The Forgotten Orphan is described as ‘A moving and compelling historical novel about love, second chances and resilience in the darkest of times’ and it’s certainly that, and much more.

Maisie Reynolds has spent most of her life being treated shamefully in Holly Bush orphanage in Southampton, where she was separated from her beloved brother, Jack when they were four and he was adopted but she was left behind. It’s now 1940 and the Second World War is bringing death and destruction ever closer into her world.

When her best friends Charlie and his girlfriend, Joyce persuade Maisie to join them at her first dance, she meets Canadian paratrooper, Cam. He is unlike anyone else that Maisie has come across. Having spent a lifetime being cruelly treated, handsome Cam’s gentle and respectful ways draw Maisie to him, and the two of them soon become close. But as Maisie struggles to cope with life at Holly Bush and the changes that the war brings, she also feels the need to discover who she is and where she came from. She’s desperate to trace her twin brother, but with little support and seemingly everything against her, her search seems impossible.

The Forgotten Orphan is truly an emotive read. You’ll probably need a tissue, or two, to wipe away your tears, I know I certainly did. When I began reading this book I had only meant to read a couple of chapters, but ended up reading into the early hours because I simply could not stop reading until the end. This book transported me back to the nineteen-forties when people didn’t know if they would see their loved ones ever again, or even if their home would be standing by the following morning. The horrors of war and its effects on the men, women and children of Britain were brilliantly depicted in this book. Maisie’s struggle is heart-breaking and compelling, and although I couldn’t imagine coping with all that she did, I willed her to keep going.

The Forgotten Orphan is out now and is a heart-stopping, emotional read that will make you smile, gasp and sob; I loved it!

Thanks to NetGalley and One More Chapter for an ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.