Review: All the Children Are Home by Patry Francis

Publisher: Harper Perennial

Published: April 13, 2021

Source: Publisher

Summary:

A sweeping saga in the vein of Ask Again, Yes following a foster family through almost a decade of dazzling triumph and wrenching heartbreak—from the author of The Orphans at Race Point.

Set in the late 1950s through 1960s in a small town in Massachusetts, All the Children Are Home follows the Moscatelli family—Dahlia and Louie, foster parents, and their long-term foster children Jimmy, Zaidie, and Jon—and the irrevocable changes in their lives when a six-year-old indigenous girl, Agnes, is comes to live with them..

When Dahlia decided to become a foster mother, she had a few caveats: no howling newborns, no delinquents, and above all, no girls. A harrowing incident years before left her a virtual prisoner in her own home, forever wary of the heartbreak and limitation of a girl’s life.

Eleven years after they began fostering, the Moscatellis are raising three children as their own and Dahlia and Louie consider their family complete, but when the social worker begs them to take a young girl who has been horrifically abused and neglected, they can’t say no.

Six-year-old Agnes Juniper arrives with no knowledge of her Native American heritage or herself beyond a box of trinkets given to her by her mother and dreamlike memories of her sister. Before long, this stranger in their midst has strengthened the bond in this unusual family, showing them how to contend with outside forces that want to tear them apart. Heartfelt and enthralling, All the Children Are Home is a moving testament to how love can survive in the face of devastating losses.

My thoughts:

This is the first book I’ve read by Patry Francis and it will definitely not be the last. Her writing is so beautiful and this is the type of book that you just want to hug when you are done…it’s just so endearing and emotional all the way through.

I happen to love character-driven novels and this is one of the most incredible ones I’ve read in a while. This one got under my skin in the best way possible – I didn’t want to leave these characters in the end…I wanted this story to keep going and I love when I find books like that. I became so attached to these characters, to the Moscatellis and Agnes Juniper that it was like they were part of my own family.

This book takes a look at the foster care system – the ins and outs of it and the effects of growing up a foster care child. I was immediately taken with Agnes Juniper – if only I could have taken her in myself, I would have in a heart beat! I loved the way the story was told from alternating characters, allowing us to really get to know each and every person in this book, and giving us a chance to see just how the foster care system has impacted them but more importantly how having a family and support system has made them stronger.

I cannot recommend this one enough. If you like character-driven novels, of characters rising up from difficult circumstances, or even just books about unconditional love, then this is a book for you!