I was beyond excited to read this-- I loved the handmaid's tail and this has been on my list since I heard about it! I absolutely loved it. It gave me chills and had me thinking about society in a whole new way. 5 stars!

I became so deeply invested in the lives of these women and the world they inhabit. The author engaged me initially with the diverse cultural representation and kept me just slightly ill at ease knowing how uneven their socio-economic backgrounds would make the different women. I love a novel that invokes the need to have conversations and discuss with friends at length all the ethical and political points at play.

This propulsive debut novel takes on the commodification of pregnancy. It feels vaguely dystopian, but also not at all far-fetched in this current era of late-stage capitalism where anything and everything can be optimized for a profit at the expense of human labor (labor being work, not necessarily the process of childbirth, though this word choice is certainly not coincidental).

Jane, a working-class immigrant trying to take care of her newborn daughter, accepts an opportunity at a secluded retreat called Golden Oaks where she’ll be paid a large sum of money in exchange for carrying the baby of a wealthy client. For the duration of her pregnancy, Jane will live at Golden Oaks and pamper herself to ensure the healthiest baby. The catch is that she will be separated from her daughter, however the payment upon delivery will be enough to keep them both financially comfortable.

Feeling as if she has no other choice, Jane accepts the offer, but soon finds that the burden of being away from her daughter is too much to bear—and that the people who run Golden Oaks aren’t being entirely honest with her.

The narrative alternates between a few characters: Jane; Mae, the ambitious woman who runs Golden Oaks; Reagan, another surrogate at the facility; and Ate, Jane’s aunt who is tasked with taking care of Jane’s daughter.

For the most part, the multi-narrative approach works well, providing insight into each character’s motives and actions. There are points at which both the plot and certain characters’ choices aren’t entirely believable, but these are the kinds of flaws that can be expected from a debut novel.

The plot itself is engaging and at times even suspenseful, but the real strengths lie in the more subtle themes throughout the book: the striking class divisions, the stark reality of working-poor immigrants having to make impossible choices in pursuit of the American Dream, the lengths to which mothers will go for their children, and the ways that capitalism places profits over people.

In other words, there are a lot of interesting, timely ideas packed into an imperfect yet highly readable narrative...and honestly, I’ll take it!

The Farm by Joanne Ramos was different from what I expected. Originally thought THE FARM took place somewhere in the not-so-distant future. However, there was nothing about this surrogacy farm that couldn't exist today. The book portrayed a chilling reality that explores privilege from the POVs of the "haves and haves not" The story ends abruptly giving everyone an unrealistic "happily ever after". An interest and well paced read.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

I appreciate the value of this book and think many of the important topics Ramos brings to light are necessary to have dialogue around, such as racial and economic inequality, entitlement and privilege, and immigration. However, I would have liked to experience more connection with the characters. I didn't really feel for, or empathize with, clients or hosts.

What a book! I would say this one held my interest the entire time. I loved that each chapter was from a different POV and the author did a good job with character background and winding the story of each character beautifully!
Jane, an immigrant from the Philippines and mother of a baby girl, has the chance of a lifetime working for a client of her cousins' Ate Evelyn. But when she blows that opportunity and gets fired, Ate has another job opportunity up her sleeve for Jane. An opportunity that is at a beautiful retreat where everyone there is pampered and fed nutritious meals, etc. Each person there has one job, carry a healthy baby to term for their clients. The facility and their clients demand the most discretion, so the women have to stay on the premises for all 9 months, which is where the issue lies since Jane left her daughter with Ate Evelyn. Communications start to go awry between Jane and Ate, which starts to push the bounds of what Jane will do to ensure the safety of her daughter.
The only thing I did not like about this book was the ending. It felt too abrupt. And I hated that the epilogue skipped through so much and yet was so long.

Wow, The Farm, is a stunning debut. At the beginning of the book, we meet Jane, a young immigrant and single mom from the Philippines who is struggling to try and give herself and her daughter a life in America. And even as she tries to do everything right, she still finds herself barely scraping by paycheck to paycheck and hoping each morning she will have work to pay the bills.

Reagan, like Jane, is young and uncertain of her future. But, unlike Jane, she is American, comes from a wealthy family and holds a prestigious degree from a top university. Reagan doesn’t need the money, but what she does need is purpose. A true millennial, huh?

We also meet Mia, a first-generation Chinese woman who has grown up with all the privilege. She holds a degree from a highly prestigious university and she and her husband both hold important, high-paying jobs.

Three very different women with distinct backgrounds all meet at Golden Oaks, a luxury retreat for very specially chosen surrogates who serve the rich and powerful. On one hand, it seems crazy that a place like this would exist. On the other, I seriously think a similar place could exist.

