Sold on a Monday

A Novel

By: Kristina McMorris

Narrated by: Brian Hutchison

Length: 9 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

A picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes the story behind the picture is worth a thousand more.

2 CHILDREN FOR SALE.

In 1931, near Philadelphia, ambitious reporter Ellis Reed photographs the gut-wrenching sign posted beside a pair of siblings on a farmhouse porch. With the help of newspaper secretary Lily Palmer, Ellis writes an article to accompany the photo. Capturing the hardships of American families during the Great Depression, the feature story generates national attention and Ellis's career skyrockets.

But the piece also leads to consequences more devastating than he and Lily ever imagined - and it will risk everything they value to unravel the mystery and set things right.

Inspired by a newspaper photo that stunned readers throughout the country, Sold on a Monday is a powerful novel of ambition, redemption, love, and family.

©2018 Kristina McMorris (P)2018 Recorded Books

Excellent storytelling

Kristina McMorris has crafted an excellent story of heartache, the power of an image, and desperate times. Ellis Reed is a reporter and photographer for the Philadelphia Examiner. On his way back from an assignment, a sign catches his eye, "2 Children for Sale" and two young boys sitting in front of a house. He snaps a photo of them, one he never intended to see in print, but it's found by the paper's secretary Lily Palmer. She shows it to the editor, and he wants the story. Another photo is taken, the truth gets a little stretched, and Lily and Ellis find themselves in a moral dilemma. I could not stop listening to this story. I had to find out what happened. The story is told from both Lily and Ellis' POV. The narrator is a male, Brian Hutchison, and I think that was an excellent choice. It gives the story a little bit more of the male perspective, a 1930's reporter feel, and Brian does well telling the story with his expressive and thoughtful voice. A must read/listen for anyone who has ever tried to uncover the truth.

Sad reality for poor families in the past.

This was a nail biting novel. all the twists & turns. Excellent writing & narration.

Kept Me Listening

I just couldn't stop listening, I wanted to know how the story was going to end. But I do regret getting through it so fast!

Slow to start, great ending

It was not what I expected and slow to start but the story did come together and turned out great. Worth the read.

Interesting story

Easy listening. A lot of backstory. Very well read. A little slow but I truly enjoyed it.

not great literature, but ok. for a summer read

brings up a few solid points of life in the 30's. overly dramatic. might make an on TV show. lots of visual detail, more than character development. characters were ok., but didn't grow or develop much.

pleasant

good for an entertaining flight. predicted the ending but was still a fun to listen

Such a heartfelt storyline

This is absolutely a wonderfully written creative writing novel that makes you wish for more to continue. Absolutely captivating.

Good story

I enjoyed the story very much. Suspense, mystery and just a little bit of romance. Also, historical aspects seemed to be well researched and presented. One complaint…why do authors feel inclined to use profanity? The story could have been made richer my Ellis praying to God when his car wouldn’t turn over instead of praying to the car. The story was cheapened by taking the name of Jesus in vain…by calling for God’s damnation instead of His care and protection. I wish authors would get a clue of how absolutely unnecessary this is.

A Picture that Told Many Stories

"Haunting actual photograph spurs McMorris to pen a tale cast during the Great Depression about desperation, love, loss, and ambition in SOLD ON A MONDAY. Kristina McMorris is here today chatting about the inspiration behind the book, mental illness, single motherhood, health care, and more…and how those topics are not just today’s worries, but they transcend time."

By Leslie Lindsay 

I took interest in this book after reading the complete interview Leslie Lindsay had with the author and where the idea for the book came about. Later in the interview there is a picture of the pregnant mother with the 4 young children she is wanting to sell. There is also a snippet from the author of $2 sales for a farm hand at the time. She tells she located the adult children and spoke gaining perhaps a different perspective on certain things but won't elaborate and instead has incorporated it into her book.

Great characters, real life struggles in extremely difficult circumstances, the decisions of right vs wrong, morality, ... pretty much what we struggle with each day only under much more dire circumstances.

👍 Definitely recommended.