Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Secret Daughter - TLC Book Tour

Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

Publisher: William Morrow
First published: March 9, 2010
Trade paperback: 368 pages
Price: $13.99
On the library stacks: Adult Fiction

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's 1984 and Kavita is a poor young woman in rural India with the misfortune of giving birth to her second daughter. She knows that in order to save this baby girl's life, she must make the heart-wrenching decision to travel to Mumbai and deliver her to an orphanage.

Somer Whitman and her husband Kris Thakker are both doctors living in the San Francisco area. Somer has suffered two miscarriages and it becomes clear that she will not have any biological children of her own. She desperately wants to be a mother and decides to pursue adoption in her husband's homeland of India.

This is truly a moving story told mostly from the various perspectives of the women characters over a 25-year span. It is a richly descriptive novel and the characters are so real. They're flawed but realistically and even understandably so. At one point I was worried that the story was going to descend into silly coincidences, but it never did. The ending was just right in my opinion, and I even got a little emotional. This is a thought-provoking novel that I think book clubs might enjoy too. I loved it and look forward to reading more by this debut author.

You can find Shilpi at:
Please check out the other great reviews from bloggers participating in this tour.
    Source: I received this book from the publisher as part of the TLC Book Tour.

    5 comments:

    Melissa said...

    It sounds really good. I'll have to search up a copy. :-)

    bermudaonion said...

    I'm curious about where the story is headed. It sounds like it would make a great book club pick!

    Anonymous said...

    "They're flawed but realistically and even understandably so" - I love characters like this.

    Thanks so much for the review and for being a part of the tour.

    Holly (2 Kids and Tired) said...

    I've seen this book popping up around the blogospere and it sounds really good. I think I need to check into finding a copy.
    2 Kids and Tired Books

    Booksnyc said...

    I loved this book and also got emotional towards the end. I think it makes a perfect Mothers Day choice!