Other People's Children: A Novel

(Paperback)

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An engrossing debut novel (Laura Dave, New York Times bestselling author of The Last Thing He Told Me) about a couple whose dreams of adoption push them to do the unthinkable when their babys birth family steps into the picture.

HOW FAR WOULD YOU GO TO SAVE YOUR FAMILY

As soon as Gail and Jon Durbin bring home their adopted baby Maya, she becomes the glue that mends their fractured marriage.

But the Durbins social worker, Paige, cant find the teenage birth mother to sign the consent forms. By law, Carli has seventy-two hours to change her mind. Without her signature, the adoption will unravel.

Carli is desperate to pursue her dreams, so giving her baby a life with the Durbins seems like the right choiceuntil her own mother throws down an ultimatum. Soon Carli realizes how few choices she has.

As the hours tick by, Paige knows that the Durbins marriage wont survive the loss of Maya, but everyones life is shattered when theyand baby Mayadisappear without a trace.

Filled with heartrending turns, Other Peoples Children is a riveting page-turner youll find impossible to put down.

Reviews

"This is an impressively well written, inherently entertaining, and thought provoking exploration of love and family."MIDWEST BOOK REVIEW

"A cant-put-it-down novel that will live in readers' thoughts long after they finish reading.KIRKUS REVIEWS

"Hoffmanns 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, theyll be left to wonder if there is more."LIBRARY JOURNAL

"Hoffmanns 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 dont disappoint, and [Hoffmann's] engrossing look at fraught issues piques. This sharp tale of heartache, loss, and redemption resonates."PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"OtherPeople's Childrenis an engrossing debut about the different ways we find our way to parenthood and to the people we are meant to be. I loved these characters and was on the edge of my seat until the last page,hoping they'd find theirhappy endings."LAURA DAVE, #1New York Timesbestselling author ofLast Thing He Told Me

"Other Peoples Childrenis a heartbreakingly dark, suspenseful exploration of the boundaries two women push to have a child. What I found most moving, however, were the tenuous relationships between the adult characters and their mothers. The story is a page turner, but the deeper insights about family will keep you thinking about this book for a long while."CARA WALL, bestselling author ofThe Dearly Beloved, a "Read with Jenna" Book Club Selection

Theartistry of Jeff Hoffmann is such that he creates a compelling and convincing read. Each of the characters in Other Peoples Childrenis obsessedwiththe fate of a babyfrom the mother of the birthparent to the would-be adoptive parentsand everyone, on some level, is correct in his or her beliefs. But this is the classic tale of King Solomon in that only one person can raise that little girl. With that said, each of these intertwined stories is so convincing [that] the reader has a visceral need to know what happens. If you want to know how far people will go, this is a story for you."JACQUELYN MITCHARD,New York Timesbestselling author of The Deep End of the Ocean

Author Bio

Jeff Hoffmann was born and raised in St. Louis and received an MFA in fiction from Columbia College Chicago. Hoffmanns writing has appeared inBarely South Review,The Sun,Harpur Palate,The Roanoke Review,Booth, andLunch Ticket. He is the winner ofThe Madison Reviews 2018 Chris OMalley Prize for Fiction and a finalist forThe Missouri Reviews 2019 Jeffrey E. Smith Editors Prize. He lives in Elmhurst, Illinois, with his wife and two children.