Lizzie Page

I've loved all of the books in the Shilling Grange series by Lizzie Page but all good things must come to an end and so it is that An Orphan's Wish, book five, is the final instalment. However, it couldn't have been better and I closed the book with a very satisfied look on my face and a tear in my eye.

We return again to the children's home in Suffolk where Clara Newton is the housemother. After a shaky start there in 1948, we're now in 1953 and Clara is a dab hand (most of the time) at dealing with all that 'her' children throw at her. She's also planning her wedding to Ivor (at long last!) but nothing ever seems to go entirely to plan for Clara and floods on the east coast seem, for a while at least, like they might derail the rest of Clara's life.

I found myself thinking back nostalgically to book one, when Clara and Ivor first met, and the ups and downs of their relationship since. It's felt like I know all the characters, the adults and the children. Little Peg with no speech (oh Peg!), tricky but charming Clifford (who I really hoped would reappear) - each child has had the opportunity to build up their personalities over the course of the series and so I was thrilled to read the "Where are they now" section at the end which made them seem even more real to me.

I LOVE Lizzie Page's writing style. The wry observations never fail to make me smile and the characterisations are brilliant. I have been thoroughly immersed in 1950s Suffolk, the austere post-war years and I really felt for Clara with her dilemma of wanting to be a wife to Ivor but not wanting to give up her job at Shilling Grange.

An Orphan's Wish is full of heart and soul, life and joy, heartbreak and love. I'm sad to leave it all behind but am so so glad I read these truly wonderful books.… (más)

FROM AMAZON: Shilling Grange Orphanage, England, 1949. She would do anything to protect the innocent children in her care. But soon they could be sent into danger…

When Clara Newton’s fiancé died during World War Two, she thought her life was over. But now she looks after orphans who, like her, lost everything during the war. Children like sweet little Peg who won’t speak, and Joyce whose body was scarred by polio. Clara loves them all dearly, even though life as a housemother can be lonely – especially now that Ivor, a D-Day war hero with dark brown eyes who once helped with the children, has disappeared…

But then Clara receives some terrible news. The orphanage is going to be sold and the children sent far away. Joyce and Peg will be taken to a notorious home for disabled children. The others will be sent to Australia, where Clara fears they will be mistreated by unknown families. Any day now, the children could lose everything she worked so hard to provide…

With wealthy buyers lined up to purchase Shilling Grange and a ship already docked waiting to carry the children away, Clara is desperate. She must find loving new homes for them quickly, but time is running out… Can she save the orphans before they lose everything all over again? And even if Ivor returns when she needs him the most, will it be too late?… (más)

I am loving these books, they are so filled with historical events, characters to love and hate, and once I start, I can't be stop. Highly recommended.

FROM AMAZON: Shilling Grange Orphanage, England, 1949. She would do anything to protect the innocent children in her care. But soon they could be sent into danger…

When Clara Newton’s fiancé died during World War Two, she thought her life was over. But now she looks after orphans who, like her, lost everything during the war. Children like sweet little Peg who won’t speak, and Joyce whose body was scarred by polio. Clara loves them all dearly, even though life as a housemother can be lonely – especially now that Ivor, a D-Day war hero with dark brown eyes who once helped with the children, has disappeared…

But then Clara receives some terrible news. The orphanage is going to be sold and the children sent far away. Joyce and Peg will be taken to a notorious home for disabled children. The others will be sent to Australia, where Clara fears they will be mistreated by unknown families. Any day now, the children could lose everything she worked so hard to provide…

With wealthy buyers lined up to purchase Shilling Grange and a ship already docked waiting to carry the children away, Clara is desperate. She must find loving new homes for them quickly, but time is running out… Can she save the orphans before they lose everything all over again? And even if Ivor returns when she needs him the most, will it be too late?… (más)

Started this book and I cannot put it down! There are so many people who are hurting in our world and so many willing to hurt others. Then along comes some who willing to help those hurting and they find so many roadblocks, but hope and love can usually find a way. Highly recommended.

FROM AMAZON: Shilling Grange Orphanage, England, 1948. She was their only hope. Now they are hers. A gritty, heartbreaking and unforgettable story of love and hope in the darkest of times.

Clara Newton is the new Housemother of Shilling Grange Orphanage. Many of the children have been bombed out of their homes and left without families, their lives torn apart by the war, just like Clara’s. Devastated by the loss of her fiancé, a brave American pilot, she is just looking for a place to start again.

But the orphans are in desperate need of her help. Funds are short, children cry out in the night, and tearful. Rita tells Clara terrible stories about the nuns who previously ran Shilling Grange. Clara cannot bear to see them suffer, but what does she know about how to look after eight little ones?

Clara can’t get anything right, and then she accidentally ruins Rita’s only memento of her mother. Overwhelmed, she wonders if they’d be better off without her. But she’s not completely alone. Living next door is Ivor: ex-Shilling Grange resident, war hero, and handyman with deep brown eyes. He doesn’t trust Clara and she is fiercely independent, but he has a way with the children. And with his support and the help of other locals, Clara begins to find her way.

As she heals from her grief and adjusts to her new life, Clara wonders if she has finally found her home and family among the orphans. Can she find the strength to fight for them when nobody else will? And dare she open her heart to love again?… (más)