The Orphan Sisters by Shirley Dickson

I hit the jackpot at the library book sale a couple months ago and was saving several of those for ski trips.  I always prefer to take books I own on vacation, just in case! The Orphan Sisters was one of those awesome library sale finds, so I started it on my last Vail trip. 

The dual timeline novel features sisters, Dorothy and Etty, who are abandoned by their mother at an orphanage in 1929. They are sure it is a temporary situation, but as more days pass, they realize their mother will not be returning for them. 

In 1940, the girls have grown to young women and aged out of the orphanage. As they struggle to make sense of their pasts and hope for a brighter future with friends and families of their own, World War 2 threatens the happiness they have tried to create.

The sisters' journey is just heartbreaking. The girls endure so much from the time they are small children and one just keeps hoping that they will finally receive the break in life they so dearly deserve.  I was really impressed to discover that The Orphan Sisters is the author's debut novel; it is amazingly strong for a first novel.

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