Rowan lives in America with her adoptive parents and has a very strained relationship with her mother. This leads her to make some bad decisions in the future in this quick and very readable novel.

Rowan was a frustrating character for me and I couldn't quite understand what her motivation was and why she seemed to hate her mother so much. The book jumps around quite a lot, giving us more insight into Rowan's background and friendships.

I felt the ending of the story was rushed and I felt a bit unsatisfied at the end. But this was easy to read and introduced an interesting and complex character.

Inconvenient Daughter by Lauren Sharkey

This is a story about a Rowan, a transracial adoptee from Korea. She struggles with feeling loved by her adoptive family, and the trauma of having been given up for adoption by her birth mother. This leads her to make some very questionable choices, and she ends up in an abusive relationship because she doesn’t think she deserves better. I know this because the book tells me. Unfortunately I don’t SEE or FEEL it.

From other stories of/by transracial adoptees I know this can be a very traumatic experience. So it’s not that I don’t find it believable, I just don’t think it comes across in the story and I was unable to connect emotionally with the main character. As a result I found the book somewhat tedious, and ended up skim reading large sections in the middle to get through it.

Review on instagram and good reads:

🧍🏻‍♀️review🧍🏻‍♀️⁣
⁣
i’m full of feelings: thanks SO much to @kayliejonesbooks and @netgalley for this amazing #ownvoices ARC!!! Inconvenient Daughter is an awesome debut novel about a gal named Rowan, who was adopted by a white family when she was a baby and brought to America. it’s the epitome of a stream of consciousness tale, hopping around in time and weaving a story anyone who has grown up can relate to; learning how to love and be yourself with the world working against you. a v strong debut from Sharkey in my opinion!!! being a white reviewer, id much rather you seek out an #ownvoices review for this one to see if this story mirrors their experiences!! some of the transitions felt slightly choppy, and i actually wanted like 100 more pages to just flesh out all of the intricate relationships (romantic, parental etc.), but i’ll take what i can get with this beautiful story!!! this one released on June 23rd so be sure to pick up a copy today!! ⁣
⁣
random but applicable emoji: 📱⁣
⁣
long island references i pretended to understand score: 🥯🥯🥯🥯⁣
⁣
wanting to shake the MC score: 😰😰😰😰⁣
⁣
star rating: 🌟🌟🌟💫✨ (3.75 out of 5, round to 4 on GR)⁣
⁣
goes well with: conveniently having a girlfriend who lives on long island and recognizing towns from highway signs, a deep appreciation for your parents, wondering if you missed out by not really partying in college, reading and hoping Lauren Sharkey writes more books!!!!⁣
⁣
TW: domestic abuse, sexual abuse, discussions of adoption and abandonment

In parts a difficult read because of the subject matter , but Rowan is a character I kept rooting for and I wanted to keep hearing her story. I enjoyed how the author developed the story between different times and the characters in the story were well developed. Definitely worth a read

thank you so much to publishers and the author for the chance to review this book, full review to come

This is one of the best books I've read in a while. Rowan's experience as an Asian child adopted by white parents resonated with me (although I am not adopted) because she constantly had to find her place in a community where not many people looked like her and at some points completely rejected her Asian-ness. The relationship between Rowan and her mother is also relatable to just about anyone who was angsty as a teen. The second half of the book turns a bit darker (TW: domestic and sexual violence) but is so incredibly heartbreaking and well written.

I think this book has a lot of potential and powerful moments that can resonate with readers who have similar life experiences. Overall, though, I've found myself growing more and more uncomfortable with transracial adoption and read this around the same time the Myka Stauffer story came out, which definitely influenced how I viewed the rest of the story. Not for me, but I do think it can help people who might relate.

