The Throwaway Children

Written by Diney Costeloe

Narrated by Anne Dover

Rita and Rosie are only nine and five when their widowed mother re-marries, allowing her husband to send the girls to an orphanage – not realizing they’re bound for Australia.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dreamscape Media
• Release date: Dec 20, 2016
• ISBN: 9781666605518

Diney Costeloe

Diney Costeloe is the author of twenty-three novels, several short stories, and many articles and poems. She has three children and seven grandchildren, so when she isn't writing, she's busy with family. She and her husband divide their time between Somerset and West Cork. Find Diney online at dineycosteloe.co.uk, or on Twitter @Dineycost

Reviews for The Throwaway Children

[Helen L · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Oh my goodness! What a story. So tragic yet so inspirational. A perfect job done by narrator Ann Dover. She brings each character alive in such a realistic way you forget it’s just one person reading.

I loved this story so much, it’s the first one that made me cry, and I’ve listened to over 100 now on this platform.

What a fantastic book!

[TaNdy Bugz · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of the most hot wrenching books, you will ever read. It is so beautifully written and the narrator did an excellent job at portraying the story.

[Dawn Merritt Theisen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Excellent book! Grabs your heart and twists it every which way!

[jeangve · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very moving story and a really excellent narrator. Brought me to tears several times.

[Lillian Borger · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book was very insightful as to how it was for children who were sent to Australia after the war for a “fresh start”. At times I found it hard to listen to because it was so sad, but it was well written and gripping. Parts of it were very bleak and this book is not a light read but I think I would still recommend.

[Anise Deters · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

An incredible story that kept me wanting more, making it extremely difficult to stop! The narrator is gifted, bringing the story to life at every turn.

[Lidia James - Amos · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A very beautiful and heartwarming novel. I loved it !

[Amy Homan · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

absolutely fantastic!!!! Twists and turn you don't see coming! WOW

[Arianne · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very well written. Such a great yet sad story. The narrator was amazing! It was a little hard to keep track of all the women’s caretakers. But overall excellent!

[Rae Jean Nelson · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The narrator was excellent. Should win an award. I don’t know about the ships full of orphans headed to Australia - what a heartbreaking piece of history to learn about. Good story.

[K G · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Excellent narration.
Side note to help many readers - the girls in the story are 9 (Rita) and 5yrs old (Rosie). Rosie’s age comes up multiple times but Rita’s doesn’t - and it definitely throws things off as she seems to be much older.
Somewhat mixed feelings about the story itself… parts of it were great… other parts seemed amateurish…in an odd way. Most characters were well developed, but others were so too dimensional (ie jimmy) were so flat it was painful.. and others (mavin) verged on split personalities.
The author almost seemed to go off on tangents with various characters.. and she had odd disposal methods for those who she ran out of storyline for..
All and all it was an interesting book that held my attention, but the book wasn’t as good as it could’ve been.

[Otis's Mom · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a well-done story. I didn't like the ending because of Rosie's death. After all she endured. I'd like to have seen her find some happiness. Seems she was punished because of the sexual relationship and that perv got away with it.

[nicolle nordman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The narrator of this book is amazing! I felt like I was there, I felt for the characters and truly loved the book.

[Lori Ann Abbott · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What a beautifully devastating story. I cried several times while listening.

[Kathleen Bashaw · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I couldn’t put this book down. It was sad but the strength of the characters and their perseverance was inspiring.