Thank you Netgalley, publisher, and R.J. Hoffmann for the opportunity to read an advanced copy! Other People’s Children is a heartbreaking story about a couple who suffers with infertility and a young single mother. The story goes on to tell the trials of the adoption process and legal rights of birth parents. The chapters were told by different character...sometimes it was too much back and forth to keep up with.

This book has a tender subject that may hit home for many readers -- pregnancy loss and loss in the process of fostering / adoption. I would recommend this book in a college setting where readers are able to choose this topic, knowing what they are in for before opening the pages. The subject was executed with respect and grace, and for that, I would feel comfortable recommending it with a simple warning that it may muster some trauma in those with similar lived experiences to the characters. Excellent read.

I don’t have kids. I don’t want kids. I have never really wanted kids. But this book about how far parents will go for their children is an incredibly emotional read that even childfree readers will be moved by.

Gail and Jon Durbin are a married couple who desperately want a child. They’ve suffered multiple miscarriages and have been sending out their adoption book to no success. Finally, 18 year old Carli picks them to adopt her baby. Carli has a terrible home life, with an abusive mother and no real support system, so the decision to give up her baby wasn’t a hard one for her. But Carli’s mother Marla is against the adoption, and gives Carli an ultimatum before signing the final consent to give up her rights: reclaim the baby or find a new place to live. Meanwhile, Jon and Gail have fallen in love with the baby, and when they find out Carli intends to reclaim her daughter, they decide they will do whatever it takes to keep her... legal or not.

This is a heartbreaker of a book, and you’ll somehow be rooting for and against every character. The books that tend to hit me the hardest are ones with no real “bad guy,” and while there are certainly characters in this book that are more likeable than others, I found my allegiances changing every chapter based on who the focus was. I found the writing to be beautiful and the story to be perfectly paced. All of the characters were well developed, and I really loved learning their stories and how each of their lived experiences effected their decisions. I loved everything about this emotional and suspenseful book, and I’d definitely recommend it.

I tore through this novel. It is a very quick read. I just had to know what was going to happen. The characters are well written and their motives are clear. I think it's amazing that this is a debut novel. I thought it was very well done and I love the ambiguity of everyone's motives because not everything is black and white all the time.

"Some things you can't fix, some things you just have to carry."

A touching, heartbreaking story of emotion!
An attachment for a child that is so intense, you feel your insides twisting as you read each page.
A mother's love is like no other and it is proven by Carli the young mother and Gail the adoptive Mom; who adores Maya and will do anything and everything to keep her safe.
It's intense, emotional and a beautifully written book that you cannot help but read quickly to see how the plot plays out!
Well done!

⭐️⭐️.5- thank you NetGalley for an ARC of this book. Gail has always desperately wanted a child but suffering through many miscarriages, it has never happened for her. Carli is a teenage girl who gets accidentally pregnant. Their paths cross when Gail and her husband adopt the daughter that Carli has. Everything goes well until Carli decides she wants her daughter back. I thought this book would be about the emotions one goes through with an adoption gone wrong. I had a hard time connecting with the characters. Gail and her husband were not very relatable and I thought I would really feel their grief and I didn’t. The book had an interesting plot line but was hard to follow. I didn’t understand the characters’ motives for the actions that they took. I was ready to love this book and I just didn’t. I don’t recommend reading this one.

Other People's Children is a riveting book that takes a look at two sides of the story of adoption: the birth mother's and the adoptive parent's. Gail and Jon are a couple who has been trying to get pregnant without success and has turned toward adoption as a way to build their family. Carli is a pregnant teenager from a lower-income family who is pursuing adoption, despite her own mother's wishes. When Carli wavers on going through with the adoption to Gail and Jon, the book takes a turn towards a thriller. Thoughtful and riveting, Other People's Children defied a lot of stereotypes and myths about adoption, and kept me turning the pages to see what happened next.

Sped thru this book because it was THAT good. Interesting enough, but also believable. Didn't want it to end!!

Thanks to author,publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free,it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

Thank you to #NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a digital copy of this book prior to publication in exchange for my review.
I quite enjoyed this book and didn't want to put it down until I read to the very end. It's a story of a couple who are unable to have their own child and work with a social worker to find a pregnant teenager who wants to give up her baby for a closed adoption. There are the usual issues that one might expect in this kind of arrangement and the usual characters and feelings, but the author has made it more interesting by giving us characters with strong feelings and more extreme reactions. Yet, it all felt very real and the resolution was satisfying. These are characters that are pretty unforgettable and as the book ends, you really want it to continue. It would be hard for the author to write a follow up, but I bet readers would love it!