I went into this not knowing what this was about and let me just say.. this book broke my heart. I finished this in one day because I was nervous what would become of Rowan and needed to know. I wasn't expecting this to be so sad and heart breaking. Rowan struggles with her adoption and feeling like she's never good enough. She went through so much pain physically and emotionally and she REALLY didn't deserve that. I just wanted to reach through the book and give her a hug and protect. I do think the ending was cute but it did sort of end suddenly, I think I wanted more for Rowan and her mother but I'm glad at the end she was finally able to find her worth.

Thank you netgalley and to the publisher for the arc!

Inconvenient Daughter is a look into the life of an adopted Korean girl who is trying hard to discover her own identity in a family that doesn't share her same experiences. As a disclaimer, I will be sharing some major spoilers in this review, which I typically don't do, however, this big plot point is the main thing that impacted my rating on this book, and I feel it's really important to share for readers to make the best decision in their choice to read the book.

Rowan was adopted at a young age from Korea to transplant into an Irish Catholic family in Long Island. She first discovers her transracial identity when beginning school. From there, she begins to question who she is and how she fits into her own family, and within the greater world. From elementary school to college and beyond, Rowan makes choices that impact the trajectory of her life and dive deeper into who she is and who she wants to be.

SPOILERS BELOW.
V
V
V


So here's the thing - this book was really promising, and there may be a ton of people who really love it. But one of the major plot points really bothered me so much and I have to share that here. Each chapter begins with a paragraph or so of Rowan at a clinic with a nurse. After a few chapters, it's clear she's been sexually assaulted. Later in the book, you find out what's happened to her, however, as an adult, Rowan is promiscuous (no "slut-shaming" here, she has the right to do as she pleases). What bothers me so much is that during the continuous scenes at the clinic, the ones that span the entirety of the book, she is lying about her sexual assault and who assaulted her. She also has evidence collected, which would prove to have been from someone else entirely during a sexual encounter that was consensual. The fact that the entire book leads up to her lying about being raped really bothers me. And I have very strong feelings about this type of situation. I believe women, but it's very difficult for others to believe women for whatever reason, and so someone who does lie about someone sexually assaulting them could negatively impact all women who want to come forward but are afraid to do so. I understand this is a work of fiction. I understand that I've really loved books that are much more controversial, but something about this really got under my skin. I get the concept of the book. Horrible things happen to Rowan in this story, and she deals with that in her own way, and she needs answers and help, but lying about someone sexually assaulting you is not the way to do.


^
^
^
END SPOILERS

All of that to say, the rest of the book isn't bad. The writing is very choppy at times - the story line jumps around a lot. But again, there was a lot of promise with this book. I just can't get over how everything wrapped up.

"Dad always said love was built on trust. Trust that the other person would be honest about the things that matter, and the things that don't. Trust that they'd love you despite your flaws. Trust that they'd protect you from harm. Trust that they'd never hurt you on purpose." - Inconvenient Daughter, Lauren J. Sharkey

If you go into the book understanding the above, I will say that if you enjoyed Pizza Girl, you'll likely also enjoy Inconvenient Daughter. The storytelling is very different, but they are reminiscent of each other. Both books are about young women struggling with their identities and making choices to try to alleviate a pain in their lives, which is very poetic. I really loved Pizza Girl, and I wish I could've loved this one as much.

The author's novel focuses on a transracial adoption and feelings of not belonging or of being inadequate. Rowan is in a hospital following a traumatic event and focuses on the major events of her life that led to her ending up there. This book will strike a cord with those that struggle with self-esteem, as the author created such a relatable character in Rowan.

This book has one of the best and most realistic voices I have read in a long time. At first, I wasn’t sure how it worked with the time flow of the novel, but then I decided to think of it as a fictional memoir and I got lost in it. Sometimes stream of consciousness narration gets too abstract and doesn’t work for me, but the voice kept the stream concrete. I could tell that portions of this story were definitely based on the author’s own experiences, which made this even more impactful, especially the hopeful ending.

