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Writer's pictureMicheleReader

The Lost Girls of Willowbrook - a heartbreaking story based on a true house of horrors.

It is 1971 and sixteen-year-old Sage Winters accidently learns that her twin sister Rosemary did not die six years before as she had been told. She discovers that her sister has been a resident of the infamous Willowbrook State School in Staten Island, New York. And now she is missing. Sage heads to the school by bus to find her sister. When she sneaks into the school, the staff believes she is Rosemary and Sage is mistakenly made a resident in place of her sister. Willowbrook, she learns, is not a school. It is a house of horrors where children with a wide range of mental and behavioral problems have been placed and treated inhumanely. Now Sage is not only seeking to learn what happened to her sister but has to try and save herself.


This is a tragic story based on a true place that had existed between 1947 and 1987. Having been raised in New York City, it took me back to when it was revealed in a major investigative news piece what was truly going on at Willowbrook State School. The public was outraged. This was not an easy book to read but was well worth it. Author Ellen Marie Wiseman tells a powerful story of a girl's quest to find her sister. It will break your heart and if you have never heard of Willowbrook, you'll want to learn more.


Many thanks to Kensington Books for the opportunity to read The Lost Girls of Willowbrook in advance of its release.


Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Historical Fiction.

Publication Date: August 30, 2022.


Please "like" this post if The Lost Girls of Willowbrook sounds like a book you might like to read. I'd love to know. Scroll below the photo and click on the red outlined heart on the lower right-hand side of the page. Comments can also be left below.





5 Comments


Murphy Smith
Feb 09, 2023

Amazing book!

But by any chance, does anybody know if Sage Winters was a real person?

I just can't tell!

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Phyllis Pisanelli
Phyllis Pisanelli
Sep 07, 2022

Great review! This is on my list to read. My husband was raised in New York and this drew my interest. I'm glad to see you rated it so high.

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MicheleReader
MicheleReader
Sep 11, 2022
Replying to

Thanks!! I'll never forget when the news about this horrible place broke.

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Linda Moore
Linda Moore
Sep 05, 2022

Very good review. I really enjoyed this book also.

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MicheleReader
MicheleReader
Sep 05, 2022
Replying to

Thanks!!

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