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jrei45's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars!
Three words I’d use to describe The Ones We Choose are fascinating, eye opening, and thought provoking.
Before each chapter, there is a small section on genetics, discussing things like DNA methylation, genetic disorders, different genetic theories, and mock cryogenic bank documents, among other things. I learned so much! I truly love the way genetics was such a big part of the book. It was a really unique aspect that made the story so distinct and interesting.
Julie Clark was able to use Paige’s relationships with the people in her life to illustrate such powerful messages about acceptance and forgiveness. I applaud Clark on how beautifully she she did this. Even some of the passages about genetics was tied into real life scenarios in such a way that made me stop reading and really think deeply about what was written. I said “wow” aloud more than once when absorbing Clark’s words of wisdom.
The Ones We Choose was a fantastic story that will stick with me for a long time. I will absolutely be recommending this one!
Three words I’d use to describe The Ones We Choose are fascinating, eye opening, and thought provoking.
Before each chapter, there is a small section on genetics, discussing things like DNA methylation, genetic disorders, different genetic theories, and mock cryogenic bank documents, among other things. I learned so much! I truly love the way genetics was such a big part of the book. It was a really unique aspect that made the story so distinct and interesting.
Julie Clark was able to use Paige’s relationships with the people in her life to illustrate such powerful messages about acceptance and forgiveness. I applaud Clark on how beautifully she she did this. Even some of the passages about genetics was tied into real life scenarios in such a way that made me stop reading and really think deeply about what was written. I said “wow” aloud more than once when absorbing Clark’s words of wisdom.
The Ones We Choose was a fantastic story that will stick with me for a long time. I will absolutely be recommending this one!
jollyjohanna's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
hmbb99's review against another edition
5.0
I absolutely loved this book from page one to the end. The way Julie Clark intertwined the story of Paige and Miles with the genetic research Paige was working on as a geneticist was seamless. I am amazed by the amount of research Julie Clark had to have done to write this book.
This book grabs you by the heart strings and keeps pulling even after the story was told. You feel the anger and hurt that Paige feels from growing up with a father who is constantly absent and unreliable. You understand why this leads her to come to the decision to conceive a child without a father by using an anonymous sperm donor. You feel Paige's struggle when Miles starts to question who his father is and when Paige's father reappears in her life again.
If you have ever questioned your place in your family or struggled with a family relationship, then this book is for you.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing this advanced copy of the book, the opinions are my own.
This book grabs you by the heart strings and keeps pulling even after the story was told. You feel the anger and hurt that Paige feels from growing up with a father who is constantly absent and unreliable. You understand why this leads her to come to the decision to conceive a child without a father by using an anonymous sperm donor. You feel Paige's struggle when Miles starts to question who his father is and when Paige's father reappears in her life again.
If you have ever questioned your place in your family or struggled with a family relationship, then this book is for you.
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing this advanced copy of the book, the opinions are my own.
danidsfavereads's review against another edition
4.0
* Thank you Gallery Books for sending me a beautiful finished copy to read and review. *
This book follows Paige as she navigates her world as a geneticist studying a specific gene in fathers, and as a single mother to her son. When her son begins to ask questions about his father, she does not know how to answer as she utilized a donor. Throughout the book, Paige confronts her vulnerabilities and has to examine how her own father's behavior is impacting her now.
This book talks about family. About how certain experiences during childhood will affect you in adulthood. It's about friendship, and difficult choices. This book is an emotional journey. I felt invested in Paige and her experience. I rooted for her through the difficult choices she had to made, but also questioned some of the things she did.
This book follows Paige as she navigates her world as a geneticist studying a specific gene in fathers, and as a single mother to her son. When her son begins to ask questions about his father, she does not know how to answer as she utilized a donor. Throughout the book, Paige confronts her vulnerabilities and has to examine how her own father's behavior is impacting her now.
This book talks about family. About how certain experiences during childhood will affect you in adulthood. It's about friendship, and difficult choices. This book is an emotional journey. I felt invested in Paige and her experience. I rooted for her through the difficult choices she had to made, but also questioned some of the things she did.
brookvas's review against another edition
4.0
Predictable, but still a sweet story that pulled at the heart strings.
sbojo32's review against another edition
4.0
I read this one after reading The Last Flight and the books couldn't be more different... but I loved them both. Julie Clark is an excellent writer and creates characters that are real and flawed. In this book, Paige is a single mother by choice (she had her son via a sperm donor). However, as her son is getting older, he's upset that he doesn't have a dad or know his dad. He pushes away Paige's boyfriend, Liam. Paige also pushes away Liam, by not letting him truly into her life.
She has her own issues, because her father would leave the family and then come back, repeatedly, when she was growing up. As such, she began working with genetics and found that there is a gene that essentially shows that you don't have the ability to connect with your child as a father.
This book does include a lot of science about genetics and DNA but it is not science-y or over the top at all. In fact, coming from someone who is not a science person, I found the language simple and clear - and interesting. This component of the book made the story more interesting all the way around. I don't want to reveal more, but this was an excellent read.
She has her own issues, because her father would leave the family and then come back, repeatedly, when she was growing up. As such, she began working with genetics and found that there is a gene that essentially shows that you don't have the ability to connect with your child as a father.
This book does include a lot of science about genetics and DNA but it is not science-y or over the top at all. In fact, coming from someone who is not a science person, I found the language simple and clear - and interesting. This component of the book made the story more interesting all the way around. I don't want to reveal more, but this was an excellent read.
sandiasando's review
3.0
This story brought up philosophical and ethical questions for me about fertility and parental rights and obligations. In this story a single woman wanted children so she went to a sperm bank and got pregnant. Later her son grows up and struggles with his identity because he doesn't have a father. The single mother also struggles with her own relationship with her father. But this story also brings up the question of how much responsibility does a man have over the sperm he donates that later flourish into life?
jessicasilfenroy's review against another edition
5.0
This totally exceeded my expectations. Julie Clark’s “The Last Flight” is one of my all time favorite thrillers, but this is SO completely different. It’s a family drama that totally left me in a whirlwind of emotions. The main character, Paige, is such a well-written protagonist that was easy to connect to, and I found myself immersed in her story. I love how this book encompasses so many important themes like finding the courage to stop living in fear, letting people in fully, and figuring out what it means to be human from our genes, to our memories to willingness to heal. What also made this book stand out was how Clark uses genetics to drive the plot as each chapter starts off with a scientific description (think chromosomes, genetic markers etc.) that relates the the story.
This will definitely be a book I recommend to others. It has a little bit of everything in it: love, suspense, grief, drama, motherhood, friendship and science-based research.
Read if you’re interested in:
-women in STEM
-quirky characters
-genetics
-sperm donors
-single parents
-gifted children
-family struggles
This will definitely be a book I recommend to others. It has a little bit of everything in it: love, suspense, grief, drama, motherhood, friendship and science-based research.
Read if you’re interested in:
-women in STEM
-quirky characters
-genetics
-sperm donors
-single parents
-gifted children
-family struggles