Book Synopsis:
In 1924, four-year-old Cecily Larson’s mother reluctantly drops her off at an orphanage in Chicago, promising to be back once she’s made enough money to support both Cecily and herself. But she never returns, and shortly after high-spirited Cecily turns seven, she is sold to a traveling circus to perform as the “little sister” to glamorous bareback rider Isabelle DuMonde. With Isabelle and the rest of the circus, Cecily finally feels she’s found the family she craves. But as the years go by, the cracks in her little world begin to show. And when teenage Cecily meets and falls in love with a young roustabout named Lucky, she finds her life thrown onto an entirely unexpected—and dangerous—course.
In 2015, Cecily is now 94 and living a quiet life in Minnesota, with her daughter, granddaughter, and great-grandson. But when her family decides to surprise her with an at-home DNA test, the unexpected results not only bring to light the tragic love story that Cecily has kept hidden for decades but also throw into question everything about the family she’s raised and claimed as her own for nearly seventy years. Cecily and everyone in her life must now decide who they really are and what family—and forgiveness—really mean.
Sweeping through a long period of contemporary history, The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson is an immersive, compelling, and entertaining family drama centered around one remarkable woman and her determination to survive.
My Review:
The Hidden Life Of Cecily Larson is an absorbing, emotional read that I thoroughly enjoyed. In this book we follow Cecily through three main periods of her life from childhood through to 94. These are all divided into three timelines which are clearly marked at the beginning of the chapter making it easy to distinguish between them. Out of the three I much preferred the two earlier timelines as one follows Cecily’s life in a travelling circus and the other her experiences during the second world war. I thought the circus scenes were especially great to read about as the author’s vivid descriptions made me feel like I was actually there watching the show alongside the audience. It also made me nostalgic for childhood visits to the circus which I always loved.
The author has created some brilliant character’s in this book which I quickly grew fond of. My favourite character was definitely Cecily who I quickly grew to care for as she goes through so much in her life. Her strength and tenacity (even in old age) was wonderful to read about, making me wish I knew her in real life as I’d love to be able to hear all her stories. Her daughter’s were also interesting to follow, especially with how they deal with the different problems in their lives. Their obvious love and respect for Cecily was beautiful to see as was how much they seek out her opinion on things.
Overall I absolutely loved this book and have continued thinking about it long after reading. The pace was perhaps a bit slow for the first half of the book but it soon speeds up and becomes very gripping indeed. I loved seeing the three timelines came together and seeing the amazing life that Cecily had lived. There were many twist in the story which kept me guessing and actually took the story in a completely different direction then I was expecting which I always love.
Huge thanks to Anne from Random Things Tours for inviting me onto the blog tour and to harper for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
Ellen Baker is the author of the novels THE HIDDEN LIFE OF CECILY LARSON, KEEPING THE HOUSE, and I GAVE MY HEART TO KNOW THIS. She has worked as a museum curator and as a bookseller and event coordinator at an independent bookstore. Originally from the Upper Midwest, she currently lives on the coast of Maine.
Over The Rainbow Blog 
This sounds fantastic!
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Thanks for the blog tour support x
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