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Book Review of The Linnet Bird

The Linnet Bird
The Linnet Bird
Author: Linda Holeman
Genre: Literature & Fiction
Book Type: Paperback
cloverluv avatar reviewed on + 129 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1


The Linnet Bird
By
Linda Holeman

At age 11 Linnet Gow is forced into prostitution by her evil stepfather and after one terrifying night that leaves her scarred but with new determination Linny escapes to freedom.

Reduced to doing the only thing she knows how to do, sell her body, Linny joins a group of prostitutes and saves her money to eventually buy herself passage to America so she can build her life there, free from the rough and nasty English streets that she has only known.

After working an overly rough customer one night however Linny finds herself hurt and falls into the kindly hands of Shaker, a would-be-doctor who has nothing left to offer but his kindness. By passing her off as his cousin, Linny manages to escape poverty and makes a name for herself as a lady, if a low-bred one.

After making friends with Faith, a plucky, free-spirited and well-off girl, the two ladies head for India, their goal, for Faith at least, to find husbands. India however turns out to smother Linny despite its beauty and exoticness. Through a chance encounter with a ghost from her past Linny soon finds herself in a loveless marriage and though it threatens to crush her spirit, she finds a way to survive and eventually, thrive.

Despite an admittedly cliché plot: Spirited girl cant conform to society, The Linnet Bird was engaging. Holemans descriptions and plot twists keeps the reader wanting more. I was genuinely sad when this book ended. Id built a relationship with Linny and always wanted more for her despite the fact that she was a less-than-loveable heroine.

Holeman truly does have the ability to create pictures with words, and this is reason enough to pick up The Linnet Bird.