The French Girl by Felicia Donovan
The French Girl by Felicia Donovan
Summary
Left orphaned when her mother dies and her sister is taken into custody, Etoile finds herself being placed with Giselle, a distant cousin. Here she learns to overcome the prejudices of her upbringing, and those of people around her, towards the nature of her cousin’s ‘unusual circumstances’. But Etoile’s happiness is threatened when the State decides that Giselle and her partner Jean are not suitable parents. In her battle to stay with these two women, Etoile also discovers the meaning of family.
Review
This is a heart-warming tale that is bound to leave you with a tear on your cheek at the end. By seeing the story through the eyes of Etoile, the reader is first forced to deal with the ugly prejudices bestowed upon her by her mother, and then has the pleasure of seeing these broken down as she finds love and warmth within her new family. This technique also gives us a sense of the struggles that Giselle and Jean face. It is an engrossing story and although there is a lot of darkness in the lives of these characters as Etoile is protected from the worst of it so is the reader.
★★★★☆
Why you’ll like it
Etoile’s tale stays with you after the last page, as will the questions of ‘what makes a family’.
Why you won’t
You may disagree with the premise.
