Chosen by Chandra Hoffman

From the recent Russia/U.S. adoption scandal about an American mother who sent her adoptive son back to Russia with some cookies and a note, to the domestic fight over “Baby Emma,” to celebrity moms like Angelina Jolie and Madonna, adoption has become big news and tabloid fodder.  And, at the same time, regular adoptions take place every day, all day long.  Conservative numbers estimate 73,000 adoptions successfully happened in the U.S. last year. 

Chosen (Harper/HarperCollins Publishers; ISBN 13: 9780061974298), a debut novel by Chandra Hoffman, goes behind private agency doors and into the hearts of birthparents, hopeful couples, and green social workers, revealing the hurdles and emotional challenges that can be part of the process.  In the spirit of Jodi Picoult and Anna Quindlen, CHOSEN features a young caseworker who becomes increasingly entangled in the lives of the adoptive and birth parents she represents, and who faces life-altering choices when an extortion attempt goes horribly wrong.

Newcomer Chandra Hoffman knows from what she writes. She has been an aide worker in Romania’s infamous Orphanage Number One, which led her to a job back in the States as the director of a domestic adoption program in Portland, OR, where the action of her novel CHOSEN takes place. She left that position when she had a child of her own.  In fact, the night she learned she was pregnant she got out of bed and outlined this novel. 

Check out a trailer for the book here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WhLaTqqmkSo, the discussion guide here, or the author’s website at www.chandrahoffman.com.

Disclosure - This product was received for review/feature consideration. The synopsis/description was taken from Amazon or the back of the book.
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