dailyBooks - Sold on a Monday--A Novel by Kristina McMorris | Conversation Starters

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Kristina McMorriss

Sold on a Monday

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Table of Contents

Introducing Sold on a Monday

Introducing the Author

Inspiration Behind Sold on a Monday

Discussion Questions

Trivia Facts About Sold on a Monday

Introducing Sold on a Monday

D uring the Great Depression , America experienced the most devastating economic depression that changed the landscape of the nation for almost a decade. Millions of men became unemployed. Because they were breadwinners, their families starved and fended for food in other ways. Children were malnourished. Some men and women contracted tuberculosis disease. This is the backdrop of Kristina McMorriss bestselling novel Sold on a Monday. This novel is made up of forty-two chapters that would periodically shift their perspective in order to follow the story of the two main characters throughout the narrative. The story follows Ellis Reed and Lily Palmer. The novel opens on their trek through New Jersey. With them were two children whom they will reunite with their mother. Their accidental separation resulted from a very unfortunate series of events.

Ambitious reporter Ellis Reed was writing for the Society section of the Philadelphia Examiner. One Sunday afternoon, Ellis comes across two young boys sitting on their farmhouse porch. As an avid scenery photographer, Ellis takes a photo of these boys before he realized that they were sitting beside a sign that read 2 Children for Sale. Ellis was heartbroken because of his discovery. The children were very innocent with what the sign meant about them and their future. This led Ellis to want to help them with anything that he can, but he does not know if there is anything in his power that he can do.

While in the darkroom of the newspaper office, Lily Palmer comes across the photograph while it was drying. Because of her motherly heart, she sympathized with the two victims of these very unfortunate circumstances. Lily brings the photo to the chief of their newspaper. Ellis was called to his office and was offered the opportunity to write an accompanying feature with the photograph he took. Because he has always struggled for a break in his career, Ellis jumps on this rare opportunity. He realizes that he alone carries the possibility to advance his journalism career into this hard-hitting role that he has always dreamed of having.

When he found out that there has been an accident with the photograph he took along with its negatives, Ellis goes back to Laurel Township. He went to the spot where he took the original photo in order to replicate it. He soon found out that a stroke of luck changed the fate of boys and their family. They moved away, and the boys were not sold after all. Ellis is excited to hear the news, but he was left without a photograph to accompany his feature article.

In the act of sheer desperation, Ellis stages a second photograph that featured two children living across their street. Because of the photograph, Ellis' career took off, and it resulted in his newfound fame. He then moved from Pennsylvania to New York to pursue a more promising job opportunity. He discovered eventually that his photograph led to the selling of the Dillard children whom he featured.

Ellis contacted Lily to find out what happened to the children he took a photograph of. He and Lily found out that the childrens mother Geraldine Dillard was given the wrong diagnosis of tuberculosis. They believed that she was dying. Because of this mistake, a wealthy banker named Alfred Millstone went to her to purchase the children. Geraldine allowed it so her children can have a better future. This man and his wife Sylvia seemed to have a shady reason for their desire to purchase the children. One of the children, Ruby Dillard, had a striking resemblance with their late daughter Victoria. They lost Victoria a few years ago in a car accident. In her trauma, Sylvia wanted to replace Victoria with Ruby. In her desire to heal from the tragedy, she wants to replicate Victoria in Ruby from her food preferences to the clothing she wore. Meanwhile, Sylvia has sent Rubys brother Calvin to an orphanage. She did not like Calvin because he was unable to adapt to their wealthy lifestyle. She could not care less.

Because of all that they found out, both Lily and Ellis embark on a mission to find both of the Dillard children and bring them back to their rightful mother. Along the way, they were sent to jail. They met a member of the Mob who happens to be Sylvias brother Max Trevino. Lily and Ellis were caught in a tangled web of challenges that work to stop them from reaching their goal to reunite the Dillard family.

Introducing the Author

K ristina McMorris is a USA Today and New York Times bestselling author. Her novels were published by Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Sourcebooks Landmark, and Kensington Books. Kristina McMorris novels have recognized with over two dozen prestigious awards and nominations. These include RWA's RITA Award, the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, and a Goodreads Choice Award for Best Historical Fiction.