Chosen
A Novel
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3.9 • 51 Ratings
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
“Gritty and suspenseful, Chosen draws us into the obstacle-strewn path of domestic adoption.”
—Juliette Fay, author of Shelter Me
A young caseworker increasingly entangled in the lives of adoptive and birth parents faces life-altering choices when an extortion attempt goes horribly wrong in Chosen. Written in the spirit of Jodi Picoult and Anna Quindlen, Chosen is an extraordinary debut novel from Chandra Hoffman that deals with the controversial subject of adoption while providing a riveting read that will equally ensnare lovers of suspense, domestic drama, and literary fiction.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hoffman's middling debut explores the darker side of open adoption, as seen through the eyes of Chloe Pinter, a young social worker at a Portland, Ore., adoption agency. Juggling the insecurities of the wealthy and infertile Francie and John McAdoo with the increasingly strident demands of the contracted and impoverished birth parents, Penny and Jason, Chloe starts to question her own beliefs and motivations. When Chloe sees that Penny has bought a basinet, she warns the McAdoos that the adoption might not go through, inadvertently setting off a chain of events that eventually puts a newborn in danger's path. Hoffman seems to want the reader to understand the dilemma of birth parents confronted with the need to give up a child, but Penny and Jason and their family are too damaged and destructive to elicit any empathy, and the McAdoos, on the other end of the class spectrum, never fail to fall into stereotype. There is a whisper of a solid story about the way poverty, yearning, opportunity, and loss can play out, but with characters so weakly realized, it's tough to see this as anything more than a good-intentioned but inexpert exercise.
Customer Reviews
Couldn't put it down
Even though you have an idea how the story is going to go mid read the author leaves you wondering when and how. Once you get in it was hard to put down.
Not impressed
I felt the characters in this book were forced and felt like caricatures of people. It didn't feel believable and I was quite surprised to realize after I read it that she based the book on her own experiences.
Chosen
I thought this was a great read. I love the characters and the different sides of the story. Was hooked right from the first chapter.