Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Unavailable
    Chosen: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Chosen: A Novel
    Unavailable
    Chosen: A Novel
    Ebook366 pages5 hours

    Chosen: A Novel

    By Chandra Hoffman

    3/5

    ()

    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this ebook

    “Gritty and suspenseful, Chosen draws us into the obstacle-strewn path of domestic adoption.”
     —Juliette Fay, author of Shelter Me

    A young caseworker increasingly entangled in the lives of adoptive and birth parents faces life-altering choices when an extortion attempt goes horribly wrong in Chosen. Written in the spirit of Jodi Picoult and Anna Quindlen, Chosen is an extraordinary debut novel from Chandra Hoffman that deals with the controversial subject of adoption while providing a riveting read that will equally ensnare lovers of suspense, domestic drama, and literary fiction.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateAug 24, 2010
    ISBN9780062006806
    Unavailable
    Chosen: A Novel

    Read more from Chandra Hoffman

    Related to Chosen

    Related ebooks

    Suspense For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Let Him Rot!

      Dec 20, 2022

      Let Him Rot!
      4 min read

    • Article

      A Deadly Affair

      Aug 6, 2020

      A Deadly Affair
      4 min read

    • Article

      The Murder Of James Bulger 30 Years On

      Feb 7, 2023

      This week marks 30 years since two-year-old James Bulger was abducted and murdered by two 10-year-old boys, Jon Venables and Robert Thompson. James would be in his 30s now. Would he be married? A father? With a career? All that was snatched away from

      4 min read

    • Article

      Dawn's Choice

      Oct 2, 2020

      SHE couldn’t understand it – her husband is usually such a laid-back guy but after reading her latest novel, he was slamming things around the kitchen. Eventually Jodi Picoult couldn’t take it anymore. “What’s the matter with you?” she bellowed. Jodi

      4 min read

    • Article

      In His hands

      Oct 28, 2021

      In His hands
      2 min read

    • Article

      Bucket List Bridge

      Dec 23, 2021

      Bucket List Bridge
      1 min read

    • Article

      Out of Control

      Feb 1, 2024

      Out of Control
      5 min read

    • Article

      Killer Addiction

      Aug 12, 2021

      Killer Addiction
      5 min read

    • Article

      Balancing Act: In 'Mrs. Everything,' Jennifer Weiner Explores Her Mom's Sexuality, Evolving Gender Roles And Donald Trump's America. Is It A Beach Read? Maybe!

      Jun 17, 2019

      Jennifer Weiner, New York Times bestselling author of 16 juicy, layered, courageous books, always knew she wanted to write a novel that followed her characters from birth to death. She knew she wanted that book to be loosely based on her own life and

      4 min read

    • Article

      I Lived A Childhood Of Lies

      Feb 22, 2022

      I Lived A Childhood Of Lies
      4 min read

    • Article

      Finding Peace—and Briefly, Freedom—at My Grandfather’s Funeral

      Oct 11, 2019

      “Saying goodbye with the people who loved him—and me—I remember that I am not the tomb that imprisons me.”

      6 min read

    • Article

      Stocking Full Of Coal

      Oct 28, 2021

      Stocking Full Of Coal
      3 min read

    • Article

      MY SISTER WAS MURDERED... Then She Helped Mum To Heaven

      Aug 18, 2021

      Jennifer Newland, 48, Forster, NSW My mum, Rose, was my best friend. Whenever I got teased at school, she always made me feel better. ‘You’re mine and I love you,’ she said, drying my tears, after one tough day. Then, she broke out into the Monty P

      3 min read

    • Article

      Jon Hamm Ties The Knot!

