Welcome back to First Line Friday!
The Book I am featuring this week is:
Before We Were Yours
By: Lisa Wingate
Amazon | Goodreads
“My story begins on a sweltering August night, in a place I will never set my eyes upon.”
I have heard amazing things about this book, so I’m glad I was finally able to get it from the library! I’ll be reading it as soon as I finish my current read 🙂
About the Book:
Two families, generations apart, are forever changed by a heartbreaking injustice in this poignant novel, inspired by a true story, for readers of Orphan Train and The Nightingale.
Memphis, 1939. Twelve-year-old Rill Foss and her four younger siblings live a magical life aboard their family’s Mississippi River shantyboat. But when their father must rush their mother to the hospital one stormy night, Rill is left in charge—until strangers arrive in force. Wrenched from all that is familiar and thrown into a Tennessee Children’s Home Society orphanage, the Foss children are assured that they will soon be returned to their parents—but they quickly realize that the truth is much darker. At the mercy of the facility’s cruel director, Rill fights to keep her sisters and brother together—in a world of danger and uncertainty.
Aiken, South Carolina, present day. Born into wealth and privilege, Avery Stafford seems to have it all: a successful career as a federal prosecutor, a handsome fiancé, and a lavish wedding on the horizon. But when Avery returns home to help her father weather a health crisis, a chance encounter leaves her with uncomfortable questions—and compels her to take a journey through her family’s long-hidden history, on a path that will ultimately lead either to devastation or redemption.
Based on one of America’s most notorious real-life scandals—in which Georgia Tann, director of a Memphis-based adoption organization, kidnapped and sold poor children to wealthy families all over the country—Wingate’s riveting, wrenching, and ultimately uplifting tale reminds us how, even though the paths we take can lead to many places, the heart never forgets where we belong.
About the Author:
Lisa Wingate is a former journalist, an inspirational speaker, and the bestselling author of more than twenty novels. Her work has won or been nominated for many awards, including the Pat Conroy Southern Book Prize, the Oklahoma Book Award, the Utah Library Award, the Carol Award, the Christy Award, and the RT Reviewers’ Choice Award. Her work was honored by the Americans for More Civility for promoting greater kindness and civility in American life. Lisa and her family live among the tall pines in the Ouichita Mountains.
Now it’s your turn!
Grab the book nearest to you and leave a comment with the first line. To see what First Lines others are sharing this week head over to Hoarding Books.
I’ve heard amazing things about this one too. It’s on my never-ending TBR pile!
I’m featuring ‘No Less Days’ by Amanda G. Stevens on my blog today, but right now I’m reading ‘Presumption and Partiality’ by Rebekah Jones–a Pride & Prejudice retelling set in 1930s Arizona!
The sun beat down cheerfully on that last day of August in the year 1932.
Have a great weekend 🙂
The never-ending TBR… #thestruggleisreal lol
I’m curious to check this one out. 🙂
I’m featuring As Bright as Heaven on my blog today, but I’ll share the first line from another on my TBR pile here, Quo Vadis: “Petronius woke only about midday, and as usual greatly wearied.”
This book was powerful. Enjoy it!
My TBR pile includes The Theory of Happily Ever After by Kristin Billerbeck. The first line: “Life is filled with irony.”
Happy Friday!
Thanks you too!
Over on my blog I’m sharing the first line from Becky Wade’s Falling for You. I’ll share with you here the first line from a book I recently read and enjoyed “Amongst the Roses” by Meghan M. Gorecki
“Papa’s Home!” A nameless shiver of dread worked its way up Margaret Bryant’s spine, causing her fingers to shake as she checked the chatelaine watch at her waist.”
I just got a copy of that book too! Currently on the TBR
Happy Friday! I have this one too n my TBR mountain!! Someday……..
My FLF comes from a book I’m going to be reading shortly, The Good Daughter by Diane Chamberlain…….
No one wanted to work with the man in the wheelchair . “There’s something strange about that guy,” one of my fellow students warned me in the hall outside the PT ward. “If they try to assign you to him, say no.”
Have a great weekend and happy reading!📚😀
My mom told me she purchased me a copy of “Before We Were Yours” this morning because I’ve been wanting to read it for a while now. I’ve heard it’s really good!
I’m featuring “Beneath a Prairie Moon” by Kim Vogel Sawyer on the blog today, but I’m going to share about the book I’m currently reading called “The Story Peddler” by Lindsay A. Franklin.
Colored ribbons of light poured from my fingers. One strand broke free and soared above the crowd’s head, glowing golden in the afternoon sun.
Have a great weekend and happy reading! 🙂
Oo you have a nice mom! My relationship is a little flipped with my mom… I keep HER stocked up on books bc she waits to see which ones I like lol. Have a great weekend and happy reading!
Haha, well the funny thing is she caught me by surprise because she doesn’t usually buy books for me. I think she was mostly just happy that I contacted one of the places she wants me to apply for a job at. Haha.
Happy Friday!!!! I’m so excited for the weekend.
I’m sharing the first line from The Weaver’s Daughter by Sarah E. Ladd over on my blog today. Here, I will post the first line from a YA novel I teach to my 9th Honors English students — Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin,
“The end came quickly, and there wasn’t any pain.”
I love that line! Happy friday!
Thanks you too!
What an interesting first line! It makes me want to read more. 🙂 Happy Friday!
That sounds interesting! Thank you for sharing that!
Happy Friday! My first line is from Miss Wilton’s Waltz by Josi S. Kilpack, which will be released May 1st:
“As a vicar’s daughter, Lenora knew that doing the right thing was not always easy, in fact it was rarely so.”
The cover is so cute!! I love it!
And the first line is so intriguing!!
Happy Friday!
xo | http://www.sarahjuneblog.com
Sounds like a nice book. On my blog, I am featuring Mail-Order Revenge by Angela K. Couch. Here I will share the first line of chapter five from the book I’m currently reading, His Substitute Wife by Dorothy Clark. “‘Thank you.’ Blake looked up and snagged Audrey’s gaze with his. ‘It feels odd, having you pour my coffee.'” Wishing you a wonderful weekend.
Thanks you too! 🙂
You MUST read the book about Georgia Tann, if you have not yet. It is absolutely heart-wrenching, but those children deserve to be remembered as best we can – who knows how many children were really stolen from their families who wanted to keep them. So tragic.
What’s it called? Is it by the same author?
This was a brilliant book! I hope you agree 🙂
Over on my blog I’m sharing from Where Hope Begins by Catherine West … which I finished about four hours after starting it.
I’m now reading A Daring Venture by Elizabeth Camden. Here’s the first line of the Prologue:
“You and your brother are to go to the music room, close the door, and don’t come out until I say you can.”
Have a great weekend!
Thanks you too! 🙂
This one’s on my radar 😀 I’m sharing from my current read, The Backcountry Brides Romance Collection from Barbour Books, on my blog today. So here is the first line from the prologue of a book I plan to read soon, The Lost Castle by Kristy Cambron:
“Crumbling walls were rare, beautiful things.”
Have a great weekend!
The Lost Castle was amazing!!! The author announced the title for the second book this week and is revealing the cover next week to people who signed up for her newsletter 😁 Happy reading!