Carrie Turansky
Multnomah, 2021
368 pages
Amazon Description: In 1909, Grace McAlister set sail for Canada as one of the thousands of British Home Children taken from their families and their homeland. Though she is fortunate enough to be adopted by wealthy parents, the secrets of her past are kept hidden for ten years until someone from her long-buried childhood arrives on her doorstep. With this new connection to her birth family, will she be brave enough to leave her sheltered life in Toronto and uncover the truth?
After enduring hardship as an indentured British Home Child, Garth McAlister left Canada to serve in World War I. His sweetheart, Emma Lafferty, promised to wait for his return, but after three long years apart, her letters suddenly stopped. When Garth arrives home from the war to unexpected news, he is determined to return to Canada once more on a daunting mission to find the two women he refuses to abandon—his long-lost sister and his mysteriously missing sweetheart.
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Thanks to Multnomah for sending me a copy of No Journey Too Far in exchange for an honest review.
I know many readers have been anxious to read the rest of the story and its finally here! As with the the previous book in this two-part series, No Ocean Too Wide, we follow the McAlister family as they search for the last missing sibling and attempt to reunite the family that was ripped apart years earlier. While I do think you will enjoy this book more if you read the other book first, No Journey Too Far does stand on it’s own if you don’t feel like taking on a multi-book commitment.
What I liked about this book is the hopeful tone even when the situation is far from ideal. Seeing each character overcoming their circumstances and looking forward in faith to a bright future is very satisfying. I also liked that the author highlighted the prejudices that followed British Home Children into adulthood. The injustice of this is almost unfathomable since many of the children that were brought to Canada through this program weren’t even orphans, as in the case of the McAlisters, and worked hard to build a new life for themselves as they grew.
The history and true stories that inspired this novel are the most fascinating part to me. If you aren’t familiar with the British Home Children I recommend picking up both No Ocean Too Wide and No Journey Too Far. They are simultaneously heart-warming and heart-breaking, and will leave you rooting for the children and their families.
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