5 stars to The Ones We Choose, a story of family and DNA! 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟

I know it seems like I’ve been doling out the fives lately, but this book is more than worthy. It has it all and offers so many fresh perspectives, I have to give it the full five.

When I saw that The Ones We Choose is compared to Lisa Genova’s work, I had to read it. I adored the DNA tidbits thrown in throughout the novel, and I absorbed as much as I could. Unlike Genova, Julie Clark is not a doctor; simply an author who immaculately researched and presents her knowledge in a light handed, but still important, way.

Paige Robson is the main character, and her 8-year-old son, Miles, begins to question who his biological father is...The problem is Miles’ father was an anonymous donor.

In a twist that is also included in the synopsis, the donor is planted in Paige and Miles’ lives and it’s almost as if a bomb has exploded. At the same time, Paige is processing through her difficulties with her own absent father.

The Ones We Choose is heartfelt, smart, thought-provoking, profound, poignant, emotionally-resonant, and a book I highly recommend. I know the science may be a little heavy for some, but to me, it was just the right amount and added to the originality of the book.

Thank you to Julie Clark, Gallery Books, and Netgalley for the ARC. The Ones We Choose is now available!

My reviews can also be seen on my shiny new blog www.jennifertarheelreader.com

Abandoned by her father as a child, woman/geneticist (Paige) turns to science for an explanation.

While she was growing up, Paige's father was a "serial leaver" teaching Paige to turn off her feelings and stop caring. How has this affected her later in life? Will facing her fears of trust and intimacy help her understand her father's actions, as well as her own, better?

Paige's sister, Rose, "believes in unlimited second chances" while Paige "believe[s] in natural consequences."

Why are Rose, and their mother, Beth, able to so easily forgive their father/husband while Paige chooses to remain estranged?

"She's one of the strongest women I know, often sacrificing what she wanted to give Rose and me what we needed. And yet, I've never understood what it was about my father that left her unable to move on." - Paige about her mother

Later, single at age 38 and yearning to be a mother, Paige used an anonymous sperm donor to conceive her son, Miles. Now, at age 8, Miles struggles with not having a father like his classmates. Paige's boyfriend, Liam, tries to be that person for Miles but he isn't having it. How can Paige have a future with Liam if Miles won't accept him?

Paige's work as a geneticist "studying the link between a genetic marker and paternal bonding" and the intermittent chapters about genetic science were extremely fascinating.

Since my mom passed away just five months ago, Choose was especially poignant for me. It was a quick read but packed with emotion and information about genetics and DNA. It made me laugh, and it made me cry. I am shocked it's a debut and definitely look forward to more from this author! I would highly recommend it for anyone who has had a less than stellar relationship with a parent, or those mourning a parent.

"When you spend your life carrying anger around like a backpack, an extraordinary thing happens when you finally set it down. The world becomes brighter and easier."

"Those who have come before you live inside you, shaping who you are."

It's also worth noting that the author, a single mom to two boys, wrote this book while going through treatment for breast cancer, being a full-time teacher, and raising two boys on her own. WOW.

Thank you to the author and the publisher for an advance copy of this book! All opinions are my own.

Location: Miami, California

The Ones We Choose is a beautifully written debut! This story was very thought provoking and made me think about how I would handle the situation presented. I can't wait to read Julia Clark's next book!

I found The Ones We Choose by Julie Clark to be a engaging and thought-provoking scientific look at what makes a family. Do our genetics play a role in what kind of parent we choose to be? Can we overcome our natural tendency to run away from the hard parts of life? Can we truly accept and forgive those who walk out on us? In a scientific back drop to the story we are shown the genetic components of life and on the flip side of the story we are truly engaged in a personal narrative that forces these issues out of the pages of a textbook and into everyday life. I would highly recommend this book to all of my friends and family. It is intellectual but highly readable by everyone and truly worth it for the story and issues it addresses. I received an ARC of this book. All opinions are my own.

Paige Robson, a geneticist, grew up feeling abandoned by her father who came in and out of her life, decides to have a baby by anonymous donor. Fast forward eight years, Paige has a hard time trusting people and letting them into her life completely, and this has adverse effects on her relationship with Liam, a video game designer, who wants to be a part of her and Miles’s, her son, lives. Miles struggles with not knowing who his father is and Paige doesn’t know how to help him. When Paige meets Jackie and Aaron at a school event, she has no idea the impact this will have on their lives.

This book seriously had me feeling all the emotions…I went from feeling anger toward Paige, to feeling bad for her, to feeling proud of her.

I really enjoyed the genetics subplot. I liked how each chapter was followed up with a genetics lesson that was related to what I just read.

This is author Julie Clark’s debut novel and I look forward to reading more of her work.

