About the Book:

Imagine inheriting a child that you don’t even know!

One morning, Yael and Arik Katz are startled by a surprise inheritance: Noa, the ten-year-old daughter of Canadian friends with whom they had made a long-forgotten will-exchange agreement, is delivered to their doorstep with no warning. Why did her parents decide that she should grow up with acquaintances rather than family? How do you raise a girl you do not even know?

Secrets and lies are revealed and everything starts to get complicated

Noa does not find her place in Israel. Yael takes her back to Toronto to look for a more suitable adoptive home. The search reveals answers to questions that have not even been asked about parenthood, marital relations, love, one’s home, and the fragility of life.

Can life ever be the same again?

As Yael delves into Noa’s past to better understand her, she discovers some unflattering things about her own partner and that the connection between her family and Noa is deeper than it had seemed. These shocking revelations leave Yael with a serious dilemma about her own family relationships.

My Thoughts:

An intriguing tale of how a tragedy can change the lives of various people, Another’s Child deals with responsibilities, secrets and a little girl caught up in the middle of everything.

How would you feel if your normal routine and life is disrupted one day by the news that you have inherited a child?

Shocked! That is exactly how Yael felt when she opened the door one morning to a lawyer and little Noa. Noa’s parents had died in a car accident and as per their will, Yael and Arik Katz were to take care of the little girl. This story shows how certain decisions made in the spur of the moment can have bigger consequences later on in life.

As Yael struggles to accept the new child into her life, she decides to make it easier for everyone and takes her back to Canada to find a family willing to adopt her and keep her there. Through this journey, she learns things about Noa, while at the same time opens a can of worms that cannot be closed. Once she takes a peak, she is caught up in the web of lies that threaten to turn her world up-side down. She is forced to rethink her life and her opinions about her Husband, the love of her life.

The author deals with topics of trust, relationships, family, secrets and lies. The story is well-written and will draw you in, ensuring that you experience all the emotions of the various characters. Noa is a smart child, who senses the underlying tones of distrust, but yearns to be accepted by the family even though she acts out and against Yael. Arik is strong and gentle at the same time, connecting with Noa in a way that no-one can, easily understanding her moods. Yael is colorful, sometimes happy, sometimes angry and even sad, but still trying to do the right thing. At times she does come off as annoying and her reactions are very childish, but it will not make the reader hate her. The journey Yael taks through this story is not only one down memory lane, but also one that looks at her life and helps her rediscover herself, gaining confidence once more. The relationship that develops between Yael and Noa is beautiful to see as it goes from hatred to grudging respect to acceptance. It is difficult to hate a child even when you hate her mother!

The story ended quite abruptly for me, it seemed to just fall into place eventually, after all the drama and heartbreak. This was confusing and made the book seem incomplete to me. However, the entire plot and story were good and worth the read! The author did a good job with the portrayal of emotions and in keeping the reader engaged!