Is there an audiobook of Keeper of Lost Children?

Yes. Keeper of Lost Children has an Audible audiobook edition, narrated by Sadeqa Johnson, Ariel Blake, Karen Chilton, and Adam Lazarre-White.

How long is the Keeper of Lost Children audiobook?

The Keeper of Lost Children audiobook runs 14 hr 22 min.

Is Keeper of Lost Children on Kindle Unlimited?

Yes. Keeper of Lost Children was included with Kindle Unlimited when we last checked on October 8, 2026.

Keeper of Lost Children by Sadeqa Johnson book cover for the Book of the Day historical fiction book review

Our score

4.5/ 5

Outstanding

Listen to Keeper of Lost Children free with an Audible trial Narrator, runtime & our audio review

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EDITION PUBLISHEDFebruary 2026

Genres

Fiction Historical Fiction Women's Fiction

Themes

Adoption and belongingRace and postwar AmericaSearching for one's identityLove in many forms

Keeper of Lost Children

Name: Keeper of Lost Children
Price: 14.99 USD
Availability: InStock
Author: Sadeqa Johnson

Sadeqa Johnson

Sadeqa Johnson's Keeper of Lost Children is historical fiction that follows a schoolgirl in Maryland, an officer's wife in occupied Germany, and a soldier from Philadelphia as their lives converge around the mixed-race children abandoned after World War II.

The Review

Our take

Sophia Clark wants out of her parents' house, and in 1965 she gets her way: a spot at an elite Maryland boarding school where every other student is white. Then she finds a secret there, and it sends her hunting for an answer to a question she hadn't known to ask. Who is she, and who decided not to tell her? Sadeqa Johnson, who wrote The House of Eve, builds her answer in Keeper of Lost Children by going back in time and across an ocean.

Back there is postwar occupied Germany, where Ethel Gathers, married to an American officer and proud of it, discovers an orphanage full of abandoned mixed-race children, born to German women and Black American GIs. She decides they will have homes, and the novel follows her as she sets about it. Alongside her is Ozzie Phillips, a Philadelphia man who joined the army in 1948, right after it desegregated, eager to make something of himself. In Manheim he meets a local woman named Jelka, and what starts between them reaches a long way down the years.

Johnson cuts among these three, and for a while they feel like separate books. The connections tighten slowly, and watching them click is a real pleasure, though the opening stretch asks for patience and you may catch yourself favoring one thread over the others. At 464 pages it also runs long. A tighter edit might have sharpened the ache, and some readers who adored Yellow Wife report that this one hits a little less hard.

Why you should read

Historical fiction about little-known postwar history
Multi-timeline novels where threads slowly converge
Character-driven stories about family and identity
Fans of Sadeqa Johnson's earlier novels

What to expect

Three storylines across Germany, Philadelphia, and Maryland
A slow opening that gathers momentum
Emotional, sometimes heartbreaking scenes
A long read at 464 pages

What carries it is warmth, and people drawn with real depth: Ethel with her certainty, Ozzie with his hunger to prove himself, Sophia with a hurt she hasn't yet found words for. Johnson writes with grace about a corner of history that many readers admit they never knew existed, the children left behind in postwar Germany and the women who worked to place them, and it sends you off wanting to read more about it. Love turns up here in several forms: between parents and children, between two people who weren't supposed to find each other, and finally the harder love a person has to learn to give herself. Sophia's story in particular is heartbreaking, and I was sorry when the last page came.

Reviewed by Avery · How our reviews are written

Our verdict

4.5/ 5

Outstanding

Listen to Keeper of Lost Children free with an Audible trial Narrator, runtime & our audio review

Included with Kindle Unlimited Buy on Amazon

As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Prices may vary.

Where to read or listen

Is there an audiobook of Keeper of Lost Children?: Yes. Keeper of Lost Children has an Audible audiobook edition, narrated by Sadeqa Johnson, Ariel Blake, Karen Chilton, and Adam Lazarre-White.
Listen to Keeper of Lost Children free with an Audible trial
We earn from qualifying Amazon purchases.
How long is the Keeper of Lost Children audiobook?: The Keeper of Lost Children audiobook runs 14 hr 22 min.
Is Keeper of Lost Children on Kindle Unlimited?: Yes. Keeper of Lost Children was included with Kindle Unlimited when we last checked on October 8, 2026.
How much does Keeper of Lost Children cost?: On Amazon: Kindle $14.99, Paperback $20.00, Hardcover $19.99. Prices as of October 15, 2026 at 2:21 AM EDT and may change.

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Common questions

What is Keeper of Lost Children about?: Sophia Clark wants out of her parents' house, and in 1965 she gets her way: a spot at an elite Maryland boarding school where every other student is white. Then she finds a secret there, and it sends her hunting for an answer to a question she hadn't known to ask. Who is she, and who decided not…
Is Keeper of Lost Children worth reading?: We scored Keeper of Lost Children 4.5 out of 5. Sadeqa Johnson's Keeper of Lost Children is historical fiction that follows a schoolgirl in Maryland, an officer's wife in occupied Germany, and a soldier from Philadelphia as their lives converge around the mixed-race children abandoned after World War II.