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Kate Hewitt
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The Orphan's Island: An unmissable compelling historical novel (Amherst Island Book 1) Kindle Edition

by Kate Hewitt (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 7,305 ratings
See all formats and editions
“An incredible book… I didn’t want to stop reading… I fell in love with the island and everyone there. It’s been ages since a book spoke to me as much… It reminds me of the Anne of Green Gables books… or Little House on the Prairie. I cried like a baby several times… One of the best stories I have read.” NetGalley reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

When you are alone in the world, how does your heart find its home?

1904: When plucky, red-haired, eleven-year-old Ellen Copley crosses the Atlantic Ocean with her father, it is with a head full of dreams for what the New World will hold for her. Yet within weeks of their arrival in America, her father has abandoned her—leaving Ellen with hateful relatives, alone and terrified for her future.

But then her kind Aunt Rose brings Ellen to stay with her, in their rambling family farmhouse on beautiful Amherst Island, which nestles like a jewel in the blue waters of Lake Ontario.

There Ellen finally begins to find love and acceptance, both from Aunt Rose’s boisterous family, and—as she grows into a beautiful young woman—from the boys next door, Jed and Lucas Lyman. But it’s Jed she’s drawn to… the one with the twinkling eyes, who teases her, and laughs with her, and soon steals her heart…

But does Jed love her back? Because—even though Amherst Island feels like home—Ellen knows she can’t stay there with a broken heart…

This is the first book in the unmissable Amherst Island series that follows the life and love of Ellen Copley from the magic of Lake Ontario to the bloody battlefields of the First World War and beyond. Perfect for fans of The Oceans Between Us, The Orphan Sisters, and My Name is Eva.

Previously published as Down Jasper Lane.

Readers love The Orphan’s Island:

“Hewitt proves once again that she is the queen of her craft. I am completely and thoroughly floored over how much I adored this book!... Really just pulls you right in and I found myself staying up way late into the evening just to finish… The feelings and emotions Ellen experienced just completely ripped my heart in two. This is such a heartfelt coming of age story that I completely lost myself in.” Sinfully Wicked Book Reviews⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Phenomenal… The author has such talent for making you feel like you are going through Ellen’s life right beside her. The descriptions of the landscape and the island are so real that it will make you want to go visit. This inspirational historical fiction is a must read.” NetGalley reviewer⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“[A] beautifully told story… I highly recommend The Orphan's Island to anyone who enjoys inspirational historical fiction… These are the first books I have read by this author and they most certainly will not be the last!” Christian Novel Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“A tearjerker! The storytelling is wonderful and draws you in. I cried buckets! I'm so excited to read the next chapter in Ellen's life.” karen_loves_reading ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“This book was sad, happy, and so well written. I could picture the beautiful island, I could feel the emotions and yes, at one point I cried. I really enjoyed reading this.”Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Oh what a book! I absolutely devoured this excellent read.” Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“Excellent historical fiction… The author does a great job painting the pictures of the landscapes and how people lived during this time… I can’t wait to see what happens next.” Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

“What can I say? What a great way to start a new series. I loved it. I loved the characters, I loved the environment. And I loved watching the main character growing up.” Goodreads Reviewer ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 6
    Amherst Island
  2. Print length
    362 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publication date
    November 30, 2020
  6. File size
    1651 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
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  10. See all details
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Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08M48RCBY
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Bookouture (November 30, 2020)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 30, 2020
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1651 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 362 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 7,305 ratings

About the author

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Kate Hewitt

Kate Hewitt

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Kate Hewitt is the bestselling author of many novels of both historical and contemporary fiction. She particularly enjoys writing contemporary issue-driven women's fiction, and her novels have been called 'unputdownable' and 'the most emotional book I have ever read' by readers.