This book was advertised to me as New Adult and I would definitely classify it as that based on the content (cw for domestic and sexual abuse, fertility issues, drug use). It was definitely gritty but nothing felt gratuitous. However, the story goes back to the main character Rowan’s childhood and I found this incredibly engaging. The scenes of young Rowan helped set the scene for the struggles faced later.

I would recommend this book if you are looking for a story that shows how ugly reality can be but how it is recoverable. I would also recommend this book if you are interested in an adoption story where the narrator struggles with their adoption.

The title and the description of the book drew me in immediately. There is a lack of stories that talk about adoption, especially all the complexities involved in a white couple adopting from other countries. The loss of culture, the feeling of being dropped from the sky, having no blood relatives are all really interesting concepts to explore. What I found really hard is the first chapter of the book. I really wished it didn't open with so many open threads and questions. I wish there was many just one track of story atleast to begin with and to situate the reader. Because I couldn't find that, I found just skimming the book until a storyline really drew me in, like the one where she calls the agency to learn more about BioMom. The story and context of the book is super interesting but the way it is laid out makes it hard to follow

Inconvenient Daughter tells the story of Rowan, a transracial adoptee trying to come to grips with her identity.

This novel is a must read if you're interested in the psychology of identity, acceptance, and self-love. The writing is raw, I found myself wanting to give Rowan a big cuddle. There's no way you could possibly find fault in any of her actions, regardless of the mistakes she may have made.

The story flicks back and forth between present day Rowan, and adult, and various events in the past that led to her current reality. The imagery is very vivid and you can hear the author's voice through her words.

Disclosure: I would like to thank the publisher for my advanced reader copy of the book. This is my honest review.

https://jemimareads.wordpress.com/
https://www.instagram.com/jemimareadsofficial

This book is about the realities of trans-racial adoption, which is what drew me in as it's such a complex and interesting subject. The book didn't live up to my expectations.

The characterisation is flimsy. The main character, Rowan, has no real personality or interests beyond boys. Her friends are just flat characters there for the sake of it. And there is so much wasted potential. For a book on adoption, it barely mentions it. We never find out the parent's motivations for adoption (beyond a sentence on infertility), they never have a real confrontation or conversation about it. Why did they adopt trans-racially instead of within their own country? There is so much that could have been explored with her adopted brother (who is again, barely mentioned), her not feeling connected to her heritage, how it impacts different areas of her life, There could have been commentary on the ethics and social issues around trans-racial adoption itself - it's a fact that those who give up their children for adoption are sometimes coerced, for example. Even when Rowan looks up the details of her biological parents, there is hardly any exploration of how this makes her feel. A couple of paragraphs at most.

Instead this book focuses on the boys Rowan fancies, her abusive relationship, and how this turns her spiralling into some self-destructive and dangerous behaviour with other men, eventually leading to her ending up in the sexual assault crisis centre. Apparently, this is because of her never feeling like she belonged, never feeling she is loved enough by her mother. The only problem is we see hardly any evidence of this in the book. Throughout, we are told and told and told, but never shown.

It says a lot that after the guy Rowan is dating goes to New Zealand for 6 months, the whole story of her life in those 6 months is ignored. Within a couple of sentences we go back to the guy (6 months passed without a word about Rowan's life). Then in the final few pages there is a sudden jump from Rowan being 24 to suddenly being 30. All of the potential for complex emotions, for how Rowan recovers, how she feels about being adopted, are just bypassed.

I really wanted to like this book because the premise was so promising, but I ended up wishing it was over.

I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I had a hard time liking this book. The writing and storyline was great, but I couldn’t find myself connecting to the character of Rowan. I had a hard time understanding some of her choices though perhaps I understood her motivations. This is a story of adoption, domestic violence and a search for belonging.

