I've read most of Ms. Bratt's books by now and I thought (quite mistakenly) that I couldn't possibly learn anything new about the Chinese adoption/child services. While her other stories def touch on the abuse of the system and the conditions of the orphanages, none of them really went into the details this story does. As the heroine travels to China to search for answers, readers learn about the orphanage systems: how they bathe the children, feed the children, how the sick doesn't get the healthcare they need, why they do some of the things they do that we may construe as abuse or neglect.There's one scene in particular that really impacted me, in which we meet a young girl who was badly crippled on purpose for begging purposes. I'll never forget this. Ever.
Besides being educational, there's also an underlying feeling of suspense and at times, thrill. Mia's search for why she was abandoned as a baby leads to her hiding on a ledge six stories up while her room is ransacked and also takes her to a secret group called The Finders. I loved the mystery and the quest to get answers.
There's a romance, but it's very subtle, no "juicy" details. It's very clean and doesn't get very in depth.
And as normal with a Bratt novel, there's a moral, at least to me. Others may not read what I read. We all interpret things differently, but to me the moral was about how quick we are to assume the worst. For whatever reason, we may think we are not loved...and yet we couldn't be far from the truth. That's all I'll say about that.
Terrific read. Some minor irritations, such as change of tense/POV suddenly and just little things that I was a tad confused about at times.
I think this was a freebie on Amazon. I may have bought it. I don't remember. Sorry, FTC.
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