Loved it! It was enjoyable from start to finish.

I am a mother who lost my child to adoption when I was 19 right here in Canada in the 60s. When I say this, I mean that I was given no options and told that if I loved my son, I would give him to a proper family with a mother and father. My parents didn't support me and so my son and my parents' first grand child was given away. Adoption has tragic consequences certainly for the birth mother and the child who is adopted. I was very disappointed in this book. The author obviously has no direct experience with adoption and the pain it causes to all involved. I found the writing to be weak, the characters under-developed and flat. The adoptee's decision at the end of the book was sad and frustrating to me. I would not recommend this book. It feeds into the many misconceptions about adoption, i.e., that you can give a baby to another family to raise and there will be no painful emotional consequences.

Loved this book. Great read...great characters.

As the title suggests, the novel starts off in 1984 and is centered around a secret daughter and the choices a mother had to make, in order to oblige by the social and cultural constrains of family and society. The novel goes back and forth between two families in two different realms- Bombay, India and California, but you are still able to establish a connection and similarities between the two. Gowda does great justice with the character development and keeps you glued into the journey of each one. Very rare that, as a reader you can relate to every character, yet Gowda makes this task very natural. Definitely check it out!

This is one of the best books I've read in years. About family, love and the circle of life in all it's glory and disappointments.

This was a really good book. I was sorry when it ended because I wanted to know what happened to the characters next.

Worth the read for the cultural perspective alone.

this book made me laugh and it made me cry.

This came to me as a Christmas gift. I finished reading it before the New Year. What a great read. It presents Motherhood from two perspectives, describes the conflicting incongruities of India well. It would be a great book to help young adults understand life in other countries.

An excellent read, and a very interesting look at another culture.

An enjoyable, colourful, modern-day story that explores cultural differences in an increasingly connected world. Each chapter is written in the perspective of a different character -- one moment you're viewing the life of a family struggling in Mumbai, the next you're in the middle-class life of a female med-student in Stanford. As the two worlds (Indian and American) collide, the author brings up realistic and telling situations revolving around culture shock, ethnocentrism, and the ties of family. Anyone who has grown up in the west -- away from their native home country -- might understand the challenges faced by some of the characters. This is a good read, though above and beyond it I would recommend Indu Sundaresan's "Splendor of Silence".

wow! amazing writing in those pages. its a great read that makes you reflect on thoughts deep within yourself

Excellent read by first-time book author Gowda. It paints a very clear picture of India today and has many sub-themes that are very clearly and sensitively developed. At times I had to put the book down to take a break and think about what I had just read and at other times I had to push ahead.

I really enjoyed this book. I like the fact that the story didn't wrap up into a nice neat package at the end, makes it more realistic in my opinion. Great writing and great characters, make for a great story.

Unfortunately I knew the plot ahead of time and thought there was going to be more to the story. (Ok, I'm a sucker for happy endings). I really liked the characters and the ease of reading.

Great book! A perfect quick summer read...

i loved this book. real page-turner. very well written. enjoy

An intriguing story that I couldn't put down! Explores the dynamics of adopting a child from India, and the ramifications of trying to find birth parents in a country with millions of people.

I found this book quite predictable and not very compelling. There are many more interesting reads around on a similar theme. I am surprised at all the acclaim this novel has received.

C'est avec un grand intérêt pour l'Inde, sa culture et ses mœurs que j'ai choisi ce livre. Je n'ai pas été déçue. Au contraire car à travers les personnages l'auteure nous montre les contrastes, les ambivalences, les forces et les limites liés au mariage des cultures nord-américaines et celles de l'Inde. Pour avoir voyagé là-bas, je me suis reconnue dans les paysages tant physiques que psychologiques. C'est écrit avec fluidité. J'ai particulièrement aimé le petit lexique des expressions usuelles.

A great read, enjoyed the info and detail about india. A little heartbreaking but the true reality of life across the globe. Definately recommend.

Amazing read!

Kavita must give up her newborn daughter to an orphanage or face the baby's murder. Girls are not wanted in the traditional Indian family as they are only a drain on their resources. Asha is adopted by an American couple (Indian father and American mother) and grows up in California with her two doting parents. Her adoptive mother fears the day when Asha finds her birth mother and turns her back on her whole childhood. As an adult Asha goes to India to live with her father's family when she wins a journalism fellowship and decides to do work on the poor in Mumbai. Here she discovers a whole other side of life, and her life, and must work out how she fits. Great storytelling in the voices of the mothers and Asha. The only jarring note for me was the attitude of Krishnan, the father, who seemed to accept the rejection of Indian culture by his wife and thus deprived Asha of knowing her Indian family as she was growing up. The answer of course, is that he loves his wife and wants familial harmony.

I loved this book and would fully endorse it to would-be readers. I would buy a copy for myself and I would also give it as a gift. It told a beautiful story of two mothers, worlds apart. It managed to shine a light on both the richness of Indian culture as well as the brutality of the poverty that exists.