      Jun 29, 2023

      Jon Hamm Ties The Knot!
      1 min read

    • Article

      Sweet November

      Oct 28, 2021

      Sweet November
      3 min read

    • Article

      Royals Retreat

      Mar 22, 2020

      Royals Retreat
      3 min read

    • Article

      Wearing Blue And Yellow To Meet Ukrainian Refugees In The U.k. kate Leads From The Heart as She Plays With Children And Comforts Fellow Mums

      Nov 21, 2022

      The Princess of Wales made a new friend last week when she shared a cuddle with a little girl who has fled the war in Ukraine. Five-year-old Zlata Yeromenko was thrilled to sit on Kate’s knee and have a photo taken together. She also gave the Princes

      2 min read

    • Article

      Musings On My Father

      Aug 8, 2022

      Musings On My Father
      5 min read

    • Article

      Kids & Angels

      Jun 25, 2022

      Kids & Angels
      4 min read

    • Article

      Child’s Play

      Mar 10, 2023

      The blackmail began in the boys’ locker room. It started with Travis Downing’s least favorite person, Rory Paxton, cackling like a hyena behind his iPhone camera. Rory loved taking photos of boys while they were changing, making sure to capture just

      9 min read

    • Article

      Separated At Birth

      Sep 11, 2019

      Separated At Birth
      8 min read

    Reviews for Chosen

    3/5

    47 ratings11 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 3/5
      For me this was just an okay read. I thought the storyline was interesting but the ending was overly dramatic and I never connected with the characters.
    • 5/5
      Cxxxx cxxxx cxxx xxxxx xxxx xxxx xxxx xxx xxxx xxx
    • 3/5
      A compelling read to be sure but I have such a mix of feelings about it that I am still trying to sort through. Definitely worth a read if you want a feel for the complex issues surrounding adoption.
    • 3/5
      Brief Description: Chloe Pinter works for the domestic program for the Chosen Child adoption center. Her job? Convincing pregnant women to give their child up for adoption and then facilitating the process from beginning to end. A challenging job filled with heartbreak, uncertainty and elements of danger, things become especially complicated when a couple who gave their baby up for adoption begin to have second thoughts and take matters into their own hands.My Thoughts: The main reason I read this book was to learn more about the process of adoption. I’ve not read many books that dealt with adoption, and I imagine it is a difficult process. The strength of this book is that Hoffman (who worked in Romanian orphanages and as a director of a U.S. adoption program) knows this world inside and out. (FYI: The book is set in Portland, Oregon, which allows for open adoption, which means the birth parents get to pick the adopted parents and keep in touch if they want.) We get to see things from all different angles: the adoption center worker tasked with ensuring that adoptions go through; the couple considering giving up their baby; the couples who want to receive a baby of their own. It is gut-wrenching stuff—filled with emotions ranging from selflessness to desperation to greed and almost every emotion in between. Hoffman uses the plot to look at two basic questions: What if the parents who gave a baby up for adoption changed their mind afterward? What if a couple desperate for a baby for years finally got what they wanted … and found it wasn’t as amazing imagined? These are two interesting questions, and I think Hoffman does a good job of exploring all the different angles associated with adoption. The plot gets a little wonky and unbelievable at times, but the details felt true and I was willing to overlook the plotting issues to learn more about the world of adoption.
    • 4/5
      Thank you to Jen at Book Club Girl for providing me with a copy of this book. Jen will be discussing this novel with the author Chandra Hoffman at 7 PM on her Blog Talk radio show.I really enjoyed this book, it was a page turner for me. The novel anchors around Chloe Pinter who is a case worker for a private adoption agency. The novel tells the story of her clients, the down on their luck parents always looking to wrench out extra money from the agency and the adoptive parents and the rich demanding people who want to adopt. There is also the story of Chloe's former clients who on their thirteenth try manage to conceive on their own. You think they would be the happiest since they attained the holy grail of conception but it turns out they have their own set of problems. Add to the mix Chloe's time to grow up boyfriend Dan and there are a lot of interesting characters to watch. Everyone's story line neatly ties up in the end and the last 100 pages flew by.I think this book does a nice job of presenting all sides of the adoption issue. No one in the story is all good or bad. All of the characters have their redeeming qualities and their flaws so I think it put a very realistic face on adoption. There are no happily ever afters in adoption or life but I think a satisfying conclusion was reached at the end of the book. I look forward to the book discussion with the author on Wednesday night.
    • 3/5
