Read: April 11, 2013
Summary: Kavita, a young women living in rural India with her husband, is forced to give up her baby daughter. Raising a daughter is considered a luxury and often families are unable to afford this luxury.
Somer, an American woman living in California, is unable to have children and decides to adopt a child. Somer falls in love with a girl after her husband, Krishnan, shows her a photo of a child living in an Indian orphanage. As finalizing the adoption approaches, both Somer and her husband travel to India, staying with Krishnan’s family, so that they can take home their adoptive daughter, Asha.
The book is a braided story of these woman, Kavita, Somer, and Asha to explore the themes of motherhood, loss, and belonging.
My Thoughts: Secret Daughter was such a lovely book to read. I got through most of the book over a weekend and could have finished it if life didn’t get in the way. I very much enjoyed the story and how each chapter described moments of particular characters and his/her thoughts during these moments in their lives. Although the story focused on Somer, Asha, and Kavita, it was great to read chapters that focused on some of the minor characters.
