Incredible read! This fiction story about two women both with their own struggles with having children has you feeling like it could be non-fiction. The events that occur in history are starting to happen again especially with women’s rights. We seem to be going backwards and this novel captures it so well and pulls on your heart strings. I love how the author focuses more on the women in this story than love lives. Making them the main focus and really getting their stories across. Absolutely love this book!

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I am a big fan of Jacqueline Friedland's books so I immediately requested this pre-publication copy of Counting Backwards and Friedland did not disappoint.
The stories of Jessa and Carrie take place 100 years apart and yet they intersect in meaningful ways and both stories are deeply engaging. I won't share additional details, but this book is available now for your reading and discussion. I think it would make a great book club choice.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of Counting Backwards in exchange for an honest review. Counting Backwards is available now.

I think this books should be required reading, I learned so much and feel galvanized to continue the fight for women's rights.

3.75-4?

TLDR: it’s good, I enjoyed it; it covers important and pertinent stories. I would recommend but there’s plenty of areas that need improvement.

I’m having a little bit of trouble rating this because I did enjoy the storyline and I think it discussed some very important information about our troubled history and our present in this country, but it does have plenty of room for growth.

1. This didn’t necessarily feel like a white savior narrative, but because so much of this was about immigrant women, brown bodies who were being subjugated and abused by our country, I think there needed to be more brown characters at the center of this. Friedland did make it known that these women were being taken advantage of and a lot of it was because they were BIPOC but I think a better way to go about this would have been to have more brown characters at the center of this. Maybe the FMC would have sought out help from other Latine women, maybe brought on another Latine lawyer and they could have teamed up and girl-bossed it together. This is a brown issue and I think a better way to go about it would have been to give a brown person or more brown people power to save themselves.

2. I did not care for the FMC. She was very whiny and she felt too sorry for herself. She was freaking out about fertility and not being able to conceive when she was only trying for a handful of months. (I think like four?) She was so obsessive about bearing children and being a mother, I could not stand her. Her husband was an absolute prick, but I couldn’t even be mad at him sometimes because she was so annoying.

3. The whole emphasis on motherhood, conception, and biological children was a little too heavy. As someone who is adopted, this was weird for me to read. She was so obsessed with having her <b>own biological</b> children, it was offensive when her husband would bring up adoption as an alternative. Simply because she wanted to have a part of her parents who passed away? I don’t know, but it was weird and I didn’t appreciate it.

4. Going off the motherhood thing, it seemed that the main reason she was appalled by the medical mistreatment and abuse that these women were facing was because they couldn’t bear children. While, yes, this is a big deal, I think she should be more concerned with the fact that people are abusing women’s bodies, more importantly, they are abusing women who cannot defend themselves. Instead of simply being upset about the human rights violations, she was upset about these women not being mommies. That felt so yucky, also one of the reasons she was annoying me so much and I couldn’t stand her.

3 ⭐️. while this book tackled some really heavy themes, it ultimately read like white saviorship than allyship. I was shocked and appalled to learn about Carrie Buck's case, and to find out that it is STILL legal law that has not been upturned by the Supreme Court is absolutely despicable. I wish we could have centered the stories of Carrie, Isobel, Denise & the other brave women rather than the whiney main character we did.

ty to Harper Muse and Netgalley for the advance reading copy in exchange for an honest review.

This book takes on some very heavy topics and ones that many might not know about and I love when an author does that. Counting Backwards takes on the forced sterilization of women and doesn't hold back many punches.

This book introduces us to Jessa, who has followed a carefully laid-out life plan. She is determined to become a partner at her firm and start the family she has always dreamed of. However, as her aspirations seem to evolve quickly, she is overwhelmed with emotions and pressures related to her desire to conceive, which consumes her thoughts. Jessa struggles with unsettling feelings, realizing that her relationship with her husband may be deteriorating. She perceives his once-loving and caring role as increasingly demeaning and controlling. She understands their relationship thrived only when she stepped back into the background and conformed to his every wish.

The narrative then takes us back in time to introduce a six-year-old girl named Carrie, prompting us to wonder how the stories of these two women will eventually intersect.

As Jessa's personal life becomes more chaotic, she volunteers for a pro bono case offering legal aid to women in an ICE detention facility. There, she learns that female detainees have faced nonconsensual and unnecessary gynecological surgeries, a lack of informed medical consent, retaliation, and much more. Jessa is determined to give these women a voice that has long been ignored.

Meanwhile, we hear Carrie’s heartbreaking true story, detailing the mistreatment she endured and the stripping away of her rights time and again. The horrific losses she faced stemmed from society's and men's belief that they had the right to control women’s bodies. Carrie’s story intertwines with Jessa's present life in ways Jessa could never have anticipated.