Thank you to Net Galley and Simon & Schuster for a digital ARC of this title in exchange for my honest review. I felt this book had well-developed characters, and you could feel the heartache and anger that comes with fertility issues. I can't imagine wanting to enjoy the baby you've adopted, but knowing this could change at any moment before the final papers are signed. In this novel, the Durbins decide they just can't give her up. Another interesting aspect about this plot is the career they chose for one of the main characters. You'll really enjoy this one.

How far would you go for your child? An complex, emotional tale of an adoption gone wrong.

Gail and Jon are desperate for a child after multiple miscarriages, and when Carli agrees to let them adopt her baby, things are looking up. But of course it's not that simple once the baby is born, and things start to unravel for everyone. Hoffman uses multiple perspectives effectively to give the reader a look into each character's decisions and rationale. Whereas books like Little Fires Everywhere have previously examined other issues surrounding adoption, Other People's Children has a strong focus on class issues, and I enjoyed the social commentary included in the story.

Thank you to Simon & Schuster for providing an ARC on NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

OTHER PEOPLE'S CHILDREN
BY R.J. HOFFMANN

Gail and Jon live a comfortable, well off life together except for the fact that they both want children and Gail has had three miscarriages and so they decide to adopt a newborn baby. Gail has a habit of writing lists of everything which will be part of this couple's undoing. They have the nursery room all decorated and Gail has been meeting with Paige who is handling their adoption. Paige is ethical and doesn't choose sides.

Carli is used to meeting with Gail throughout her pregnancy whose father of the baby is a drug addict and doesn't want anything to do with Carli or the baby. Carli has picked Gail and Don to adopt her baby based on a book that Gail has put together. Carli has already attended the abortion process by witnessing her good friend by accompanying her friend and decided to give birth and put up her baby for adoption with Don and Gail. Her mother is an undesirable character and is both physically and emotionally abusive to Carli.

Carli has pretty much closed herself off emotionally from her own baby by purposefully not looking at the sonogram pictures that Gail attends with her. While Carli gives birth her brutish mother Marla shows up at the hospital and demands that Carli look at her baby daughter before the nurses whisk her away. The baby daughter that she has reminds her of the scent of vanilla. The baby goes home with Dawn and Jon and they fall instantly in love with her and they name her Maya.

Carli's mother Marla threatens Carli that if she signs the final form of consent document that Marla will kick her out of the home. When Paige contacts Carli that the adoption will be finalized just as soon as Carli signs the consent form Carli tells Paige that she has changed her mind. Paige who remains neutral has the agonizing job of contacting Don and Gail that they have to give back their new daughter, whom they already bonded with and have fallen in love with they decide to not return the baby and flee the country with her.

My heart broke for both Gail and Don as new parents but it also broke for Carli when she made the decision to not finalize the adoption by refusing to sign the final consent form. I was on both of their sides wanting all three of then to be able to love that precious newborn baby girl. I didn't feel anything hopeful towards Marla who promises to pay two thuggish men who she works for $5000.00 each if they go and find Don and Gail and stop them from their plans of driving to Canada and returning with the baby. I really enjoyed this novel and would highly recommend this. It was both very realistic and a well plotted and well character developed story that has a lot of appeal.

Publication Date: April 6, 2021

Thank you to Net Galley, R.J. Hoffmann and Simon & Schuster for generously providing me with my ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

#OtherPeople'sChildren #RJHoffmann #Simon&Schuster #NetGalley

Other People’s Children is the heartbreaking story of a couple, Gail and Jon, who struggle to have kids of their own and are thrilled when they finally have the opportunity to adopt. My sister in law has two adopted children and I think this story would be hard for her to read. This would be every adoptive parent’s worst nightmare to have their child ripped away from them. At the same time, I did feel for Carli, Maya’s birth mom, and her indecision of what to do especially at the hands of her emotionally abusive mother. This story felt so realistic and was scary knowing how something like this could easily happen. While I did not agree with many of the characters’ actions, everything seemed to work out the way it was supposed to in the end – and I totally predicted the final reveal!

Fairly predictiable read about a couple who, after several miscarriages, adopts a baby prior to the birth. The baby spends a week at their home and they fall in love with her. During that time, birth mother changes her mind and wants the baby. Instead of returning the baby, the couple flees and become fugitives. Quite a bit of drama ensues and the story ends about how you think it would.