The disturbing part is not that these women have volunteered nine months to help someone else, and make a good chunk of change. The disturbing part is that at Golden Oaks, the baby’s health and viability are more important than that of the mother’s. The baby is a hot commodity and has a high value in the marketplace, thus is put first.

Ramos does an amazing job developing each of the women that come together at Golden Oaks. The result is a incredibly-written story that feels genuine, and characters that readers can really identify with. After this debut, I’m really excited to see what Ramos will write next.

Special thanks to Random House and Netgalley for an advanced e-galley in exchange for my honest review. This one is out May 7, 2019. #thefarm #netgalley This review will be published on my blog on April 8, 2019.

A thick plot with well developed characters is what makes an incredible book, and The Farm is one of those books. I was enthralled by the premise of surrogacy as the next big enterprise and hungrily ate up everything Ramos fed me. The novel wasn’t futuristic or sci-fi as I initially thought but instead built it’s premise on current political, racial and social class issues, which was also strengthened by the credibility of Ramos, given her background as a Filipino immigrant, Stanford grad and contributor to The Economist. The missing star is due to the abrupt ending with many many loose ends and a thousand questions could have been beautifully wrapped up if Ramos had finished the book properly. Nonetheless, I would recommend reading this novel!

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House for the advanced copy for an honest review.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for allowing me early access to this book!

Would you live in upstate NY at an amazing retreat with every amenity you need for free? Plus, you actually get paid an insane amount of money.. Potentially, but what if there was a catch? For nine months, you cant leave, your every movement is monitored and you are cut off from your former life while dedicating yourself to producing the perfect baby, that isn't yours.

The themes in this book kept me reading: surrogacy, wealth inequality, class, immigration, race. They are timely and relevant. It was an interesting look at motherhood and pregnancy and what you are willing to do for your family. I enjoyed the character and plot development and couldnt put it down!

I received an ARC of this book courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. The Farm ranks up there with some of the great speculative fiction books (and movies/series) of our time. I enjoyed the story and found it to be provocative and compelling. The writing was very thought provoking - looking forward to seeing what else the author publishes.

Joanne Ramos is a superb writer, I flew through this book and wished it never ended. The main characters have such depth to them, the businesses are so detailed, and the action is presented in such a way it's palpable. I love how this book is filled with so many different kinds of strong women: rich women, hard working women, Asian, Caucasian, Black women, powerful, strategic, conniving, intuitive, women of integrity, women of all ages.

Evelyn Arroyo came to America from the Philippines to work hard and send home money to her children; she cleans, nannies, sleep trains infants, set up her own catering company, and works as a scout for Golden Oaks. Golden Oaks is a surrogate agency in a luxurious New York setting, that caters to the wealthiest of clientele; the resident pregnant surrogates here are called Hosts. Evelyn's niece Jane is Host number 82, and her white roommate Reagan is "Premium" Host number 84. There are stories within stories, intrigue and mystery, and a genuine understanding of and portrayal of a range of important aspects of the Asian-American experience.

I started this book without any information as to what the book was about or even what genre of book it was. As I met Jane and Ate and read about the hard working Filipino women, caring for the children of the wealthy while scraping by trying to meet the needs of their own families, I kept wondering about the title of the book and how it was related to what I was reading. As the book progressed I found the title PERFECT!

Jane ends up as a surrogate ‘host’ to a wealthy unidentified client in a tranquil location meant to provide her and the other women with the best of life until the birth of the babies. Despite a setting that meets all the needs of the hosts, I could not help but feel like the women were pampered veal. The women were kept prisoners under the lure of money, the threat of lost money, and manipulated by the facility coordinator. By the end I was furious for the exploited women by the wealthy clients who have purchased their services.

Despite the fact that the book was written in the present time, and despite the fact that there probably are places like this in operation, the book had a very 'futuristic' feel to it; a dystopian Atwood-type novel. Initially you are lulled into thinking that this arrangement will be a benefit to Jane but as the book progresses you see the diabolical manipulation of the surrogates, most who are poor immigrant women, used and taken advantage of by those with considerably more resources.

The book moved quickly, jumping months in a simple paragraph break, however, the outrage that builds as the book progresses is like a slow burn. This is a book about wealth, immigrants, and the systems in place that allows some to take advantage of others. It was a good read with characters I cared about.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random house for allowing me to read an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

What could possibly go wrong when young women are impregnated and their freedoms are
limited all to make money? Hang on as you take a journey through the dark side of surrogacy. While it may seem like the perfect way to escape poverty and dire circumstances. T participants will soon discover everything is not as promised . When Jane arrives at Golden Oaks it is with a mixture of anxiety and hope. Anxiety about what the future holds, but hope this decision will improve her life. The story is told from the perspective of the hosts and people running the facility. This allows the reader to empathize with the different characters , even unlikable ones. A unique and interesting plot that keeps the reader entertained and engaged.

