Review of The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson by Ellen Baker

I loved this book, and I urge you to read it!  The main character is, obviously, Cecily Larson, who was left by her mom at an orphanage in Chicago when she was four.  Her mom had good intentions, but for some reason we never learn about, she never returns for poor little Cecily.  But wait!  It’s okay because, when she is eight, a portly middle-aged man comes and—what?—buys her, takes her, adopts her?  One or all of those, and off she goes to her new life as the little sis and performer to Isabelle DuMonde, bareback rider extraordinaire.

Then what, then what…oh, the life this woman lived, and really, three or four women’s lives combine into one as she bounces from one set of circumstances to another.

Fast-forward to present day—actually, 2015—and her young grandson decides to do a study of his genealogy for a school project.  Unbeknownst to 94-year-old Cecily, her DNA sample is shipped off with the rest of her family’s, and what a can of worms the subsequent report opens…because it seems that Cecily has been keeping secrets from her daughter and granddaughter, and while she may have been planning to take those secrets to her grave, that little DNA sample changes everything.

Although I’d like to spill the beans, I won’t be a spoiler, so you’ll have to read this excellent novel to see how Cecily’s life unfolded, and how her family takes the news once it’s revealed.  Do we really know who we are and where we come from?  What family secrets are lurking, ready to be exposed?  Honestly, by the time I was done reading, I was beginning to wonder if I was adopted!  The book is really good, and it’s well worth the read.

One little thing, though, which almost made me give up after the first twenty pages:  the type is tiny, and you’d better read in bright light.  After about a hundred pages, I was used to it, and so I wasn’t bothered.  Seriously, though, I wish the publisher had used a larger font.  I would have liked the book even more had that been the case!

Anyhow, please give this a try.  It’s truly an entertaining story, one I couldn’t put down.  I give it four stars.

Did you like the book? I’d love to know! Please leave a comment.

Thank you.

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