Home for Erring and Outcast Girls by Julie Kibler

In turn-of-the-twentieth-century Texas, the Berachah Home for the Redemption and Protection of Erring Girls is an unprecedented beacon of hope for young women consigned to the dangerous poverty of the streets by birth, circumstance, or personal tragedy. Built in 1903 on the dusty outskirts of Arlington, a remote dot between Dallas and Fort Worth's red-light districts, the progressive home bucks public opinion by offering faith, training, and rehabilitation to prostitutes, addicts, unwed mothers, and "ruined" girls without forcibly separating mothers from children. When Lizzie Bates and Mattie McBride meet there -- one sick and abused but desperately clinging to her young daughter, the other jilted by the beau who fathered her ailing son -- they form a friendship that will see them through unbearable loss, heartbreak, difficult choices, and, ultimately, diverging paths. 

A century later, Cate Sutton, a reclusive university librarian, uncovers the hidden histories of the two troubled women as she stumbles upon the cemetery on the home's former grounds and begins to comb through its archives in her library.  Pulled by an indescribable connection, what Cate discovers about their stories leads her to confront her own heartbreaking past, and to reclaim the life she thought she'd let go forever. 

REVIEW:
The authors does a nice job weaving past and present stories together in a frankly heartbreaking yet accurate portrayal of the ways in which women have so often (and continue to be) abused, mistreated, and cast aside. I read the entire book in one afternoon -- though a little long, the story is fast-paced and the writing is approachable, making this one an easy read. And I find myself thinking about the book and its characters still, a few days later, which I'd say is a pretty good sign! 4 stars.