Review: Daughters for a Time by Jennifer Handford

Title: Daughters for a Time
Author: Jennifer Handford
Format: ARC
Publisher: Amazon Publishing
Publish Date: April 24, 2012
Source: I received a copy from the PR. This did not affect my review.

Why You're Reading This Book:

• You're a fiction fan.
• You don't mind reading about tough subjects.

What's the Story?:

From Goodreads.com: "Feelings of abandonment fill Helen Francis at a too-young age when her mother dies and her father walks out. Left in the care of her older sister, Claire, she moves on but never truly heals. Now thirty-five and married, Helen is desperate to start a family of her own. After four unsuccessful years of trying to become pregnant, Helen accepts the idea of adoption.

When her baby is finally in her arms, Helen experiences true exaltation. But she is quickly blindsided with the worst possible news: Claire has cancer. Helen's wounds are again torn open as she balances the bliss of a new daughter with the grief of a dying sister."

My Two Cents:

Daughters for a Time is a family story of how our families are not always blood related but they are our families all the same. It's a story about how not all families are alike but they can still come together when needed. Sometimes family is all you have to get through the really, really tough times and it can be difficult to figure that out.I was very interested in this book because it tackled the idea and the decision to adopt. I personally think that adoption is really cool. There are so many children out there in the world that really could use a loving home. This book sort of gives an inside picture about what it might be like to adopt a child. There's more story lines within the book but the main one does have to deal with adoption.

Helen and Tim try to get pregnant for several years before Helen eventually gives in to her husband's suggestion that they try to adopt a baby from China. I know that's a really difficult (and very personal) decision to make but Helen seems to drag her feet too much. I had a really hard time getting behind her feet dragging though. I wanted Helen to realize that it's about the love that you can give a child and not whether or not you actually carried the child in your womb. I had to keep reminding myself that there are people out there that do not agree with that sentiment and that it's okay that they don't see it the same way that I do. Helen eventually comes around to the idea and I ended up liking her character a lot by the end because she finally seemed to get that it is all about love and coming together to be a family.

This is a great book for people that don't mind a tough story and don't mind being a little sad through a book. I definitely don't mind this. In the case of Daughters for a Time, I felt that the sadness was definitely warranted, which is why I was totally okay with it. This story will definitely tug on your heartstrings a little bit.

Bottom line: Contemporary fiction readers who don't mind tough subjects will enjoy this book.