I recently read VOX by Christina Dalcher, a book that literally frightened the daylights out of me in its description of the country gone amok in its zeal to repress women. When I read the description of The Farm and saw it compared to VOX, I knew I had to read it, too. It is an interesting read and the concept is not so far fetched that it slips out of the realm of possibility, but from my perspective, it does not live up to the hype. I think the ending was most disappointing for me. At the pivotal point of crisis, the story turns on it heels and abruptly ends too neatly, too tidily. To me, this was a disservice to some of the characters, particularly Mae. For someone who spent the entirety of the novel plotting her way to the top of the corporate ladder and manipulating the “hosts,” the ending seems entirely out of character. Relatedly, Jane who has behaved erratically throughout the novel (consistently), has a sudden change of heart, forgives the wrong doers, and then ends up somewhat happily ever after? No way. Does not work. With that said, the concept does beg the question, at what point does surrogacy get out of control? The answer seems to be, in part, when it becomes a money-making endeavor that puts profits ahead of the the surrogates and the babies they carry....

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for letting me preview this title before it’s available to the general public. The premise lured me to read the book. There’s a retreat-like place where women are served organic meals, have access to personal trainers and are given frequent massages. All this is free as long as you’re a surrogate carrying a client’s baby. But you must stay at “The Farm” until you deliver, which made it difficult for Jane, a Filipina girl with a young baby at home under the watch of her aunt.

For me, the story didn’t pay off. It was hinted that The Farm was awful, but never shown to be such. I disagree with other reviewers that it moved quickly. I found it a very slow read and the ending quite ridiculous and unreasonable.

I need lots of action in my thrillers and that’s probably why I’m not a big fan of this title.

I began reading The Farm thinking that it took place somewhere in the not-so-distant future, but as I was further pulled into this engaging, quick read, I realized there was nothing about this surrogacy farm that couldn't exist right now--a chilling reality. Plotwise, it's an interesting novel that explores privilege from the perspectives of those with and without. The differences in class were very clear, but included nuance that might not have existed for a less skilled writer. I would have welcomed delving more deeply into the exploitation of the less privileged as it pertained to the people of color beyond the few whose narratives we have here--that felt like a missed opportunity to solidify what this book was ultimately trying to say.

Amazing! Lots of different social aspects to look at and think about in this book. The twists and turns kept me guessing all the way to the end. Definitely a book you don't want to start without plenty of time to read it!

The Farm was easily one of my favorite books of 2018. It's a novel concerned with examining issues of class division and exploitation while also interrogating whether or not it is possible to be both self-serving and generous at the same time. The Farm also provokes a lot of interesting questions about the ways in which women can find success, or at least some form of socially sanctioned success, whether that be through motherhood, career advancement, or in this case, a compelling blurring of the two. The plot is exciting. The characters are complex and complicated. No one is necessarily good or bad, but instead privileged or marginalized in a way that either does or doesn't allow them to make certain choices. This was not only an excellent book to read, but I'd love the chance to teach this one day.

I was surprised to find that "The Farm" was not the thriller I was expecting. While there is a level of suspense and intrigue, this novel is a story of social injustices and female struggles. "The Farm" was a smooth read and kept me interested until the very end. I found myself thinking about the main character, Jane, long after I finished the book. I think "The Farm" would be a great choice for book club discussions.

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book's 'storyline had me intrigued. The book tarts out interestingly enough about a place called The farm where surrogates are paid to bear children for wealthy clients that cannot have children of their own or are too busy with their careers to take the time off to be pregnant.


While at the farm they must adhere to rules and strict diets. One host" as they are called has a top tier college education and the head of the Farm wants to match her with a client who is a wealthy Chinese business woman.

Another host's boyfriend visits to have sex with his girlfriend... Jane, another host longs for her young daughter.

Reagan is found to have a lump on her neck but it is discovered to be benign..


Another host's baby turns out to have Down's syndrome and the client asks that the pregnancy be terminated.

After Jane's daughter's visits are denied Regan finds a way for Jane to escape so that she can go to see her daughter.


It is all about payments to the hosts and withdrawing some of their bonuses for improper behavior.


This book bogged down with the going back and forth between the woman who set up the Farm and the hosts themselves, which for the most part were Filipino's. as they were the ones most in need of money,

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