“She chose her condo based on the large amount of concrete and its proximity to Target.” I totally get this and always say I need to be within a 20-minute drive of a Target!

“And now it’s my turn to rewrite mine. Voices echo in my head – the voices of people who love me, trying to tell me what I refused to believe – that if I take a risk on them, they’ll be there for me.”

“Our environment, our emotions, even the people we choose to spend time with are all recorded in our cells, shaping who we will become. Whether we like it or not…the control we think we have is limited to what we see in front of us, the moment we’re living right now.”

This is a wonderful debut novel about family - not necessarily the family we are genetically part of but also the family that we create out of love. The subject matter is very up to date and I could see the possibility of the same issues happening in other families.

Paige's 8 year old son wants to know more about his father which is very normal in a family that is only composed of mother and son. He is getting bullied at school because he doesn't have a dad and even through Paige's new boyfriend tries to help out, Miles pushes him away. In truth, Paige can't tell Miles about his dad because she only knows what she read about him in his application to become a sperm donor. As Paige tries to help her son out with his problems at school and in life, she finds herself finally making some friends and opening herself up to her family.

There is a short chapter between each chapter in the book that explains the science of genetics and DNA. I have to admit that science is not my 'friend' and I skipped over a lot of the information in those chapters. The author did a tremendous amount of research to be sure that she had her scientific knowledge sharp to explore the issues in this book. I thought that it was an excellent book and can't wait to see what Julie Clark writes next.

I read an advance copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I absolutely loved this book from page one to the end. The way Julie Clark intertwined the story of Paige and Miles with the genetic research Paige was working on as a geneticist was seamless. I am amazed by the amount of research Julie Clark had to have done to write this book.
This book grabs you by the heart strings and keeps pulling even after the story was told. You feel the anger and hurt that Paige feels from growing up with a father who is constantly absent and unreliable. You understand why this leads her to come to the decision to conceive a child without a father by using an anonymous sperm donor. You feel Paige's struggle when Miles starts to question who his father is and when Paige's father reappears in her life again.
If you have ever questioned your place in your family or struggled with a family relationship, then this book is for you.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing this advanced copy of the book, the opinions are my own.

I received this ARC from the publisher through NetGalley for an honest review. If I'm being honest here, I fell in love with the cover of the book first. There's a lot of medical terminology throughout the book, talking about DNA testing, genetics, etc. but I was pleasantly surprised that it held my attention throughout. I loved all the characters and the story as well. I really enjoyed the book and I can't believe it's the author's debut novel. You can tell a lot of research went into this book. Very nicely done!!

Coming across a debut author that makes you fall in love all over again with reading is a true gift. THE ONES WE CHOOSE by Jill Clark was that kind of book for me. It pulled me into Paige and Jackie’s lives immediately and tugged at my heart as a parent when it came to Miles and Nick. Everyone was just so relatable. It was so engrossing, I kind of forgot my own son was home and read it almost entirely in a single day. This book is really well written and I really thought she was a geneticist in her non-writing life so she put a lot of research into this novel! The way the science comes together in this fictional tale was seamless and thought-provoking. This book may make you think of family in a whole new way. It has you contemplating how your ancestors live in your heart and your cells and how events can shape every level of who you are, all while surprising you a bit while you read it too. A really great start to what is hopefully a long writing career for Clark.

I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Your son wants to know more about his father. Nothing unusual there unless you don't know anything about him yourself. That's the dilemma facing Paige in this nod-to-nerds novel. The scientific aspects make this book a standout.
Paige uses an anonymous sperm donor to conceive her son. She is a well-respected research geneticist. DNA is familiar turf for her - relationships not so much.
The author deftly interspersed facts about genetics in between chapters which helps readers to better understand what's going on. I enjoyed that and learned things that I didn't know about DNA and genetics.
This book has lovely moments and was an enjoyable read. I will be looking for this author's next book.
I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

I very rarely give a book five stars, but this one really affected me. It required a little suspension of disbelief on my part but allowing myself that luxury allowed me to really love this story. Genetics and DNA are rooted in statistics, so the chance meeting between Paige, Miles, and the anonymous donor seemed nearly statistically impossible. That aside, the progression of the story and Paige’s related journey were so moving. I shed tears more than once. And while Paige started out as a character whose stubbornness and resolve were frustrating, she evolved into someone you genuinely liked and upon whom you wished well. The genetic chapters were also very informative and really tied to story together. It’s fascinating to think how far science and genetics have come, even in recent years, and remarkable how much information is now available to us.

Thanks to netgalley for the advanced reader copy.

Thank you for allowing me to read this book! My review can be found on my GoodReads page at https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1335387-kelly.

