Other People's Children is a wonderful read. It filled with the experiences and the struggles one woman endures to become a mother. It is heartbreaking but beautifully written. Definitely recommend.

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

TW for this book: miscarriage, infertility

Whew! I was immediately intrigued by the plot of this book, and it does not disappoint. This book focuses on the Durbins, a couple who can't conceive a child, and Carli, the teenage mother who lets the Durbins adopt her baby. But then Carli changes her mind, and the Durbins are faced with an impossible choice. Should they return the baby that they have grown to love, or fight for their new family member?

The first half of this book definitely gives strong "women's fiction" vibes, but at the halfway point the pace picks up significantly. I couldn't put it down because I was racing through the pages to see what would happen next. This book is told from the POV of several characters, and I enjoyed all of them except the husband, Jon--TBH I probably could have done without his character entirely.

If you enjoy books about families, make sure to add this book to your list!

I started this book with trepidation because the first few chapters were all about feelings. Nothing was happening and I kept thinking that I was definitely knocking stars off the reviews— feelings are good but .........dang, suck it up buttercup. I totally apologize to the author and all the people who have been in similar situations for feeling that way. After multiple perspectives I really feel your pain. How hard to live through multiple miscarriages, finally pull it together and try different options, only to have that fall apart, too. This book is not just about feelings. It’s also about how feelings and circumstances can change your whole life. I give this book 5 stars. Be warned, there are triggers if you have suffered through miscarriages and adoptions, but for birth parents and those adopting. I received this book from NetGalley free in exchange for an honest review.

Ms. Hoffman’s Other People’s Children is a journey. It’s the past, present and future woven into a beautiful, heartbreaking story of the lengths one will go through to fulfill life long dreams.

Gail and Jon desperately want to raise a family but have been unable to carry a baby to term. Carli is a pregnant teenager who knows she is not ready to raise a child on her own.

The story follows the lives of Gail, Jon, Carli and Paige, the adoption agency representative. It shows the complexities of doing what is best for yourself and others even though the decisions are life changing.

Book provided by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

Seldom does the writing in a book suck me in so quickly and so entirely that I think to myself “wow” three times in the first chapter. This book did. The writing was so incredible. I loved the way the prose so vividly and beautifully painted a picture and evoked strong feelings and deep emotions, somehow without ever being flowery or pretentious. The story itself was compelling and heartbreaking and I enjoyed every minute of it.

Wow!
I adored the multiple perspectives. All were written in third person, but you got an intimate feel for so many characters.
But that makes it so hard to decide who you’re rooting for, because you’re rooting for everyone.
It’s such a heartbreaking situation for everyone involved.
It was very thought provoking and gut wrenching, but I couldn’t put it down because I just had to know what would happen.
It was definitely a bittersweet novel, but packed with so much hope.

Such an emotional ride, but such a good one.

Clap! Clap! Clap! Long whistle! I don’t have enough words at my vocabulary to express my adoration for this book!

It’s magnificent MASTERPIECE! It made me think so hard ! It made me cry! It made me pissed off! It made my heart pound too fast! It made me ache!

I adored all those multiple voices and I enjoyed to read their different narrations! Interestingly you can’t take sides at this book because all of the characters are right from their own perspective. Sometimes truth can be subjective and multi dimensional!

I can honestly say if I could grade this book with 10 stars or giving away the entire galaxy I would do with great pleasure!

It’s heart wrenching, making you lose control of your emotions! It’s vicious stab to your heart! Your ugly tears start dropping without giving any warning!

It’s also action packed, thrilling, making you sit at the edge of your seats. You just want to forget everything in your own life, hiding under a blanket like a protective cocoon and flipping the pages to find out what will happen to all those characters! Because honestly they all grow on you.

Dear Gail who suffers from miscarriages, feeling abandoned by her own social circle, becoming estranged with her husband, sharpening knives as she keep gritting her teeth because only thing can make her happy is being a mother. Now she has a chance! She found a young girl who wants to give away her baby!

Gail’s husband Jon wants to make his wife happy but he is scared because his bipolar mother couldn’t give him proper household when he was a young boy and his years at the trailer park give him second thoughts about difficulties to become an appropriate father who completely provides a little child’s needs!

