Someone Else's Child is a multi-POV novel about kidnapping. It's not a thriller though. Basically, Lucy (whose ethnicity I'm not too clear about?) wants a baby very badly. When she finds a baby seemingly abandoned in a supermarket, it seems like her dreams have come true. For Marilyn, it's her worst nightmare. All she did was leave baby Natalie alone for a little and then she's gone. Natalie grows up as Mia, until one day, Marilyn finds her, and everyone has to figure out what is going to happen.
I say 'figure out' because Mia is confused, Marilyn is confused and Lucy basically flew off to China to hide. The police don't play much of a presence either - in the latter half of the book, Mia is clearly the main character.
Unlike most books, I did read some of the reviews on Goodreads before reading (had to get a cover for Teaser Tuesday), and I must say, I don't feel as much hate towards Lucy as some of the other readers do.
True, she did a horrendous thing and she does have a lot of making up to do for it, but... I don't know. She didn't seem like an evil person in the sense that most villains are. She seemed like someone who gave in to human nature and made a huge mistake, then never got to courage to own up to it.
Maybe I saw too much of her perspective or something.
Don't get me wrong here, my favourite characters are Mia and Wendy (Wendy is the Chinese nanny). I don't like or condone what Lucy does, but I didn't find myself very angry either, which is weird because these things can get me hopping. In fact, I have the same amount of empathy for Lucy as I do for Marilyn.
Conclusion: I probably reacted to this book weirdly, but I won't deny that after a slow start, it grabbed hold of me and would not let go.
Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review.
My sister read this one and told me about it. I will definitely read it!
ReplyDeleteI hope you enjoy it! :D
DeleteI am really curious about this one. I've heard quite a bit about it, although no one really talked much about Lucy. So, I was glad to see your thoughts on her. I imagine my impression of her would be similar to yours. What she does is pretty awful no matter how you look at it, but it sounds like the author does a good job of showing just how human Lucy is. And it shows real empathy on your part that you are able to see that, despite her actions.
ReplyDeleteReally? Lucy is such a central character it was hard for me not to mention her. But yeah, like, we start with Lucy's perspective (which I didn't really appreciate at first), but that got me to understand how much she wanted that baby, which in turn led her to steal Mia.
DeleteHope you get a chance to read it!