One of my all-time favourites. This is a beautifully inspiring story about two mothers on different sides of the world. The poverty-strickened mother, Kavita, from rural India who forcefully gave her daughter up because her husband wanted a son and the American mother, Somer, who adopted her. The mothers give their views of hope, worries, and feelings regarding Asha, the daughter. As for the daughter, Asha went to India on a journalism fellowship about children living in poverty. While staying with her adopted father's relations, she discovered a warm loving family and culture so different from her lifestyle in California. It is also a journey of discovery for her unknown past. A must read book.

This was a beautiful story that moved me and educated me. Gowda did a wonderful job at presenting the Indian culture for both it's beauty and it's poverty. It is a story about culture, family relationships and especially about motherhood. I thought it was a very good story and I loved the ending.

Beautifully written, beautifully crafted. I loved this book more than any I've read in ages. I love how the different lives are woven through this book. Amazing sense of the strength of women, and the goodness of men. I can't wait for Shipli Gowda's next book!!

Enjoyed this book. Great read. I wish she had the chance to meet her real mother though, but I guess the book kind of ended with that unfinished business feel. Perhaps another book???

Secret Daughter has a great premise. Rural Indian family, like many others, cannot afford to have a daughter--so in an attempt to save her second daughter from being killed for her sex, the mother gives her to an orphanage where she is adopted by an American-Indian couple. The book starts promisingly, with great detail on the two mothers, Somer and Kavita--one unable to have children and one unable to keep her children. I appreciated the more realistic portrayal of Somer, feeling intimidated and then alienated from Indian culture, rather than seeing her (as she saw herself) as the open-minded, liberal doctor for marrying and adopting Indian. But the novel doesn't go much further in terms of innovation or depth once it branches out. The marriages were shallow as were the portrayals of the maternal relationships with their children. The relationships and the portrayal of their hardships seemed to hop and skip. At once there would be problem A, the next a skim and then you were at point D. My thoughts when reading the book was that there was too little depth. We start out with a great understanding of Somer, then it is dropped completely for exposition. Asha is underdeveloped and would have been a much more interesting character, but she ended up rather cliched. Vijay seemed quickly demonized once out of childhood, apparently hitting the reader over the head with the lesson that the husband made the wrong choice in children. Again, he is another character, I feel, could have used further development. While there were some interesting points to the novel--the female perspective, the honest portrayal of the pressure women feel regarding being a woman and being a mother, the difficulty of raising a child not of your culture, etc. There were too many shallow notes and questions raised like--if Asha's family is wealthy (both her parents doctors, her father a neurosurgeon, his family well off), why have they returned so infrequently to India? Why have his relatives never come to visit, beyond the wedding? Where are Somer's parents in regards to Asha? How has Asha's father been such a poor resource for her questions on Indian culture? Does he not have any other Indian acquaintances? Why was Asha rarely exposed to Indian culture when she had other Indian friends? Why did her husband never address his wife's apparent prejudice towards Indian culture? etc. Read it if you like. The sleeve description is more exciting than the actual text.

This novel is written by a Canadian who now lives in the United States. It is set partly in California and partly in India. The novel is told from alternating points of view. In India, Kavita gives birth to a daughter, for the second time. She is determined that this time her husband will not take the baby away, however he convinces her that they cannot afford to keep it. They need a son. She goes with her sister to the city, Bombay, and leaves the baby girl at an orphanage. At first she harbours resentment for her husband, but eventually she is able to move on with her life, but never forgetting the baby girl, Usha, that she left at the orphanage. In California Somer met a young med student from India, and the two fell in love and got married. Now that she is finished her residency, she hopes to have a baby, but the odds are against her. After much inner turmoil, she agrees with her husband, Krishnan, to adopt a baby from India, from the orphanage where his mother is a patron. The name they choose for the baby is Asha. The point of view moves back and forth between Somer and Kavita, and eventually includes Asha's point of view. The book is about culture, about adjusting to other cultures, about being open to those cultures, and about what motherhood really means. An interesting story with engaging characters.

loved it !!!!.........so far........... P.S. I havent gotten to the middle yet :)

Great story. I don't usually read fiction but I loved this. I found it very realistic and an interesting study in the contrast between the Indian and American cultures and the the persepectives of relinquishing and adoptive parents. Easy to read and hard to put down. a good one to take on vacation. Would make a great movie!

How on earth has this book ended up on so many "great reads" lists?? Are you kidding me?! The only list that it can honestly belong to is one for "Books with Green Covers" ... please, people, this cannot be considered literature. And if it is, what then does it say about us?

once I started (Saturday), I couldn't stop (I finished it on Sunday). It was an easy quick read, but I really liked the story. I found it neither glamorized or demonized adoption, motherhood or India... but presented a well rounded depiction of the best and worst parts of it all. It could have gotten cheesy, but didn't. I definitely recommend it.

It was a quick read because the style of writing wasn't great, I found it monotonous and didn't feel anything for the characters. The only thing I admired was that the author did not hesitate describing the ugly truth about some aspects of India, then I noticed she grew up far away from there and so I understood why.