And poor 18 years old Carli, has been raised in a trailer by her cold hearted, bitchy mother, planning to be a nurse, taking her second chance to go to college for better future. Her sister and her own mother treat her mean so she cannot get her own family’s support to raise a child! Best thing is giving her to adoption, isn’t it? But what if she’s making a big mistake.

Paige is the officer who arranges the paper works, coordinating everything work flawless during adoption process but some cases are still risky because young mothers can always change their minds after giving birth and keeping their babies!

And Carli’s bitchy mother turns entire issue as a vendetta after having brief talk with Josh at the hospital. When she gets mad because of condescending looks and humiliating comments of Jon, she decides to put pressure on her daughter to keep her baby. Her boiling feelings get too far and turns into an obsession because she feels like all the wrong things she’s done and keep doing during she has been raising kids can be compensated by helping to raise her granddaughter!

Well she was the most irritating character of the book. Even though you hate the guts of her, you may easily learn to empathize with her point!

What if the mother of the child changes her mind and adopting parents want to keep the baby even though it means they have to leave the country and live like fugitives! Do you want to know what will happen to all those remarkable characters! Just read this amazing book!

I do everything in my control to promote this amazing read! Because it’s not only great! It’s extraordinary!

I’m so happy this fantastic read put this brilliant author on my radar!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Simon& Schuster for sharing this freaking fantastic reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions!

Wow, what a story. I love books like this where you’re routing for all sides of the story ... well, outside of Carli’s mother who sucked all around. This book pulled me in so many directions and I was completely invested in seeing how it ended. Would definitely recommend this book.

Thanks NetGalley!

Heartbreaking and emotional, this book was the incredibly intriguing story of a couple desperate to have a child and a young woman who feels her only option is to give up her child. My only regret is that I did get to read it for the first time with my book club. But I can promise that I will be putting it into the hands of my book club as soon as possible. This book is ripe for discussion.

This book was a powerful story about parenthood and relationships. The author switches between the perspectives of the different characters -- each felt fully flushed out and provided a good sense of their motivations and perspectives. The story also developed in ways I was not expected. I'd definitely recommend this book.

I received a free e-ARC of this book through Netgalley.
This book was different than I expected from the blurb. It took me on quite a ride and I had to read it all in one sitting. Definitely one of the best of 2021 so far! It does talk about infertility issues and somewhat glides over them so it could be a trigger for people having fertility issues.

Other People’s Children is heartbreaking. Just heartbreaking. This is the story of a couple whose marriage has survived infertility and multiple miscarriages. It’s the story of a social worker, helping others as she was once helped. And it’s also the story of a woman who longs to be a grandmother so she can have a second chance to be a good parent. Linking all of them is a pregnant teenager, already beaten down by poverty and abuse. Heartbreaking.

Jon and Gail Durbin have successful careers and a perfect house in the suburbs with a fully furnished nursery missing only one thing…a baby. They have designed a “book” presenting them as the ideal adoptive parents. After failed attempts, they are finally chosen. And It all goes wrong. Just so wrong. Carli is the birth mother, hoping to become a nurse to escape poverty and her broken down family. Marla is her bitter mother, seething with anger and frustration. A brief confrontation with Jon as they all wait for Carli to deliver a daughter begins a chain reaction of bad decisions that will end in violence, tragedy and sorrow.

R. J. Hoffman’s beautifully written debut novel is compelling and intense. Each character is so fully described that you understand why they make certain choices. Some characters are unlikeable but Hoffman gives enough of their history to make you have some sympathy for them. The difference between rich and poor - the upper middle class Durbins and the Brennans, who live paycheck to paycheck - is a main theme. Hoffman sees it in many layers, not black and white. And in the end, none of it matters. The characters are reduced to pure, desperate emotion. This is an amazing first novel. 5 stars.

