This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Free Book Program, which is open to all readers and is completely free. The author will provide you with a free copy of their book in exchange for an honest review. You and the author will discuss what sites you will post your review to and what kind of copy of the book you would like to receive (eBook, PDF, Word, paperback, etc.). To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Review Exchange Program, which is open to all authors and is completely free. Simply put, you agree to provide an honest review an author's book in exchange for the author doing the same for you. What sites your reviews are posted on (B&N, Amazon, etc.) and whether you send digital (eBook, PDF, Word, etc.) or hard copies of your books to each other for review is up to you. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email, and be sure to describe your book or include a link to your Readers' Favorite review page or Amazon page.
This author participates in the Readers' Favorite Book Donation Program, which was created to help nonprofit and charitable organizations (schools, libraries, convalescent homes, soldier donation programs, etc.) by providing them with free books and to help authors garner more exposure for their work. This author is willing to donate free copies of their book in exchange for reviews (if circumstances allow) and the knowledge that their book is being read and enjoyed. To begin, click the purple email icon to send this author a private email. Be sure to tell the author who you are, what organization you are with, how many books you need, how they will be used, and the number of reviews, if any, you would be able to provide.
Reviewed by Asher Syed for Readers' Favorite
The Foundling by Amy Meitz begins in 1978 Detroit, where nine-year-old Sunny Berry has spent years hidden inside a failing apartment. Her mother, Roxanne, insists the child she once loved has been replaced by something evil. Hungry and cut off from the outside world, Sunny discovers two uncashed checks that may lead to the father she has never known. She slips away with the envelopes and follows their East Elm postmark into rural Michigan, convinced the sender can tell her where she belongs. Instead, Sunny’s arrival brings her to the attention of police, who begin searching for the truth behind a child with no records and few answers. As the adults try to determine Sunny’s identity, she quietly pursues the man connected to the checks and the family history Roxanne kept hidden.
Amy Meitz’s The Foundling is superb psychological suspense, built around distinctive characterization inside a family mystery that repeatedly changes under Sunny’s assumptions. The author gives Sunny an unmistakably individual voice, with her reasoning carrying real importance in every discovery that reaches her. Roxanne is striking, presented through beliefs so complete that ordinary encounters take on supernatural meaning within Sunny’s world. That command of characterization flows naturally into the period setting, which feels fully inhabited through details belonging to the children living there. Juliette’s Charlie’s Angels lunch box, carried during her plan with Sunny, is a perfect example, placing their investigation firmly in 1978 through an object that feels natural to the moment. Joanie Smithfield’s gentle squeeze of Sunny’s shoulder brings the same understanding to adult interactions. Each revelation changes Sunny’s reading of what came earlier, and everything about this novel is pitch-perfect. For readers of child-centered suspense, The Foundling is excellent. Very highly recommended.