Even though, it’s another culture/women identity story about an Indian girl that is abandoned and adopted, it has a nice new dimension because it also touches on the cultural identity of the adoptive parents and their struggles.

Enjoyed this book immensly, couldn't put it down.

The blending of a bicultural family over time. Clearly and beautifully written.

This a story about a baby girl born in India, in the year 1984 to Kavita whose family is from a poor Indian-village. Kavita and her husband cannot afford to raise a girl with a dowry for marriage, so she is given up for adoption. In San Francisco, Somer and her husband Krishnan are unsuccessful in having children so they decide to adopt the baby girl Asher. This is a story about family relationships, and coming of age. The story touches on tragic events, but it is really the story about the baby girl Asha, her growing up and finding herself. It was a page turner and a quick read for me. I would recommend this book to teens and adults looking for a good story.

Fiction it may be, but it could be reality. Wonderful story and beautifully written

Great story about families - mother's in particular and what being a mother is about. A great read. Highly recommended.

Not worth the hype -I thought I would resonate with this story but I did not. The author played things very safe and on a superficial level. It has to much of a "happy ending".

Great story of human interactions. Good contrast between two different countries. Endearing yet heartwrenching at times. Add to your list of must reads. Can't wait for more from this author.

im number 75 in line :(

- excellent story - it does, however, start off slow so, if it seems this way to you, stick with it - story alternates between California and India, and is told, chapter to chapter, by different characters (primarily female)

wonderfully told touches your soul;

good

Amoving story of an interracial adoption.

This is a wonderfully told story about the heartbreak a mother in India feels when she gives birth to a girl baby and her husband doesn't want it. Then along comes a childless American couple wishing to adopt an Indian baby. The book alternates chapters between the Indian birth mother and the American adoptive mother; how their lives are going, how they feel about the girl, about all the events - major and minor - which are happening in their lives as the story unfolds. I've heart the tabloid version of Indian women abandoning their baby girls, but to have the circumstances explained by an Indian author who has seen the situation first-hand made me rethink my reality on this topic. Well worth reading.

Great book! Easy read.

a beautiful story that will take you through a mix of emotions as you read

Great human story. Easy read. People grow, change, sometimes good, sometimes bad. Moral of the story is, be careful what you wish for, you just might get it!!!

What a great read - I could hardly put it down and just loved it. A beautifuk mix of sadness and happiness. I was intrigued by the characters to the end. I liked most that the perspective of the story changed so that you could see into each character.

This book was very well written. It is a quick read because the story truly engages the reader. I was however a bit disappointed in the ending. I found it was a bit abrupt since the story appeared to be leading into a climatic ending.

A little safe. Enjoyed insights into blended cultures and the challenges of adoption.

A wonderful book about mothers and daughters as well as bicultural families. The reader is transported to India through the vivid descriptions of the sights, smells, and sounds. Chapters are told from the point of view of various characters very effectively. Loved it!

Secret Daughter is a great book.. perfect for ages 13+ and is great for all mothers.. make you really think back and relate. The story takes place in india, and is about a young mother names Kavita who finally has a baby girl but is forced to give her away due to certain costums in India. The baby girl is dropped at an orphange. On the other side of the globe, Somer, in the us, is having trouble having a child so her husband krishnan thinks about adopting a child form India... will kavitas baby girl have a connection with somer and krishnans adoption? read to find out :)

I could not put this book down. It was captivating. The author has written it in such a smooth fashion, with each chapter concentrating on each character, that you keep reading and reading to find out what happens next. It's heart-wrenching and beautiful, all at the same time. Excellent read.

An intriguing novel of how powerful family love & support can be, even though the cultures are different. The story is told from the perspective of the birth parents, adoptive parents and the child who interconnects the families, the cultures and the love. Jashu & Kavita Merchant Krishnan & Somer Thakkar Usha (Dawn) & Asha (Hope) Poignant description of the poverty in the Dharavi district of Bombay India contrasts with the cultural richness of life for the priviledged rich . "Interweaving the stories of Kavita and Somer and the child that binds both of their destinies, "Secret Daughter" poignantly explores the emotional terrain of motherhood, loss, identity, and love as witnessed through the eyes of two families – one Indian, one American – and the child that indelibly connects them all."

I loved this book. I e-mailed the author and she replied the next day saying how much she appreciated me sending comments. I hope she has another book in the works soon.

This writing style made this book a quick and engaging read; I could really picture each place that Asha visited.

Quick and captivating read. One draw back was the author switching from present to past tense in the same story line. Read it really quickly.

Great book. Read it in two days.

. Beautifully composed . A compelling story that spans two desperate worlds --- India and USA . A story about mothers and daughters. How abandonment and adoption affect young lives.

easy read enjoyed learning more about the India culture.

Great book...easy read. I couldn't wait to get back to it every evening.

I bought this book, and did not want to put it down. I gave it to my mother in law (who is Indian) to read, and she loved as well. I found it hard to put down!!!!!!!!!!!!