Book Recommendation - Searching for You

I've really come to enjoy historical fiction lately and with my heart for orphans, Jody Hedlund's Orphan Train series was one that definitely  pulled me in. The final book in the series, Searching For You, releases December 4th and I was fortunate to get an advanced copy. This book tied up the series nicely and allowed us to see what happened with the youngest Neumann sister, Sophie. Sophie has found herself on her own after their caretaker took the 2 younger children she'd been caring for to the Children's Aid Society. Sophie could not imagine life without them, so she ran away to find them. Circumstances a couple of years later find her back at the Children's Aid Society, seeking shelter out west as an orphan herself.

It's been very interesting to learn a little more about this period in history through this series. I'd not heard much about the orphan train prior to reading this series and it was enlightening to see how the over-population of orphans was handled in the mid-1800s. Even though the sisters were all orphans, Sophie is the first to actually ride the train AS an orphan, though her sisters rode the trains in other capacity. The "placing out" process was fascinating to me as each town had a placing council who found good Christian homes for the children coming from the city. Some of those placements were fantastic, but others brought heartbreak - much like modern day foster care.

Throughout the series, the themes of grace and redemption are prominent. Sophie's story is no different. Each of the sisters in her own story learn to forgive themselves and seek forgiveness from others and learned to rely on God through their shortcomings. This story tied up the series nicely and it's beautiful to see how Sophie grew up throughout the series. In her story, she evolves from a selfish young woman to a loved sister, daughter, wife and mother. I enjoyed seeing her story unfold and the way that her sisters' stories tied in to her own.

My review of the book is below!

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2379659571

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