The Forgotten Daughter: The triumphant story of two women divided by their past, but united by friendship--inspired by true events

Wow, this book certainly put into perspective the lack of Canadian history I have in my brain. It was definitely interesting to read and learn about Quebec’s struggle to separate from Canada and just how much it affected the Canadian people. I literally had no idea that this was something that had actually happened! I thought this book was a fun and interesting way of enlightening readers to an important part of Canadian history. I also enjoyed the characters of Veronique and Elodie. Veronique was a strong and independent female character that stood by her convictions and didn’t let a man overtake her thoughts or her actions. I loved her willpower, even though she could be a bit immature at times. And it was interesting to see how Elodie grew throughout the novel from a scared victim into a strong and powerful voice for all the orphans who were afraid to stand up for themselves. One of my issues with this book was that it just seemed to drag on. It was a bit long-winded for me and I think there were a lot of areas that could have been condensed or left out altogether. I felt like this book had a hard time keeping my interest and I found myself doing other things rather than reading it. I also didn’t totally love the writing style. I wish there had been more dialogue and a bit less descriptions. I find that dialogue helps me to relate to more of the characters and I think that was something I found lacking. In all, it was definitely an interesting story that included some insightful information about Canadian history. If you’re a historical fiction fan or a fan of Canada and its history, this one might be for you. *Thank you to Harper Paperbacks for an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review*

The Forgotten Daughter by Joanna Goodman is the tumultuous love story of Veronique Fortin, the daughter of a radical separatist, and James Phenix, a French-Canadian journalist who opposes Quebec separatism. The story also follows Elodie Phenix, one of the Duplessis orphans from the author’s first novel, The Home for Unwanted Girls, who has become a sister figure to Veronique and is now fighting for justice and reparations for the suffering she sustained when Quebec’s orphanages were converted to mental hospitals in the 1950s.   I would definitely describe this as a historical fiction novel – featuring dual timelines being set against the backdrop of the Quebec sovereignty movement of the 1970s, culminating with the kidnapping and murder of Pierre LaPorte by the FLQ during the October Crisis as well as the Quebec referendum in the early 90s - but it was a new and unique experience to read a historical fiction novel for which part of the events occurred in my lifetime.   It was a breath of fresh air to read this story that delved into some fascinating and dark parts of my country’s history that I was less familiar with – the history of the Quebec sovereignty movement and story of the Duplessis orphans. I think countries need to do better about painting a clearer picture in history classes, not only of our triumphs as a nation, but also our failures. We all want our children to learn from our mistakes, yet we don’t want to share our nation’s mistakes with our citizens. I want to love my country because I see it has grown and changed for the better, not because I have a false illusion of its greatness.   I also loved following the romance of Veronique and James and found it very relevant to current day events. How do we reconcile and maintain close personal relationships in the face of a wide political and moral divide? Can we truly separate love and beliefs? How far are we willing to go when we feel the government is infringing on our fundamental rights and freedoms?   I think all lovers of historical fiction would really enjoy this novel, especially those who are feeling like they are reading the same WWII stories over and over and are looking for something fresh. I also highly recommend the author’s other novel The Home for Unwanted Girls.   Thank you @harperbooks for the #gifted copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is actually the second book. The book before reading this, is The Unwanted Children. Interesting and very good!