By: Caroline Leavitt Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Label: St. Martin's Griffin Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 368 Publication Date: April 01, 2005 Release Date: March 24, 2005
In this heart-wrenching story of an open adoption gone wrong, Caroline Leavitt reveals the astonishing power of family bonds and maternal love. Sara, sixteen, is in denial about her pregnancy and too far along for an abortion. Her once-devoted boyfriend has disappeared so Sara decides her only option is an open adoption with George and Eva, a couple desperate for a child. After the birth it's clear Sara has a bond with the child that Eva can't duplicate and Eva and George make a drastic decision, with devastating consequences for them all.
Exploring the Perils of Open Adoption This novel started out kind of like an "after-school special" showing the tragic results of teenage sex, but as I continued to read, the characters became more dimensional and I began to see that there is much more to this novel than I originally believed. The author takes the time to fully develop the characters so that you understood where their decisions are coming from.
This is the story of Sara, sixteen and pregnant and the novel opens on the drive to the hospital to have her baby. She is attended by her parents but her thoughts are only of the adoptive parents to whom she has promised her child. Sara feels as though no one understands her and the only person she thought she could truly trust was Danny, the baby's teenaged father, but after telling him of the impending birth, Danny leaves town and abandons Sara. She would love to keep her baby and raise it, but she also wants her child to have the best - so she decides upon an open-adoption, in which she will be able to be a part of the child's life.
She chooses Eva & George, a friendly older couple and instantly bonds with Eva, who has always wanted to become a mother. Sara feels she is more a part of her family than she is in her own. Her parents are disappointed in her and want Sara to put the baby up for adoption and just move on with her life, but Sara won't listen and forges a strong bond with the adoptive family.
Then things get too close for comfort and the relationship becomes strained as Sara becomes too close to the family in an unhealthy way. Then Sara does something that ultimately breaks the strong connection with Eva & George and she feels the bond with her baby break, perhaps permanently.
I particularly enjoyed reading the story from the characters different perspectives and getting know the reason why Danny ran away. We even learn the story from the baby's perspective. As she grows, Anne, like Sara, has never really felt connected to her adoptive parents and when she gets the chance to meet Sara, she thinks that her prayers have been answered by being reunited with her birth mother, but events happen that once again, tear Sara and her daughter apart.
Caroline Leavitt does an excellent job introducing each character and drawing you into their lives. The interaction between the characters is gripping and the story is well told - I will certainly look for more books by this author and I highly recommend this story.
great book...unable to put it down I have started reading even though I am not done with this yet, I love the book. I have not been able to put it down. It gets good right from the start of the first paragraph.
A Veteran and Seasoned Author My bookclub read this book and we all admired and loved it so much!. This very crafted and luminous prose, modest and understated. Leavitt, a veteran author of over eight novels, has won deserved praise.The writing profession needs more of Leavitt's graceful, adept prose, her unfailing humanity (which she brings to every story and character she writes) and her emotional depth. Her craft is seamless, --I could go and on, but I certainly hope others will grab a copy of this moving, very human book and savor it as I did.
Not the best by far I am at a loss by the great reviews for this book? What am I missing? The writing is amateurish. I did not feel for the birth mother or the adoptive parents and I really did not care what happened to any of them. It dragged on and on with no real meaning or feeling. This is just words and more words. I kept thinking of plot lines that would have made this novel great and hoping they would happen but they never appeared. This is just not worth the hype of the good reviews.
Couldn't put it down! Caroline Leavitt is personally responsible for three consecutive nights of very little sleep! I simply couldn't put this book down. The characters are so beautifully drawn, their emotional lives so real, and their complex circumstances so gripping that I found myself thinking about them long after I had completed the book. What's really wonderful is how she is able to show all sides of the open adoption issue, and how it affects everyone involved. She doesn't pick sides and she refuses to simplify, providing the reader with complicated characters and complicated circumstances that allow us to identify with each character whether we agree with them or not. It is a truly exquisite book and a must read.
Anything Goes Trivia
Trevor
Megaton Man