      Chosen is one of those books who's topic is extrememly powerful and real, and many people can relate to the reality of it. Adoption and trying to concieve is a topic that many couples deal with on a regular basis, and while personally I don't have any experience with this topic as of yet, I still can understand the emotional connection that people feel with children and babies. The main character Chloe Pinter is a case worker for an adoption program that she feels truely passionate about. Being able to help familys that can't concieve on their own and are desperate for a baby that joy, and to comfort parents that are about to have a child that they cannot finacially or mentally support. Parts of this book were extremely graphic, but personally I felt like it added to the vivid picture that Hoffman was trying to create to show the severe circumstances that these babies could potentially be brought into. Adoption is not an easy process, it's very expensive and mentally draining, who has the right to choose whether your fit to be parents, and who should be allowed to have that much power and control? This book wasn't chick-lit at all in my opinion and I would have catagorized it as Women's Fiction and felt similar to the writing style of Jodi Picoult. I did enjoy the topic of this story, but the characters for a while confused me, I felt like too many characters were thrown at me too quickly, and I couldn't really form an emotional connection to any of them. That could be in part because at this time i'm not a parent, but i am at the age and circumstances where that could be in my near future. I feel like many people can relate to this book, but I also feel that it's not a book for the faint of heart, Like i stated earlier parts of this story are a bit graphic and explicit. Overall, if you like a story with a lot of hard-hitting topics, and drama then you should give this book a try.
    • 3/5
      There was so much I liked about this book, but the combination of characters just got to be too much...There was some interesting insight and reflection on the world of domestic infant adoption, and I really liked that we had the perspectives of birth parents, adoptive parents and a social worker.The problem I had with this book was that the characters were all a little larger than life. I believe that there are people in real life like each and every person in this book, but it felt a little crowded in there with all of these strong personalities. One birth mother is an angelically sweet woman, relinquishing her baby so she can better take care of her toddler. The other is a conflicted young woman, giving into pressure from her scum-ball of a boyfriend to give up their baby.The adoptive mother to be is an obsessed woman that spends all her time on Internet adoption sites, the adoptive father a workaholic absent from most of the story.I think that Chloe was supposed to be the person the reader could identify with, but her engagement to an unemployed extreme sports aficionado and her attraction to one of her ex-clients pushed her over the edge for me.The issues they all encounter are real, and the stories are interesting. I think I would have liked it better if it was a little less dramatic.
    • 2/5
      I wanted to love this book. As an adoptive mother to a beautiful 8 year old daughter, I was very curious to see what Chandra Hoffman, once a social worker working in adoption, had to say. In no way was I expecting a fairy tale about adoption. I know all to well how controversial adoption can be. I was someone active in the adoption blogging world after Emma was born. There are people whose lives are made whole through adoption. There are others whose worlds are torn apart. I always recognized that my joy came at a large price for a beautiful young woman and her family. Unfortunately, my deep desire to enjoy this book was not enough.Chosen tells the story of an adoption through the eyes of Chloe Pinter, the adoption case worker who was responsible for both the birth parents and the potential adoptive family. Her long hours of emotionally draining work and low pay created tension between her and her live-in boyfriend. It became increasingly difficult for her to balance her life with her job just as a disastrous adoption was ready to take place.I could not stomach the main sets of adoptive and birth parents in Chosen. They felt more like characters put in place of stereotypical ideas/nightmares about each type of parent. There is much more to adoptive parents, especially mothers, than desperation over parenthood. Likewise, birth parents are in a difficult situation, that doesn't make them opportunists. I can only speak from my own experience, but adoption is not a made-for-TV-movie event. The desperate bitch adoptive mother and the morally bankrupt opportunistic birth parents are as cliched as the woman giving birth on a stuck elevator or in a cab on the way to the hospital.On top of my issues with the characters, the ending did not in any work for me. I don't want to provide any spoilers in this review, but suffice to say this was probably the worst ending for me than any other book this year. I hate to sound harsh, but there was just no way I could buy into it.I did find this novel a great way to initiate conversation about the language of adoption. Until you become intimate with it, you think nothing of saying that children were "given up" for adoption or identifying the biological parents of an adopted child his/her "real parents." They imply that birth parents give no thought to their decisions and that adoptive relationships aren't real. Nothing can be further from the truth.I wish I could recommend Chosen despite my reservations. I cannot. I don't believe a book has to be accurate or politically correct to be good (God knows there is nothing I hate more than reading an uptight politically correct book). In that case, the book needs to be believable on its own level. Failing that, it must be entertaining. This book just didn't cut it for me.