Reading about what Carrie and these women endured is horrifying and reveals Carrie's case's far-reaching impact on history. This is my first time reading a book by Jacqueline Friedland, and I am eager to explore more of her work. She skillfully intertwines the stories of Carrie Buck with those of the fictional women of Hydeford, spreading awareness and compassion for human rights.

Given the the state of America today and this just goes to show the importance of books and how much can be said in a novel. Counting Backwards is such a wonderful and important read. Highly recommend to all the woman out there living in this America. I'd also state to check trigger warnings before picking it up as it has some heavier topics. A very gripping story that will pull you in from the start.

(4.75 stars)
Counting Backwards was an excellent and gripping dual timeline book. Which is saying a lot since I didn’t really like the main female character, Jessa, at least not at first. She is a young NYC lawyer (31?) who is desperate to become pregnant. Although she had already gotten pregnant once and, unfortunately, miscarried, she somehow thinks that she and her husband have fertility problems, after trying again to get pregnant for only some months. That put me off right away. But throughout the book, her character grows and changes and I began to like and admire her by the end. On the other hand, I liked her husband, Vance, more at the beginning of the book but by the end, I could not stand him!

Jessa and Vance’s story alternates with a story from the 1920s, featuring Carrie Buck, who was one of many young women who were sterilized against their will, during that era’s obsession with eugenics. I don’t want to give away much, but do not miss the author’s note at the end of the book, for more information on this historic case, which went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The two stories intersect in some interesting ways. After being passed over for partner, Jessa is asked to take on a “pro bono” case of a woman in an ICE detention center in New Jersey who feels she has been wrongly detained. Jessa goes to the center and becomes involved with investigating medical wrongdoing against many of the women incarcerated there.

This book highlights the current issues surrounding women’s reproductive health and health care choices, and how classism, racism, and even xenophobia contribute to this issue. The discussions about eugenics highlight how the N*zis grabbed onto this concept. Jessa isn’t Jewish but her husband is, and is the descendent of Holocaust survivors, and this aspect becomes another sore subject between the two of them.

The audiobook was beautifully narrated by two different women narrators, Amanda Stribling and Carolyn Jania.

Thank you to HarperMuse and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy of this book and for the opportunity to listen to an advance copy of this audiobook. All opinions are my own.

Counting Backwards is a compelling novel that is not only relevant but also timeless, tackling some of the shocking actions against women. With breathtaking storytelling and characters you’ll connect with on a deep level, this dual timeline story based on true events will take you on an emotional rollercoaster you won’t want to miss!

Thank you Harper Muse for providing this book for review consideration via Netgalley. all opinions are my own. **3.5 stars**

I am so glad I did not DNF it halfway!!

I have to admit, I had no idea eugenics programmes were real, which made this an even more eye-opening read. Carrie’s story, inspired by real events and based on the real Carrie Buck, adds a chilling layer of authenticity to the narrative. While I enjoyed the book overall, I felt Jessa’s struggles often took centre stage, which occasionally overshadowed Carrie’s harrowing experience. Reading Jessa's parts seemed a little repetitive to me and often had me skipping lines. I couldn’t help but wish for more insight into Carrie’s perspective or even a glimpse into the lives of other inmates.

That said, Counting Backwards is a thought-provoking read that sheds light on a dark chapter of history, and it left me with much to think about.

the book was amazing I loved it so much the story was amazing I loved everything about it however I don't not agree with the with the author's political choices on what's happening on Palestine . thank you .

Jacqueline Friedland’s Counting Backwards is such an interesting and unsettling novel that brings the dark history of eugenics into the present, making it impossible to ignore how its legacy still lingers. Blending historical fiction with contemporary legal drama, the book follows two women - Carrie Buck, a young woman in 1920s Virginia who becomes the face of a landmark Supreme Court case, and Jessa Gidney, a modern-day lawyer uncovering shocking abuses in a detention center. Their stories, though separated by a century, are disturbingly connected.

The novel excels in weaving fact with fiction, exposing how systemic injustices, particularly in reproductive rights and medical ethics, have persisted over time. Friedland’s research is evident, making the historical elements all the more chilling. The parallels between past and present are not just compelling but enraging. This is the kind of book that makes you stop, Google something, and feel your stomach drop when you realize it’s all true.

That said, while the narrative is strong, some of the character work doesn’t hit as hard as it could. Carrie’s story is heartbreaking, but at times, I wished for a deeper emotional connection to her experiences. Jessa’s arc is intriguing, especially as she grapples with her growing awareness of the horrors she’s uncovering, but some aspects of her storyline feel underexplored.

