Review: Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda

Synopsis:

Somer's life is everything she imagined it would be - she's newly married and has started her career as a physician in San Francisco - until she makes the devastating discovery she will never be able to have children.

The same year in India, a poor mother makes the heartbreaking choice to save her newborn daughter's life by giving her away. It is a decision that that will haunt Kavita for the rest of her life, and cause a ripple effect that travels across the world and back again.

Asha, adopted out of a Mumbai orphanage, is the child that binds the destinies of these two women. We follow both families, invisibly connected until Asha's journey of self-discovery leads her back to India.

Rating: 5/5

The story itself was rather unique. As good books go, this one had its fair share of twists and turns. I thought the story would go one way and then it would end up taking a completely different direction, drawing me more into the story and making me want to know what happens because clearly I can't guess.

The format entailed different point of views of the 5 main characters. I don't know how you feel about reading from multiple perspectives but I personally enjoy them. It helps me understand how each character feels and also helps me understand how I feel about a certain character.

Throughout this particular book, the different perspectives are extremely useful because seeing as there are different types of relations occurring, it helps to see how each character feels about the situation at hand.

What I enjoyed the most was the representation of the Indian culture. Being an Indian, I was mind blown by the fact that I understood most of the terminology without having to turn to the glossary at the back.

I also got to see India without having to actually go there, if that even makes sense. I got to see the dark side of India, a side that I'd barely see anywhere else, including the news.

It's the things I knew happened in India but it never occurred to me how bad the situation was until I read Secret Daughter.

Mrs Gowda shows us what it's like for a foreigner in India and introduced the customs of the Hindu religion, showing us what their celebrations and rituals were like.

Representation is extremely important because everyone should learn more about other cultures and religions and I'm glad Mrs Gowda allowed people to do that.

Characters:

Somer:

Somer is the main character, the one who ends up tying the lives of herself, Asha and Kavita with an invisible rope.

She is married to Kris (full name Krishnan) who is an Indian man from Mumbai, India. She is a physician and she has a very strong personality. She is also highly sensitive and insecure which created a lot of drama but at the same time, I couldn't help but sympathise with her.

She was fragile in the sense that firstly, couldn't bear children, and secondly, wasn't the real mother of the child she adopted. She struggled a lot, especially being a Caucasian woman married to an Indian man.

I got really mad at her at some points because I honestly felt that there are ways to handle a situation and right now, you are not doing it that way.

I felt that she should have adapted to her life and just, not let things weigh her down for too long.

Kris:

Somer's husband and also a surgeon was a typical Indian guy. But his character was probably the most understanding when it came to their daughter Asha. He definitely struggled to understand Somer but was still there for her and tried to help her when she struggled to keep up with his side of the family. I often felt bad for him because of both Somer and Asha who would often put him in awkward situations.

He was definitely an A+ father and a really loving husband and I really liked that even though he had to often play mediator, he'd play it well.

Asha/Usha:

Asha is the main focus of the book, Secret Daughter.

It is really no spoiler that she is the daughter of Kavita and Jasu by blood but only the daughter of Somer and Kris by adoption.

However, Asha was your typical young adult girl. She may have felt as if she was alone most of her life but seeing as both her and her father, Kris was Indian, made it easier because I guess she wouldn't have felt as left out as her mom, Somer; who was a white woman with an Indian husband and daughter.

Asha shows a lot of independence but again, just like Somer, she could have handled a lot of situations better.

She was the apple of her parent's eye and she tried her best to be everything they wanted, and sometimes it was difficult for them to accept.

I liked her character a lot and I am super glad that things work out the way they do for her in the novel.

Kavita:

From the very beginning, my heart bled for this character. I cried when she cried and hurt when she hurt because no woman should have to go through the crap she had to.

Her character specifically made me really feel bad for the women in India who had to deal with the consequences of birthing what was considered the ''wrong" gender. In all honesty, Kavita deserved better than whatever it is she got.

Although what I really liked about her was how she persevered and accepted everything that happened because she knew that there wasn't much she could do.

She carried out her duties as a wife and daughter as best as she could and made sure to stay strong.

Those are qualities that I admire in characters and in people and Mrs Gowda was spot on with this character in many ways.

Jasu:

Kavita's husband who at first, one cannot help but despise. He caused a lot of pain for Kavita and yet as I kept reading the book and soon reached chapters where things were told from his point of view, I started to understand how he felt and honestly, felt bad.

I don't excuse his actions one bit but I was glad to see that he had a conscience.

He was a hard worker whose family came first and who just wanted the best for them.

A quality that is definitely worth admiring.

I definitely recommend the book to ages 17 and above. It is a beautiful story about family and I truly hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

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-zestasià