Comments (36)

What did you think about this title?
1 to 25 of 36 items
Aug 06, 2023Spillie rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
This was an intriguing yet challenging read. Not for the faint-hearted, the book describes a precocious young girl who is destined to survive and thrive. The story takes place in the late 1800’s where the exotic (people, animals, and…
Dec 19, 2022JonasKS rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This book is a great, historically accurate explanation of 'The Virgin Cure' and I really like the emotional way the actions of the characters in this book are portrayed. It helps the reader to understand the issues that women faced then,…
Jan 11, 2021readersixtyseven rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Fascinating read about the struggles to survive in the murky side of 19th century New York city.
Aug 25, 2018htowndrow rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I love the historical references and the gripping story line. I really appreciate how Ami McKay takes something as horrific as the virgin cure, and treats it in a way that doesn't traumatize the reader, and yet, doesn't make light of the…
Apr 29, 2018kwsmith rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Moth is a pretty young girl raised in poverty in the old New York City slums during the late 1800s. She learns that she'll do just about anything to survive. During the story, Moth meets a number of unsavory characters who are looking to…
Apr 20, 2017KMJ_ rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
This book was all over the place, and none of the details seemed to have anything to do with each other. In post-Civil War New York, Moth is raised by her fortune teller mother. She is then forced to be a lady’s maid for a very cruel…
Mar 20, 2015sasie rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
A bit slow for my taste but overall, a decent book.
Feb 08, 2014finn75 rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
An easy read and interesting story of how an abandoned young girl finds herself on the road to becoming a prostitute. An often told story but with the observations of Doctor Sadie a more interesting one that most.
Feb 01, 2014uncommonreader rated this title 2 out of 5 stars
This book covers well documented territory and is far too predictable.
jdaigle3
May 06, 2013jdaigle3 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
I now see why this has been such a popular read for book clubs, as there is plenty to discuss about this one! It was certainly an interesting read. The road to oldest profession in the world, what makes a girl end up choosing it, how they…
Feb 11, 2013romantic rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
I kept reading on to see what would happen to the main character Moth. It was interesting to read about a different part of society in a historical perspective. I did not really appreciate the poetry and the extra information in the…
Jan 17, 2013jmikesmith rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
The Virgin Cure is a historical novel set in the lower East side of late 19th-century New York City. It's narrated by Ada "Moth" Fenwick, an 11- or 12-year-old girl trying to survive after her mother sells her to be a rich woman's personal…
Dec 31, 2012mogie rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Ami McKay has a talent for taking depressing topics and not making the reader miserable while telling a story. I enjoy that she chooses to write about atypical women in historical settings. I prefered the Birth House, but it is one of my…
barb8571
Dec 26, 2012barb8571 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I loved this book! I haven't even finished it quite yet and i'm having a hard time putting it down. It's a hard life for Moth, and you'd think her hard life would make for a depressing story, but its not. It's like Oliver Twist in that…
Jun 05, 2012BPLNextBestAdults rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Those who loved Ami McKay’s The Birth House will find all its appeal renewed in The Virgin Cure. New York City just after the Civil War is proud and vibrant, but heartbreakingly cruel to its most poor and vulnerable. Opportunities for…
May 11, 2012Poodles rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
A predictable tale, with an unlikely ending. Learning about life on the streets of New York in the 19th century was interesting but the story line was weak. It felt like a weak attempt at an Oprah's book club book.
Apr 20, 2012229050009914201 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Ami McKay is one of Canada's great authors in my opinion
dramaana
Apr 17, 2012dramaana rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Was really looking forward to this novel; the premise seemed very interesting. In the end, felt that it was a bit too predictable (just the right amount of damage/heartbreak, redemption, etc..) and so was overall a bit disappointed.
Mar 16, 2012
Moth, abandoned by her father and raised by her hard-scrabble, fortune-telling mother, roams the mean streets of New York City in 1871 dreaming of a better life than that of the tenement slum where she lives. When she turns 12, her mother…
Mar 09, 2012ownedbydoxies rated this title 2.5 out of 5 stars
Disappointingly simplistic characters, which makes them less life-like and the plot too easy to forecast.
Mar 05, 2012blolo rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
So well written and so good. I flew through this book - just couldn't put it down. I read the last 200 pages in one sitting... I liked it at least as much as the birth house, which is saying a lot.
Mar 01, 2012jennyfur1 rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
A fine book; quick read. Not as well written as 'The Birth House'.
Feb 29, 2012bicron101 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
Not as good as the birth house but still a very good book. Well written and hard to put down. I definatly recomend this one to anyone who liked the birth house.
Feb 25, 2012emilysteeves rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I liked this novel, perhaps not as much as Birth House, but I really enjoyed Moth and the doctor's characters. They were both independent survivors in a time where women had few rights.
Feb 23, 2012readingchick rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
What a great read even if the outcome of the protagonist is a bit contrived. Amy McKay has done it again.