The Lost Girls of Willowbrook by Ellen Marie Wiseman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
A shocking discovery of her twin sister’s fate sends Sage on the way to the most chilling place on Staten Island, Willowbrook. Driven by an eagerness to find and help her sister, unknowingly Sage walks into a hell on earth. And a spread-of-the-moment visit to Willowbrook is going to change her fate.
It has been a few days since I finished the novel, and I still have full-body chills. The treatment of mentally challenged children that was described in the novel was disturbing. This book is a work of fiction, however, the novel is based on real-life facts about the Willowbrook State School which has been a dumping ground for unwanted children. The physical abuse, neglect, and other mistreatments of the children are thoroughly incorporated into the book. It is not an easy read, and I give full credit to the author for the courage to bring back the story from the 1960s and remind us of the horrors of the so-called “institution” for children with an intellectual disabilities.
Thank you, NetGalley for an advanced copy of the novel in exchange for my honest review.
View all my reviews
Alina's Reading Corner 