    • 2/5
      he premise of this book is good. The view of adoption from a lot of sides was an eye opener. I just could not like it. The only character that reaches out and grabbed me was Chloe. Who seemed to end up a victim of everyone. Nothing made me want to turn the page to see what happens..'Cause nothing did.
    • 2/5
      This is a book about adoption, and the difficulties faced by all of the parties involved. At the center of the story is Chloe Pinter, a low-paid adoption coordinator. She manages desperate adoptive parents and birth parents in difficult situations. Her personal life is also full of drama. Chloe's boyfriend is what one might call a 'fixer-upper'- he lacks a job, ambition, and spends most of his time complaining. I thought the subject matter of this book might be very interesting, especially given that the author has worked in the field. That said, I did not enjoy this book very much. I found the characters ranged from annoying to downright offensive. Offensive and unlikeable characters can be useful, and certainly there's a place for them, but in this book nearly all of the characters are entirely unlikable. The only character for whom I could really feel empathy was the birth mother, Penny, who was forced to give up a baby she wanted to keep. The characters also lack depth; all of them seem incapable of engaging any sort of complex emotions, even when they find themselves in situations that should plumb the depths of the soul. Reading this book was the closest I've come to the world of domestic adoption, and I must admit that there was a great deal I fond difficult. The heavy use of euphemism, such as asking the birth mother to claim that she's "giving the baby a new home" rather than "giving the baby up," struck me as erasing the suggestion of loss or sacrifice on the part of the birth mother. Indeed, of all of the characters in this story, it seemed as though the needs of Penny, the young and destitute birth mother, were largely ignored. Penny's financial needs were met, but her emotional needs were never part of the equation, at least as far as the agency was concerned. Among the adoptive parents there was a definite shared sense that white, American-born children were far more desirable. Thinking about all of the families I know whose children were adopted abroad, seeing this sentiment shamelessly on display really struck a nerve. If I was the parent of child adopted abroad I'm not at all sure I could have finished this book. Hoffman is trying to show the complexities of domestic adoption, but ultimately I found the book too simplistic to really do the topic justice. The ending was far too neat and tidy to allow for complexity, and some of the characters were more like caricatures.
    • 3/5
      I should be the perfect reader for this book. I’ve been up and down the infertility and adoption roller coasters. I spent five years of my life trying to “have our baby, cross the finish line, and be out of this psychotic parallel universe,” as one of the main characters puts it.And yet as much as I should have identified with the characters in “Chosen”, after about the first third of the book, I began to actively dislike all of them except the adoption caseworker. The reader is allowed limited access to the thoughts of most of the main characters…birth parents, adoptive parents, etc. and through this, learns a bit too much. Either the author was a bit unsure of who her characters were or these people as a group are really off balance. The men, especially, go between being sensitive and emotional to violent and incredibly crude. (I am not easily shocked but there were several passages when the reader is in a male point of view that turned my stomach.) I don’t think, given the genre, that this is what the author was trying for so I am surprised that those weren’t edited out.Again, I’ve been where these people are. I know the emotional roller coaster that hope, grief, joy and despair can create. I know how soul crushing the process can be. And yet I found myself nearing the end of the book hoping that none of them would end up as parents. A new father, whose life is unlike anything he expected, true, thinking, “Right now the baby feels like a money-gobbling parasite…Of course he knows it won’t always be like this, that Wyeth will start to give back in some way, be more than a drain on their energy and finances.” At another point, two of the main male characters imagine killing the women in their lives in horrific ways.Another thing I couldn’t figure out was why, after a baby goes missing, the reader doesn’t get anything from the mother’s point of view. She is shuffled to the sidelines and the reader is forced to guess as her feelings and emotions after losing the baby she’s tried so long to have. The one person closest to the situation and the reader is cut off from her.I’ve looked over this review a few times, unsure if it was one I should post. But this subject of wanting a child, trying desperately to have a child and the fragile feelings one has while on any side of the adoption triangle is close to my heart. I think the author had good intentions when writing “Chosen” – I think her goal was to show that no one involved in the process is all good or all bad – completely unselfish or totally greedy. I just feel like this was an opportunity missed.