Book Review: The Offering by Angela Hunt

The Offering by Angela Hunt

Publisher: Howard Books

Publish Date: May 14, 2013

Paperback, 320 pages

 ISBN: 9781439182055

My Review:
Wow, just wow. This book explores so much in a realm I have never really thought about even though I have a friend who used surrogacy.  The Offering is touching, painful at times and joyful all at the same time and well worth the read.  The characters add a richness, especially Amanda's (Mandy's) extended family.  Even though Mandy is a gringa, and doesn't understand their Spanish all the time, she seems to fit in well with this Cuban-American family her husband has brought her into.  While there are some difficulties with her and the family, I think Ms. Hunt nails it with the closeness and the fact that when there is trouble the family will always be there for you.  I enjoyed Mandy, she had a naivete about her that made her the right character for the book.  But then again I was right with her when thinking about some of the ethical things that have to do with surrogacy.  She's also very much in love with her husband which is evident, even though he is in and out of the book.  Amelia is a great secondary character in that she has her own problems but she and Mandy are there for each other even when they don't see eye-to-eye.  While I would have liked a little more of Gideon in the book, I understand that he was in and out of their lives because of his job.  And of course the surrogate family, they are an entity of their own and while we mostly see them through Mandy's eyes, I find a realism in that, especially when things change.  That's when you realize that what you might be seeing might just be something different from the reality.

There are so many layers to this book, yet it reads quick and I never felt bogged down when I was reading it.  Mandy battles with whether do be a surrogate, how to best fit into family, how to love a husband that she never knows what he is doing, and then what to do when the unforeseen happens.  Through the book each trial strengthens Mandy into becoming the woman she is by the end of the book.  It's not easy, but life seldom is.  I felt for her during the whole book.  I shed tears at one point and felt complete joy at others.  Ms. Hunt had me so involved in the plot that I felt I was there in the middle of Mandy and her family.

Thought-provoking, non-preachy, hard-to-put down all describe The Offering.  It is a book who's message and characters will stay with me for awhile as I peel through the layers and really think through what happened in the book.  I like books that do that.  Entertain me while reading, but make me really think when they are over.  The Offering is a stellar book and one I can highly recommend.


My Rating: 4.5/5.0


About the Book:

From bestselling author Angela Hunt, the heart-wrenching story of a young mother who unknowingly gave away her own child after serving as a surrogate for a childless couple.


After growing up as an only child, Amanda Lisandra wants a big family. But since she and her soldier husband can't afford to have more children right away, Mandy decides to earn money as a gestational carrier for a childless couple. She loves being pregnant, and while carrying the child she dreams of having her own son and maybe another daughter.  Just when the nearly perfect pregnancy is about to conclude, unexpected tragedy enters Mandy's world and leaves her reeling.

Devastated by grief, she surrenders the child she was carrying and struggles to regain her emotional equilibrium.

Two years later she studies a photograph of the baby she bore and wonders if the unthinkable has happened---could she have inadvertently given away her own biological child? Over the next few months Mandy struggles to decide between the desires of her grief-stricken heart and what's best for the little boy she has never known.

Purchase a copy: http://ow.ly/l6HiW


About the Author : 
With over four million copies of her books sold worldwide, Angela Hunt is the bestselling author of more than one hundred books, including "The Nativity Story". Hunt is one of the most sought-after collaborators in the publishing industry. Her nonfiction book "Don't Bet Against Me", written with Deanna Favre, spent several weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Angela's novel "The Note" (with sales of over 141,000) was filmed as the Hallmark Channel's Christmas movie for 2007 and proved to be the highest rated television movie in the channel's history. Angela's novels have won or been nominated for several prestigious industry awards, including the RITA, the Christy Award, the ECPA Christian Book Award, and the Holt Medallion. She often travels to teach writing workshops at schools and writers' conferences, and she served as the keynote speaker at the 2008 American Christian Fiction Writers' national conference. She and her husband make their home in Florida with mastiffs. In 2001, one of her dogs was featured on Live with Regis and Kelly as the second-largest dog in America.

Learn more at http://www.angelahuntbooks.com


Twitter
Facebook


Win a Nook HD from Angela Hunt and RSVP for her June 5th Facebook Party!

Angela Hunt is celebrating the release of The Offering with a Nook HD Giveaway and an Author Chat Party on Facebook {6/5}.

  One winner will receive:

• A Nook HD
• The Offering by Angela Hunt 

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on June 4th. Winner will be announced at the "The Offering" Facebook Author Chat Party on June 5th. Connect with Angela for an evening of book chat, trivia, laughter, and more! Angela will also share an exclusive look at her next book and give away books and other fun prizes throughout the evening.

So grab your copy of The Offering and join Angela on the evening of June 5th for a chance to connect and make some new friends. (If you haven't read the book, don't let that stop you from coming!)

Don't miss a moment of the fun; RSVP today. Tell your friends via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning. Hope to see you on the 5th!

***I received this book from Litfuse Publicity and through Netgalley for an honest review.  I was not compensated in any other way except receiving the book for free.  ***