During the hazy, lazy days of summer, nothing is better than settling into a great read - the kind of story you can't put down. "Secret Daughter" by Canadian born Shilpi Somaya Gowda is just such a story.

On the evening of the monsoons, in a remote Indian village, a heartbroken Kavita is forced to give away the baby she has long dreamed of having. After all, the baby is a girl and the poor in India simply can't afford that luxury. Halfway around the world, in the enclave of Palo Alto - home of Stanford University - American-born Somer and her Indian husband Krishnan
learn that they are unable to conceive. Eventually, their passion to have a child leads them to an orphanage in Mumbai and to the baby that Kavita has left behind.

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.

Gowda's story unfolds in rich colour as she transports the reader seamlessly between the tree lined suburb of Palo Alto and the teeming streets of Mumbai - complete with the smells, the unthinkable poverty, and the richness of cultural traditions that span the centuries.

This is a book to read and savour and then pass on to everyone you know.

I was really pleasantly surprised by this novel. I expected it to be heavier somehow, being written by an author of Indian decent, about the adoption of an Indian orphan to an inter-racial Indian-American couple.
I find that a lot of novels set in India (one of my favorite settings btw) tend to get bogged down in the caste system, and it is also my experience that most Indian families seriously frown upon inter-racial dating/marriage.
Yes, Gowda explores the caste system, and yes, she also addresses the cultural challenges involved with inter-racial marriage, but never in a way that overshadows the story she is trying to tell.
This is a story about adoption, and is told from three different perspectives. The adoptive parents, the biological parents and the adopted child. I loved how well rounded this novel felt, I felt like I really got to know and understand all of these characters, and was genuinely involved in the story.
I can easily recommend this novel, and look forward to seeing more from this author!

I started reading Secret Daughter on the recommendation of my mother-in-law who was reading the same novel. I don't remember where or when I bough this particular novel, but I never felt compelled to read it until I found someone else who was reading it. From the first chapter, I wondered why I waited so long to start - Secret Daughter, by Shilpi Somaya Gowda, is an intriguing, engrossing read with a wonderful message.

Secret Daughter is the story of Kavita, who gives birth to Asha one night in India. Unfortunately, Kavita lives in a place that favours the birth of sons-not daughters. So, Asha is put up for adoption and is adopted out to an American family.

I've always found myself interested in adopted children who want to find their birth parents. I understand some of the reasoning, like finding out health history, or just getting the history-the story-of the family you were born into. Though, I also wonder, if a person is adopted into a good family, has a good life, a loving household, why they would want to seek out their birth parents. Health-wise, what happens will happen, in most cases regardless of what you know. But maybe that's just me.

Secret Daughter is the story of Asha, a girl who is born into an Indian family. At that time it was better for a family to have a boy in the family-someone who could work when they grew up and wouldn't cost the family a huge dowry when they marry. It was a terrible thing to read, this country that favours sons over daughters, but it happens. Asha is adopted into an American family and, as she grows, finds herself wanting to find out where she came from.

The story is beautifully written-quite similar to The Namesake. Gowda paints a beautiful portrait of both India and life in America and I found myself relating to Asha throughout the novel. I understood her curiosity and was intrigued by her trips to India. I think what got to me was that the life she was curious about had two sides - one that could have been beautiful, born into a wealthy family, living on the "good" side of India; or another where she could have been born into the "bad" side of India, an India of poverty, where the job of the woman is to tend to the house and her husband.

There was so much going on in this novel and Gowda weaved each item in effortlessly - family, adoption, abortion, motherhood, death, castes, love, marriage, relationships, home. I loved it all and was happy with the message that the novel gives, that at some point, the family you create means more than the family you are born into.

Secret Daughter was a wonderful read - I'd recommend it to anyone. In fact, it would make a great book-club read.

hidden gem at the back of my bf's mom book shelf.

all the characters get to speak and as the reader you can hear their side of the story or perspective. great novel about different family generations, parent and child relations, culture differences and learning for all the characters and reader.

gives you slight glimpses into Indian culture and tradition. Some stereotypes, but nothing offending. Smooth easy read. I assumed a predictable ending, but it was surprising to read the ending was not the usual.

you will like the characters. i related to asha, because she is in teh same age category as me. i can agreed with her points of view, but at the same time i completely agreed with somer as well.

sit back, relax and get into this book. nothing in depth or heartfelt, but it is a good story.