The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain ~ Book Review

It is 1970 and Carly Sears has just received the news that her unborn baby has a fatal heart defect.  Unfortunately the news comes on top of the news that her soldier husband was killed in the Vietnam War.  Devastated and alone, she cannot bring herself to do what the doctors are suggesting she do.  The baby was a dream of her and husband and she was not even able to give him the news of being pregnant before he was killed.  When her brother-in-law, Hunter, says he might have a solution she is faced with the biggest decision of her life, one that seems improbable and that will require great courage and faith in the impossible.  While she has a great relationship with Hunter there are things that no one knows about him.  She must decide whether she can trust him with not only her unborn baby's life but with her own as well.

I absolutely loved this story.  It is a split time novel taking place in the 70's and in the 2000's. It's a contemporary story with a sci-fi twist.  A story of family bonds,  of the strength and faith of a mother's love and a story that challenges ethics and what one would do to save a loved one.  I couldn't put it down.  It is well written, was never confusing as some of these types of stories can be, and tore my heart.  Carly's struggle was heart wrenching and real and I felt every moment of her mother's heart.  Sometimes I was frustrated with her decision making process but that's because I was looking at it from the vantage point of my couch but it was totally real and understandable given her situations.  The consequences of the choices her and Hunter make sucked me right in because they were believable and emotional.  The twists were realistic and unexpected.  While sci-fi and especially this type of sci-fi is not usually what I choose for my reading, I went into this story blind not wanting to know what it was really about.  I was surprised that it took that turn but the author was able to weave the two together so well and made it such a rich story that I'm pretty sure this is going to be one of my favorites of the year.  It was pretty clean considering it's a secular novel which I really appreciated.   I loved the ending and closed it with a very happy sigh.  I know this review is a bit vague about what the story is actually about but it is hard give a synopsis without revealing what it is about.   If you like contemporary stories that involve family, love, moral dilemmas, or sci fi I recommend this one.   I think this would make an awesome movie.

I rated this one a solid 10+.  Loved it and I will read it again.