Really interesting and well written. I had not heard of the Richmond Theater Fire before and I thought especially the story of Gilbert Hunt was incredible. I liked the 4 perspectives and while certainly devastating and awful, it was well done and felt realistic.

It is crazy how that single event and its aftermath shows quite clearly in multiple forms how the depravity of people saving their own skin is the cost of someone else’s. It was so heartbreaking. You have to hope that learning from history like this helps us do better.

The Hidden Child is such a perceptive look at how we value other people as human beings, how we view ourselves, and the need to fight for others rather than judging what we don’t understand. And what we choose to believe at face value when data can be so easily manipulated towards a bias, rather than doing our own reevaluation.

Eugenics is such a dangerous view. We’ve all seen it from Hitler’s reign of terror and hate but Ms Fein shows how much it was subversively laced in America, Britain, and other countries pre-WW2. It lumps people who aren’t “perfect” (whatever that means) or having desirable genetics and intelligence into this “Undesirable” category and therefore, not valuable and not necessary. However, at what extent is that line drawn? How perfect do you have to be? And as is pointed out in the book, you also begin to “wonder whose right it should be to decide what is a valuable human life.” Eugenics strips humanity from an individual diagnosis. There are so many people who are or who know someone that would fall in their category of “deficient” but their lives and those around them have been enriched to have them, and thru all the hardship, resilience and joy they often bring.

Ms Fein also does a great job showing a mother’s love and fight for her child, no matter what value someone else puts on her.

There were times the book dragged a bit towards the middle, which is really my only detractor in my review. It was both at times a sad and hopeful book watching Eleanor’s struggle to sort out what she’s believed thus far compared to what her mama heart is telling her, and hoping and fighting for Mabel as well as not giving up on her family as a whole.

Thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Well written and interesting reading about a very different culture in India with obstacles the women faced. It was sad to me that so many of the women treated each other out of spite or jealousy, essentially ruining their lives when so much was already against them. And the men who treated them carelessly and cruelly with no repercussions.

The younger sister was hard to swallow. It seemed a little bit extreme at how much she switched from desperate to petulant. I enjoyed how Lakshimi was able to reinvent herself a few times and Malik was probably my favorite character in the book.

“Life can be beautiful if you make it beautiful” - such an inspiring story of survival, of learning to hope, and explaining that happiness can be a choice, but is a part of what we give to others thru kindness and love.

As a mother of girls, this was both hard to put down and yet difficult to read. While it’s a fictional story, I realize so much of the realities of the professional/elite gymnastic world - and some aspects also in other professional sports - is accurately portrayed in the book. How much the girls destroy their bodies as a requirement, how coaches, doctors, etc take advantage of them and abuse them is horrifying, parents become as much of the obsession as their kids... and all especially because you know it really does happen.

As a mom, you want the best for your daughters and while you want to teach them determination and perseverance and commitment, there can become this fine line that quickly blurs into obsession and unhealthy ambition. And as with Sera’s mom, not only in gymnastics but life in general, too many parents to try to live vicariously thru their kids instead of helping them find that balance and identity in who they are and not what they do. The author brought valuable focus on aspects like how much kids need honest and open conversations with their parents as well, and what happens when that’s lacking; how much friends need to have each other’s backs; and the value of integrity even at your own risk.

I loved how the author showed the dangers but also the intense effort and skill these girls put into it, while bringing to light the horrific dark side of the gymnastic world. Well written and great story.

Thank you to Netgalley for the advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.