Sold on a Monday: A Novel

An actual photo discovered from 1948, led to this story of a news photographer and a newsroom secretary set this depression-era story off, with several side trips to explore a relationship that frankly, felt disruptive and unnecessary to the plot. Ellis Reed is a newly-minted employee of a newspaper in 1931 – it’s the Depression, jobs, money and opportunity are hard to find and he’s determined to make his mark. When he’s chasing a story in a small town, his car breaks down… it is then that a decision he makes with a photograph that he snaps of two young boys sitting on a rundown porch holding a sign, 2 Children for Sale. The instant implications and questions of that scene are somewhat blithely pushed aside by a quote from Elliott Erwitt, “Photography is the art of observation. It has little to do with things you see and everything to do with the way you see them”, a bit of this remove from the scene is transferred almost subconsciously into Ellis, and that remove informs near every move, mistake, and interaction he has from that point forward for me. Back in the newsroom there is Lillian, the secretary and single mother, struggling to keep a roof and outshine the stigma of her own mistakes and missteps, she’s intrigued by Ellis and while the two have huge obstacles of trust, truth and purpose that they approach from different ends of the spectrum, the photograph both separates and brings them together. However, from my perspective, while I could grab onto their questions that Ellis’ photograph (and his subsequent spin into a story of the times with all of the associated questions about loss, choice and never-before experienced hardships seemed to fall to the side as they explored their “relationship’ and often dropped their focus on the actual and very real crisis at their doorstep, in fact, at the doorstep of near everyone at the time. What started as a story that should have produced a never-ending series of questions, emotional and complex choices, and perhaps some information about where the children went, if they went, and were they able to find some improvement in their own circumstances? These are questions, and choices, that could have had some sort of resolution and connection, actual palpable connection, to the couple that is so forcibly placed at the center of the story, without really ever seeming as if their story was enough: bold enough, dramatic enough, or even intriguing enough to overshadow the crisis in the photograph – or the many instances of similar ‘Sophie’s choice’ decisions made by parents hit hardest by the poverty, famine and weather that conspired against them. I was disappointed that this story didn’t hit harder where the heartbreaking and often last-choice options were taken by those who literally ripped their lives and families apart to provide some nebulous something for children they couldn’t afford to feed, house or care for – and just where (and how) those traumas effected those children. Intriguing if you want the lighter and fluffier sort of ‘pass over something you weren’t aware of’ moment in history to provide a backdrop for a romance, but for me, this was a miss – a decent story that could have been a favorite had the focus been on the history unfolding in a photograph rather than the steps and missteps of a newly developing relationship because of the changes and upheavals. I received an eArc copy of the title from the publisher via NetGalley for purpose of honest review. I was not compensated for this review: all conclusions are my own responsibility.

I was looking forward to reading this book as it was at a discounted price off $1.99 on Bookbub but when I went to Google books the price is advertised as $13.74. I don't mind paying that however it is false advertising. If it is $1.99 on certain apps then it needs to be in the description.

This is one of those books that will keep you guessing. Even when you have read the last page you will be shaking your head. The story, as explained in the description, came to life from an actual picture posted in 1948 in the Valparaiso-Messenger news paper. The image of children with a for sale sign in front of them, stunned the world. The novel starts in a hospital waiting room. “From the tiled floor came a shrill scrape, a chair being dragged in my direction. Tiny hairs rose on the back of my neck from more than the sound. Upon learning of my involvement, an officer had warned me a detective would soon be here to talk. That man now sat down to face me.”....”Then I heard “Can you tell me how it all started?” …..”It Started with a picture.” We don't get back to this statement until toward the very end of the story. By then so much has happened, I was taken aback when I started to read it a second time. I love it when an author tells you the back story and what caused her to write this specific story. Kristina does a wonderful job of this at the end of Sold On A Monday. She fills in some of the gaps and explains things we may not have known or noticed. Please, take the time to read it, you won't be sorry. I found this to be a very sad story, for the most part. But Kristina has a way of bringing light and hope even into this heartbreaking tale. You find yourself after just the first pages being taken on an unforgettable journey. Her characters are so authentic, you find yourself pulling for them. This book kept my interest right from the start. I would recommend this book. I received a complementary copy from Sourcebooks Landmark through NetGalleys. The opinions expressed in this book are my own.