What would you do to save your child? The answer, always, is anything. This book was magical and sad and beautiful, and full of love, and I just wish these characters were real. Oh, and did I mention, there’s also time travel?
Carly Sears just lost her husband in Vietnam, and now she’s found out that their unborn daughter has a terminal heart defect, and it almost breaks her. But, then, her kind but somewhat mysterious brother-in-law, Hunter, tells her that there might be something that can be done. But, it involves a (literal) leap of faith for Caroline, and she has to answer the question, what is she willing to sacrifice for her daughter’s life.
This book had been on my shelf for a little while — a gift from an earlier Bitter Sister Swap — and I’m so glad that one of my book clubs decided to read it this month to give me an excuse to finally pick it up. The Dream Daughter is the second book I’ve read by Diane Chamberlain, and I liked this even more than the first one I read (and I enjoyed that one, too.) I love how real her characters feel, especially when they struggle with serious, life-altering decisions. And, as the mother of a medically-complicated child, as well, this one really hit home.
I was drawn to Carly. Of course she was very sheltered (by modern standards, many people from the 1970s would probably be considered sheltered,) but also very strong. I really liked the complexity of her character as she lived through the different timelines and coped with the heart-breaking situations she kept finding herself in. And her final decision — I don’t know if I could have made the same one.
And, I’m not giving away the ending, but it was very satisfying, although not the one you’d expect or hope for while reading. I highly recommend this book.