Book Review: The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain
The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Release Date: October 2, 2018 – That’s today!
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Publisher’s Description:
When Carly Sears, a young woman widowed by the Vietnam War, receives the news that her unborn baby girl has a heart defect, she is devastated. It is 1970, and she is told that nothing can be done to help her child. But her brother-in-law, a physicist with a mysterious past, tells her that perhaps there is a way to save her baby. What he suggests is something that will shatter every preconceived notion that Carly has. Something that will require a kind of strength and courage she never knew existed. Something that will mean an unimaginable leap of faith on Carly’s part.
And all for the love of her unborn child.
The Dream Daughter is a rich, genre-spanning, breathtaking novel about one mother’s quest to save her child, unite her family, and believe in the unbelievable. Diane Chamberlain pushes the boundaries of faith and science to deliver a novel that you will never forget.
Carly Sears has just found out that her unborn child has a fatal heart defect. She’s already struggling because her husband, the child’s father, was killed in the Vietnam War. Her life feels hopeless. Then her brother-in-law tells her he may have a way to save her unborn baby. What is a terminal heart defect in the 1970s is operable in the 2000s. Is what he suggesting for real? If so, does Carly have the courage to go through with it?
I don’t want to say much more, except that things do not go as planned and so there are many twists and turns to Carly’s story. Time travel is not a new concept in literature but I found the way Chamberlain uses it to be totally original and creative. Carly’s journey to save her daughter is full of complications and I could not for the life of me predict how the book would end. It was bittersweet but satisfying.
Even though there is an element of science fiction in this book, at its heart, it’s a story of family and a mother’s love for her child. I think it would make an excellent book club selection. As a mother, it made me think deeply about what lengths I would go to and what sacrifices I would make for my children. I imagine a book club could have a robust discussion about what they could do vs. what Carly did.
The other book I’ve read by Chamberlain is Necessary Lies, which I loved as well. However, it’s so different from this book; I’m impressed with the range that she has. I definitely want to read more from her. I also want to read The Dream Daughter again. It’s the kind of book that is so well plotted that you will gain even more from it when you read it through knowing what’s in store at the end. I highly recommend it.
(I received a complimentary copy of this book for review.)
