Pages: 384

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: April 6, 2021

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Source: Hardback from Library

Available Formats: Digital, Audiobook, Hardback, and Paperback

My Review: This is not a book I would have picked out at the library. The cover and spine are bland so I would have kept scrolling. One of the librarians, Connie from Hillview Branch, suggested it and I am so glad she did. I was riveted from page to page.

We follow a couple on their adoption journey. I will warn you it is heartbreaking for all parties involved.

The reason it was not 5  was the ending was a tad unbelievable for me. Still an excellent read.

From Goodreads: Gail and Jon Durbin moved to the Chicago suburbs to set up house as soon as Gail got pregnant. But then she miscarried—once, twice, three times. Determined to expand their family, the Durbins turn to adoption. When several adoptions fall through, Gail’s desire for a child overwhelms her.

Carli is a pregnant teenager from a blue-collar town nearby, with dreams of going to college and getting out of her mother’s home. When she makes the gut-wrenching decision to give her baby up for adoption, she chooses the Durbins. But Carli’s mother, Marla, has other plans for her grandbaby.

In Other People’s Children, three mothers make excruciating choices to protect their families and their dreams—choices that put them at decided odds against one another. You will root for each one of them and wonder just how far you’d go in the same situation. This riveting debut is a thoughtful exploration of love and family, and a heart-pounding page-turner you’ll find impossible to put down.