It's easy to imagine that a poor, unwanted child, abandoned - for whatever reasons - by her parents must be amazingly thrilled to find a happy, comfortable home half a world away. Easy, but by no means accurate. People tend to focus on all such a child had gained rather then what they've lost - the knowing who they are and where they come from, whether they have their mother's laugh or their father's nose, being part of the mainstream instead of a kid who doesn't look like her new family. In Laren Sharkey's fictional novel about such a girl, we find Rowan, a Korean-born and American-adopted girl, living on Long Island.

I have a friend whose sister was adopted from an orphanage in Malaysia. She's in her 60s now and you would be hard-pushed to find a more selfish, manipulative and money-grabbing person. She couldn't be more different than my friend, but reading 'Inconvenient Daughter' helped me to think again about how she turned her lucky break (escaping poverty and unwantedness by getting adopted) into a mission to prove to the world that she was better and richer than everybody else. What we learn is that an adopted child can potentially behave in horrible ways whilst trying to prove their value and to make themself special.

I liked Rowan though I'm not sure if it was in spite or because of her behaviour. She rails against her mother's authority, repeatedly tells her that she hates her, and gets into some terrible dysfunctional relationships with boys and men in the hope of becoming somebody's first choice instead of a substitute for what they really wanted. Boy, oh boy, does she choose some utter stinkers in the love stakes.

I found the whole thing very sad but very believable. I've seen young women go off the rails and end up so far on the wrong side of the tracks that they can't get back again. Rowan does things that many readers will find deeply disturbing but you'll need to read 'Inconvenient Daughter' because telling you more would potentially give away too much. For those who need trigger warnings, there's both physical and sexual abuse by the bucketload. It's an uncomfortable read but it doesn't exploit the violence just for titillation or shock factor.

I read a lot of books about immigrant experience, but this book offered something I'd not really thought about enough before - the impact of not just being an immigrant in a new country but also in a new family. It raises a lot of questions (and not too many answers) about the potential risks of trans-racial adoption.

In the unlikely event that the author is looking for any more book ideas, I would LOVE to get this story - or one like it - told from the perspective of the parents.

I received a free pre-publication ebook from Netgalley in return for an honest review.

I recommend this book highly.

I managed to fly through this one quickly which is always a good sign for me. My only gripe is I wish it came with TW's more evidently because there is some really horrible stuff in the book. The writing was great and I thought it was a well crafted story.

Huge trigger warning! I expected this to focus on the way she felt with regards to being adopted and the struggles she went through, but it is more about her life events and ultimately takes a very sinister turn part way through the book which is explored in graphic detail. The teenage years are written exceptionally well, Sharkey portrays the difficulties of being a teenage girl with real authenticity. I would have liked more reflection of what being adopted meant to her and for her, but overall this was still a good read even though it wasn’t what I was expecting.

I really wanted to love this book. I requested to read it because I am half-Korean and always gravitate toward books written about Koreans or characters that are trying to understand their identity as a Korean-American. I enjoyed the perspective of a trans racial adoption that doesn't focus on reuniting with the birth mom, but rather focuses on the relationships made with others and the struggle it can entail.

Lauren J Sharkey is a good writer- in many parts of her story, there is a nice flow that is very easy to read. However, I gave this book 3-stars because I felt that the second half of the story had pacing issues that made it feel rushed and awkward- we spend a lot of time with the main character, Rowan, in childhood through high school and onto college. I do not want to write any spoilers, so the most I want to add for this is that the end comes at a considerably later date.

This book should have had a trigger warning- there is a lot of domestic abuse that is a bit graphic and sexual assault- I read an ARC copy of this book and I would hope that this is something that could be added for the final publication.

I enjoyed this debut book by Sharkey- it is well worth the read. Thank you Netgalley and Kailey Jones Books for an advanced reader's copy of this book.

I really enjoyed this book! I thought the writing was spot-on and really captured what it was like to grow up as a child of the '90's. My only problem was trying to reconcile Rowan's childhood with her subsequent actions. It was difficult to see how a supportive family could ultimately lead her to such a destructive early adulthood. Overall, I found it an enjoyable read and look forward to reading more by this author. Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book.