, especially those that come out soon after the original, never match the depth and heart of the original.
Once again, this book goes into detail about the Quebecers feelings about separatism. Until I read the earlier book, I had no idea that Quebec was even trying to politically detach from Canada. This is a topic that Quebecers have been for, or against, for years and is a hot-topic issue for many. It also delves into Elodie’s adult life as she fights for retribution for the years she spent in a mental institution, under the political nonsense of Premier Duplessis. Much of the first book focused on the horrific treatment that Elodie, and many other innocent orphan children, were subjected to.
If you’re reading this as a stand-alone, I think you’ll also enjoy this one more than I did. My expectations were over-zealous and I was missing the profundity and emotion that was built so deeply in the first book.
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