Picking up this book from the library, I figured it was a fantasy about some Princess on a quest. Imagine my surprise when I found out that it was about Emmaline, an English girl living in the 1800's. When Emmaline's father dies, her mother, her deaf younger brother Tommy, and Emmaline must move away from their country home into a dirty, crowded city. Emmaline's mother goes to work in the mills, and Emmaline herself must work as a seamstress to her Aunt Phoebe.
Then another tragedy strikes: Emmaline's mother is severely injured at the mills. She can no longer work and worse, she soon becomes hooked on laudanum, the pain-reliever she takes. Not only does she spend all the money Emmaline brings in on the drug, but she also sells Emmaline's few possessions and, eventually, even Tommy.
When Emmaline finds that her mother has sold Tommy to be a chimneysweep in London, she goes there to find him. The only problems are that London is a big city, and Emmaline has no idea where Tommy is. Besides that, she doesn't have enough money to survive until she finds him.
This is an awesome book that you will probably enjoy. It's historical fiction, but doesn't make you feel as if you've been lectured. I reccomend this book.

Rosetta and her younger sister, Flora, were sent to Canada from an English orphanage. They dreamed of a loving family, but when this does not happen Rosetta endures cruelty, love, hatred, and happiness to get back what is left of her family. This book makes me appreciate my family, even when I am mad at them. It also shows me that being an orphan does not let you do whatever you want and that others will try to stop you from reaching your goal.

This is an absolutely wonderful book. It is historically acurate, interesting and very well written. Reading the trials and hardships Rosetta must go through to find her adopted sister that she loves so much makes you never want to put this book down. I loved this book, for more reasons than one! It's twists in the plot give it definition and color. Go out and get this book, it is definately worth it!

first of all i want to thank my friend Amy for lending me this book.I think we should all follow her good advice on reading this book.It was absolutely brilliant.I would reccemond this book to ages over 10.

Wow! I must say this was a good book. I live in Winnipeg so I thought it was neat how the book took place in Winnipeg. However, Winnipeg tends to be a relativly boring place so I thought it would be boring to too but I was wrong. This was a good book and my teacher and my best friend also have read it and recomend it. So please pick us this book, it's really down-to-earth and it's so realistic. The characters are so easy to picture and the book is great. So read on!

This was such a great book! I finished it in 3 days, and I'm usually a pretty slow reader. I couldn't put it down! It is about a sixteen year-old girl named Poppy who lives with her adoptive mother in Winnipeg. When her mother takes off to Greece with her boyfriend, Poppy has to stay with her mother's friend for the summer. Poppy doesn't think much of that idea, so she gets on a plane to Winnipeg where her father lives. There she stays with her father, stepmother and their son while she searches for her birth mother. I don't want to give away any more of this story, you'll have to read it for yourself! I strongly recommend this book, especially to girls aged 12-16.

When I bought this book I had my doubts. I thought it would be just a cliche "girl finds love unexpected places while trying to find someone." I also was not very excited to find that Winnipeg is the setting of this novel. Instead, it was a funny and extremely realistic book. As I was reading, I could easily see myself as Poppy, the main character. Everything was so real I could not believe it. Also, the author writes with great descriptions and uses Winnipeg to her advantage. This is a book that every teenaged girl should read. You will fall in love with almost all the characters, including Poppy's loving, but clued-out dad, her hippie step mom, and the eccentric Becca. Go read this book now!

"Mercy's Birds" is not an easy book to read. In fact, it can be downright wrenching at times, but it rarely fails in delivering its story.

Mercy, a girl in her mid-teens, has just chopped off and dyed her long blond hair, turning it to black. Her black hair and black clothing reflect her unhappiness with her life--she lives in a rather lifeless city in Canada, with her chronically depressed mother Pearl, semi-alcoholic fortune-telling aunt Moo, and her aunt's lecherous boyfriend, whom she only refers to as "B."

Mercy has glimpses of other people with lives less messed-up than hers, such as old Mama Gio and her son Vince, her friend Andrea. But Mercy's unhappiness can't be driven away by the good wishes of her friends.

Mercy is recognizable to any teen as a darker version of themselves--she is more cynical and moody than many teens, but she is shown as very strong. All she wants is happiness.

Pearl, her mother, seems like less a character than the shadow of a character. Virtually all we know about her is her hair color and the fact that she is incredibly thin. Peculiar aunt Moo is a more vibrant presence--we hear plenty about her habits, her ideas, her clothing. Perhaps it's because Moo is far more present in Mercy's life than Pearl is. You'll want to KILL B. Andrea is the usual annoying schoolmate, while Mama Gio, the "little Italian widow" is pure gold.

Don't be put off by the frankly ghastly cover for this book. It'll give you mixed feelings; make you sad and happy at the same time.

Mercy's Birds, by Linda Holeman, is an excellent book. Readers of Judy Blume and other so called "realistic Young Adult fiction" will appreciate Holeman's realistic portrayl of Mercy, a bright young lady with some very serious problems. 15-yr-old Mercy has chosen to wear nothing but black, in response to her messed-up home life and other factors. Her teen angst is real; Mercy is facing some very serious problems. There is no sugar coating here - everyone in Mercy's world is messed up, and there are no pat answers. What makes this book unique and wonderful is the insightful way that Mercy views her world and analyzes her problems. Holeman manages to give us a book in which the characters face serious and sad problems, yet with an uplifting ending. The moral of this story is that being true to yourself is the most important thing one can do, no matter what scary things one is facing. I highly reccomend this book for young adults, but also for those who work with young adults, troubled or otherwise. This book will make you remember what it's like to be 15.