An American ex-pat, she lives in a small market town in Wales with her husband and five young(ish) children, along with their two Golden Retrievers. Join her newsletter for a free short story, as well as monthly updates and giveaways at https://www.bookouture.com/kate-hewitt/, or be part of her Facebook groups Kate's Reads, to discuss all manner of books, movies, music and cooking.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
7,305 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Mountain girl
5.0 out of 5 stars great read!
Reviewed in the United States on February 14, 2024
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I thoroughly enjoyed this book from cover to cover! The story line was excellent, the characters well fleshed out, and the chapters filled with rich content. I’m looking forward to reading more of this amazing young woman’s life.
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Norma Meligonis
4.0 out of 5 stars Simple but enjoyable read
Reviewed in the United States on June 30, 2023
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1904: This was a simple but enjoyable read about a young Scottish girl, Ellen, who immigrates to America with her father following the passing of her mam. They move to Vermont where her aunt and uncle own a general store. Her father becomes restless and heads off to New Mexico leaving her with her prickly aunt and carefree uncle. When a request is made for Ellen to come to rural Amherst Island on Canada’s Lake Ontario, she is sent alone by train to help her father’s sister and her children. She falls in love with the people and countryside of the island. This is a coming-of-age story of Ellen—and rather inspirational and pleasant with a similarity to Anne of Green Gables. It is the first in a series of Ellen books ranging from the turn of the century to WW11. I may return to the series periodically.
One person found this helpful
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Betty A. Spann
5.0 out of 5 stars Orphan's Island
Reviewed in the United States on March 30, 2024
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What a well written novel ! So happy that'd this is a series. As I read it I could so easily picture the characters and scenery. Getting ready to start the next in the series and I can hardly wait to see where I will go next!
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Renee Kelley
5.0 out of 5 stars Great Read
Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2024
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Riveting book from beginning to the end. I would recommend this book to anyone. It starts with hardships that so many faced coming to America.
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Ronald Hanson
5.0 out of 5 stars The changes life brings
Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2023
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The Orphan's Island is a story about changes, new opportunities and facing an unknown world. Ellen and her father leave Scotland to come to America - but then her father leaves her with relatives and takes off for the far west. Ellen is left to face an unknown future and the novel follows her as she has to adapt to new surroundings and new people, first in Vermont and then on Amherst Island, Canada. She faces difficult circumstances and flounders as she tries to make her way in daily living, relationships and determining what she wants to do. This is a great story for anyone facing a crossroads in life and there are some good lessons to take from the story about interactions with people, handling the past and looking to the future. I recommend this book.
One person found this helpful
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Booklover
4.0 out of 5 stars Coming of Age Novel
Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2023
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This coming of age novel involves a twelve-year-old girl who immigrates to America with her father upon the passing of her mother. Upon arrival, her father takes off out west leaving her with her aunt and uncle in Vermont. She has difficulty with her many losses and acceptance by her aunt and townspeople depending on her artwork as therapy. She is then sent to live with another aunt Rose to assist with her many children on an island in Canada where she feels happier. This book depicts her many changes and friendship to sons of neighbors who are brothers over the years who relate to her in opposite ways. Her indecision takes her back and forth from Vermont to the Canadian island, then to nursing school before visiting her father in New Mexico. Unable to make up her mind, she loses a couple of chances at love, resulting in a cliffhanger and in several more books about her life and adventures. An offshoot of 'Anne of Green Gables', it is heartwarming with good character development and cultural knowledge of the era and settings.
4 people found this helpful
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Carolina Consumer
3.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful, With A Caveat
Reviewed in the United States on July 21, 2023
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Loved the writing style, the era the novel covered, the interesting historical facts, the engaging plot, etc. I was completely hooked on the story !! Then, alas, came the ending, or in this case.... the lack thereof. My caveat is this: DON"T READ THIS unless you don't mind having to buy more books in order to continue the tale of Ellen and all of the other engaging ( or in Louisa's case, the unbelievably annoying) characters . It seems that more than ONE more book will be required, actually...as the total in this series stands at 6 right now.... and that ticks me off more than I can say. Hence, the reason for my 3 star rating rather than 4 or 5! For Pete's sake, authors seem to think readers don't mind buying endless books in a series. They could at least bring ONE plot to a conclusion in each book couldn't they? I guess not. Since I'm not of a mind to buy 5 more books right now, I'll pass. Too bad, because I really enjoyed this one.... until the ending that wasn't there. BTW, I wonder why the book was entitled The ORPHAN'S Island?? Ellen was not an orphan and I don't remember a character that actually was.
2 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Book 1
Reviewed in the United States on April 7, 2024
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Ellen was just a young girl who had a gift of drawing. Unfortunately, Ellen had been through so much hardship including the loss of her mother after nursing her to the end. She went to live with her aunt and uncle where the hardship continued.
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Top reviews from other countries

Wanita Tonn
5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful read.
Reviewed in Canada on September 27, 2023
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I really like this book as it was a truth that everyone can understand. I had a hard time putting it down and continued to think about about it days after I finished reading it.
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Isobelmac
5.0 out of 5 stars Amherst islands
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 18, 2023
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Loved reading this book and enjoyed Emma's story. Looking forward to
reading more about her life in the next book. Thank you Kate Hewitt, you make the characters so real.
One person found this helpful
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Kindle-Kunde
5.0 out of 5 stars Weaving
Reviewed in Germany on September 12, 2021
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In small events to become later in the book important, a good reading sad, hope fun hidtory everything woven into a nice story
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Audrey Friesen
4.0 out of 5 stars A New Home
Reviewed in Canada on September 3, 2023
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When Ellen's Mam dies, she and her Da leave Scotland for America. They quickly leave New York City for Vermont. However, Da isn't happy there and leaves Ellen with relatives and moves to New Mexico. Some time later, she is invited to join more relatives on a beautiful island in Ontario, Canada, where she finds her true home. Ellen's life has joys and sorrows as she grows into young womanhood.
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avid reader
4.0 out of 5 stars A lovely read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 19, 2023
Verified Purchase
A very interesting read, a lot of sorrow and heartbreak, but a magical story. I will have to read the next one.
One person found this helpful
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