All the Children are Home

Patry Francis

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.

-Excerpt taken from Goodreads.

Check Goodreads to see the book’s ratings.

My Opinion

4 out of 5 stars (4 / 5) While this book is about fostering in the 1950-1960’s, I found it to be so much more. I think the charm behind this was the home this family created despite their different backgrounds. It became a very ordinary home that was created with extraordinary circumstances.

In this family they knew they were loved. There was never a doubt. Being able to do that in a foster home is commendable to the mother and father. Every child needs to grow up feeling loved and accepted. I liked being able to hear about their lives before fostering and even the father’s doubts and concerns. We hear many POV’s and I liked the author’s way of showing how each person was affected and how they felt.

It’s truly a book about love, a family made and the effort those go through to show love.

Content Summary: Minimal language, talk of child abuse and neglect (no real details), sexual assault (modest details), alcoholism, heartbreak of kids coming and going within the family.

Thank you to Harper Perennial for the gifted copy in exchange for an honest review. This book releases April 13, 2021.

**As an Amazon associate I earn from qualifying purchases. 

4 Comments

  1. Fostering and adopting is so hard for both the parents and the child. It would be interesting to read a story like this – even if it’s fiction based ❤️

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