It’s hard to believe this is a book written by a debut author. It’s very polished and very well researched and thought out. I read it in a little over a day. The plot is quick moving, and the sub plot/chapters on the genetics kept reminding me of all the research usually seen in books by Jodi Picoult.

The topic of this book, genetics and the impact on donor children, was not one I was familiar with. I became immediately interested in the topic about half way through, and I think that I will continue learning about the topics.

I really liked Miles and Liam, but through most of the book I wanted to slap Paige. I got very frustrated with her BUT it’s because she was so real, and so very well written, that I was able to fully dive into this book.

I received and Advanced Review Copy Of this book. All thoughts are my own.

Although there were times that I wanted the main character, Paige, to get out of her own way, I really enjoyed this book.

The genetics info intertwined throughout the chapter were fascinating especially how they related to the story as a whole. Ironically, as I read this I also came across an article about memories being stored in DNA and passed down through genetics. And then recognized it when this season’s hornets returned and tried to get into last summer’s hive in our vehicle’s mirror cave—however we sold that vehicle, so they keep butting into the new one which has a tighter fit and they can’t get in.

Paige was a like a friend that you don’t always agree with but love anyway. Sometimes I didn’t agree with her choices—especially with her son and Nick, her dream of a boyfriend—but I still liked her and her journey. And in the end, Paige realized that some of her choices were actually having the opposite effect of what she wanted. It was all a part of her character growth and it worked well.

The amount of research that had to go into this book astounds me. Genetics has always fascinated me - why are my eyes brown, but my brother’s blue? - and reading a novel revolving around genetics was great. I really liked the characters and the relationships between them as well. I hope to read more books by this author in the future.

This is a story of family and all ways of a family. I loved the characters but I did get a little lost in the science. I felt the characters were honest and show us all the imperfections in a family. I received an advanced readers copy from NetGalley and Gallery Books. All opinions are my own.

When I finished this beautiful debut novel by Julie Abbott Clark THE ONES WE CHOOSE, I was blown away. Julie writes with heart, and grace with a dash of humor and being a medical science nerd, I love the DNA aspect of this novel and how it spins this beautiful story of the fierce love a mother has for her son and the powerful forces of who we are and where we come from. Emotional and raw, mom Paige, with her very personally structured life, must face her past as she faces the present and all the while trying to protect her sweet son. Forgiveness, love, science and family makes for a supremely sweet debut novel. Clark writes with heart, gorgeous imagery and real emotion.
When a book grabs me at the first sentence (really!) I know it's going to be a fantastic ride. I knew it was going to be good, but it's exceptional and a must read and many age ranges will enjoy. 5 stars.

COMING MAY 8TH!
#Netgalley review

A debut author that can hook me with the first paragraph of the first chapter is impressive. "If loneliness were a color, it would be the deep purple of my eight-year-old's shirt as he walks solitary laps around the school track." I had intended to only read the first chapter before going to bed and instead read 1/4 of the book.

As someone who always enjoyed genetics in school, I found the heavy laden science portions of the book enjoyable. I could see how some people might find them a bit laborious but don't let that keep you from reading this book.

This book brings to light some very interesting ideas about sperm donation and fertility banks.

I found that I didn't want this book to end. It is a quick read and I could have easily read more. Paige and Miles were easy to like and I would love to read more about their story. There were several interesting storylines within the story that also kept the story moving.

Bravo Julie Clark. The Ones We Choose is a fascinating read. I will be looking for future books from you. Let's hear more about Paige, Miles, Liam, Jackie and Nick!

This is a beautiful and well told story with a plot that contains quite a few surprises. Every time I thought it was going in one direction Julie Clark would totally go in another unexpected direction that kept your attention and eyes glued to the pages of this amazing book. Am looking forward to reading more books from this wonderful author and yes you should definitely pre order this book so that it will be waiting for you on release day. Happy reading!

This is such a beautiful story of love, family, and how our past affect our presents and futures.

I was hooked from the very beginning. The relationships between all of the characters were well developed. Friendships, romantic relationships, and familial relationships were all so relatable. There were a few “Hallmark cliche” or unrealistic moments, but I appreciate those, so it was fine for me. I don’t mind suspending disbelief for my fiction, especially when it is well written.

And this was so well written. The plot didn’t go in the direction I had anticipated it would. Just when I thought I knew what would happen next, there was another curve ball thrown in. This kept me engaged in the story and not wanting to put it down.

Even though I am the farthest thing from a scientist, the interspersed information about genetics was beyond interesting to me. I can see how it could be a distraction for some readers, it definitely enhanced the reading for me.

I cannot wait to read more from this (debut!) author!

Thank you to Netgalley for sending me an eARC in exchange for my honest review.