Despite this, Counting Backwards is a powerful, necessary read. It forces readers to confront difficult truths, not just about history, but about the present. It’s not just a book, it’s a wake-up call.

Counting Backwards by Jacqueline Friedland is a dual-timeline historical fiction novel inspired by true events.

Jessa Gidney is a lawyer in New York, and by 2022, she thought she would have made a partner at her law firm and be pregnant with her first child to her husband, who she adores, but nothing seems to be going as planned. When she takes a pro bono immigration case at an ICE detention center, she never expects the dark secrets she’ll uncover there and its surprising ties to her own family.

Carrie Buck has been a ward of the state of Virginia since 1912, when she was taken away from her family at the age of six. Poor, uneducated, and mistreated by her foster family, Carrie’s life is turned upside down when she becomes the face of the eugenics movement in a case before the Supreme Court.

This novel is for readers who enjoy dual timelines and a unlikeable protagonist. I really enjoyed Carrie’s timeline but struggled more with Jessa. Self-centered and with a white savior complex, I dreaded her chapters even though the events of them were interesting, and I felt deeply for the ICE detainees.

Counting Backwards is a moving novel addressing important issues of eugenics, women’s rights, immigration rights, and the roles and expectations for women and girls. Jacqueline Friedland is a talented writer, and many people will love this novel. I look forward to reading more of Friedland’s work in the future.

Wow! This book was fantastic. The history and story telling were great. It is so scary to think how quickly someone’s life can change without their consent. To have someone make a life changing decision for you is unbelievable.

I can’t express how much I love this book! It’s been called a modern day Erin Brockovich & is mentioned in the book as well. I completely agree. It’s heartbreaking & addicting all at the same time.

The work Jessa does when she discovers what’s been going on & the complete horror that Carrie suffered is crushing.

Told between two time periods with eerily similar, tragic, & devastating incidents happening to women, I was wrapped in pain. These things should never have happened. It angers me that there are such inhumane humans that still think it’s okay to do what they want to other humans.

The narration of Amanda Stribling & Carolyn Jania is wonderful for these characters. .

An interesting story — more of a love story as the married couple struggles mightily. I enjoyed. The legal aspects of the book’s plot and found that well done by the author.

I received a complimentary copy of this book. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I loved the premise and was really excited to read this book, but it just really missed the mark for me on a number of places.

First of all, I felt a little bit iffy about using a real life person's story and fully integrating a real life into a fictional story. The way it was all intermeshed felt a little ethically vague to me. I don't know, I don't have anything conclusive to say just that it felt a little uncomfortable to me - to write someone's story in your fictional book and to make your main character the descendent of a real life person.

My second major issue was with the present day MC. Maybe this is a me issue, but I felt like (at least in the first half of the book) the way she interacted with the women detained at the ICE facility was really strange. I don't know if this is truthfully representative of the average American, but she was so naive and ignorant to a microaggressively racist point. I think even if this was meant to be the character and representative, it could have then been resolved and dispelled more than it was.

My last issue was the ending. I think it was a disservice to the book to end it where it did. I understand if the author intended the MC's journey to be the main plot line, but I feel like the legal case was an equally weighted plot. I think it was really unfortunate to relegate the end of the case to a small update in the epilogue and then a little new clipping at the end. I think the book would have been much more compelling if it had focused on the proceedings and what was gained (and what wasn't, if we're being realistic).

Anyway, I did enjoy reading the book and I would recommend it, but with a word of caution. I think it's very important to learn about and be educated on eugenics and its history (as well as its present, because it is present and very evident in policy in the United States today). All in all, I think the book did the story and message a disservice.

This is my first five star book of the year. You know when a book changes how your perspective on life? This book did exactly that and I will be recommending it to everyone I know. It is an illuminating story on immigration and women's rights in America told through immaculate storytelling. Counting Backwards is haunting and impossible to put down. I'd recommend this book to everyone I know.

What an incredible story. I remember learning very little about how Hitler/the Nazis obsession with eugenics started, so it was interesting to read about Laderdale's contributions. Awful, but enlightening. While I learned a lot, I did find it hard to relate to Jessa sometimes. I couldn't actually tell if Vance was a good guy or not, because sometimes he really seemed like it, and given all she was hiding from him, his reactions often made sense. It seemed like she blamed him too much for their failing marriage, when she hadn't been telling him all the things that were going on with her... Still, I liked the format of the timelines, and how the stories came together. I learned a lot reading this one, and I think it would be an awesome book club read!

Content: some swearing (including F words), references to sex (mildly clinically graphic -in describing difficulty in conceiving), references to miscarriage (mildly graphic), references to rape (not graphic -one fade to black scene), discussions of eugenics (via nonconsensual gynecological medical procedures -not graphic).


I received this book free from the publisher/author. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.