An “engrossing debut” novel (Laura Dave, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told ) about a couple whose dreams of adoption push them to do the unthinkable when their baby’s birth family steps into the picture.
What makes a family?
Gail and Jon Durbin moved to the Chicago suburbs 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, dreaming 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 “heartbreakingly dark, suspenseful exploration” (Cara Wall, bestselling author of The Dearly Beloved) of love and family is a heart-pounding page-turner you’ll find impossible to put down.
About the Author
Jeff Hoffmann was born and raised in St. Louis and received an MFA in fiction from Columbia College Chicago. Hoffmann’s writing has appeared in Barely South Review, The Sun, Harpur Palate, The Roanoke Review, Booth, and Lunch Ticket. He is the winner of The Madison Review’s 2018 Chris O’Malley Prize for Fiction and a finalist for The Missouri Review’s 2019 Jeffrey E. Smith Editors Prize.
He lives in Elmhurst, Illinois, with his wife and two children.
Industry Reviews
"This is an impressively well written, inherently entertaining, and thought provoking exploration of love and family." —MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW
"A can’t-put-it-down novel that will live in readers' thoughts long after they finish reading.” —KIRKUS REVIEWS
"Hoffmann’s debut is powerful.... The decisions [the characters] must make are gut-wrenching... The story takes turn after hairpin turn, moving into domestic suspense, that will have readers waiting with bated breath until the conclusion; even then, they’ll be left to wonder if there is more." —LIBRARY JOURNAL
"Hoffmann’s riveting debut is a high-stakes exploration of how far people will go to protect their family...A nail-biting examination of socioeconomic disparity and loyalty...[The] believable characters don’t disappoint, and [Hoffmann's] engrossing look at fraught issues piques. This sharp tale of heartache, loss, and redemption resonates." —PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
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