This was a quick read, even though it started off slow - I finished it in two sittings because it picked up about halfway through and it suddenly felt like I needed to know what was going to happen immediately. I could tell from just the first few pages that the writing was incredible. I connected with most of the characters, but especially with Gail and Carli. In that way, it was easy to flip flop between taking Gail's side and then taking Carli's side. I also loved Paige's character. My hatred for Marla made me dislike the chapters from her viewpoint, and I thought they were somewhat unnecessary. I also thought what happened to Jon towards the end felt unnecessary and too unrealistic. That being said, I really liked the ending and would read a sequel to this just to find out what happens next.

Thank you so much to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for my very first ARC!

This book had me feeling all kinds of emotions from beginning to end. The story is told through several viewpoints and really shed light on how complicated adoption can be. Too often we see the happily ever after adoptions on tv but there are situations such as the one depicted in this book that go deeper and can really send everyone involved on a rollercoaster ride of emotions and self reflection.

I LOVED this book until about half way through and then it started getting a bit annoying and hard to read. I definitely enjoyed the ending and certain parts, but I just wish ( do not want to spoil anything), that the whole big decision the Durbins made did not happen. I myself, went through infertility so this book hit me hard in certain moments because I have felt many of the feelings that Gail did. I really do hope they have a follow up to how the Durbins and Carli are doing!

I really liked the storyline of this book. I found it to be very relatable as a mother, and also just from putting myself in the place of Gail. The subject matter is tricky and I’m not sure there are every any winners in a situation like this. A child being given up for adoption and a mother having the right to take that child back (for 6 months in some cases) has long been something I have thought about. I’m sure a lot of people will take sides in this book. I did. The ending was bittersweet. The only negative in this book for me was the dialogue of Carli and more so Marla. The author seemed to go out of her way to let the reader know that Carli and Marla were what is described in the book as “poor white trash” and that didn’t work for me. I thought it could’ve been written better and there needed to be more character development with Carli and Marla as well as their part or the story. Thank you in advance to netgalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Oh my goodness, so many layers this painful and brutal book. Gail and her husband have been struggling with infertility issues and so desperately want a baby. As a newish mama, I know the deep desire to have a baby, and the pure joy that a baby of your own brings. This is all Gail wants, and she does everything she can (including making a zillion lists) to get this. Finally, they find a child to adopt, and while she does not connect with Carli, the teen mother, they bring the baby home and have a week of pure joy and difficulty (bc a new baby is so, so hard). But at what cost will they go to keep the child? The character development relies a bit on stereotypes of Carli's mother (who is angry that her daughter is giving up her child bc she wants to help raise her grandchild) and even the poverty that Carli and her family live in, and the rich couple with the big house ready for a baby. It's hearbreaking and painful but I wouldn't be surprised to read this was based on a true story.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me an ARC.

Wow.

I will readily admit that this book was a slow start for me, but I was greatly rewarded for hanging in there with it.

Rich in character development and detail, this book follows several characters as they are affected by the initial decision of one. This is not your standard adoption story; instead it is a beautiful compilation of the experiences and thoughts and feelings and dreams of a group of people interconnected—regardless of whether they want to be.

The writing was solid and entertaining, and ushered you right into a height and climax that I didn’t really expect but was happy to read.

Great book.

Great author.

Wasn’t ready for it to end.

This is a story that has been told before and yet I was fully absorbed in the book from the first line thru the last. It held so much truth...I felt the character’s pain...I believed their feelings and relationships. At one point I questioned whether something would really happen that way but concluded it could, things can spiral and the character’s actions made sense based on their backgrounds. As always I love a book where I learn something, anything, and this one includes tidbits on the making and sharpening of knives, psychology and music. I hope this author is far along on his next book as I highly recommend this one.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an early release in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Gail and Jon are a childless couple seeking to expand their family through adoption. Carli is an unwed, pregnant teen who is giving up her baby. Marla is Carli’s mom and Paige is the adoption agency social worker who is trying to help with what is best for all of them. Told from five different points of view R.J. Hoffman explores the emotion-charged topic of adoption. I especially enjoy books told from multiple viewpoints. He has done an outstanding job of expressing what each character is feeling and gives enough background information for the reader to understand how they each got to this place in life. Some of the characters are very likable whereas one is a total villain. I really liked this book. My only criticism was the ending was a bit too “wrapped in a bow”. 4.5 stars for me.