The Farm by Joanne Ramos
/The Farm by Joanne Ramos
Available May 7, 2019
If you could live rent-free at an inclusive resort with daily massages and yoga classes would you? What if meant you only had to carry a child for nine months, willingly hand it over, and never question what will happen to the child? What if it also meant you could never leave, were constantly monitored, and had your diet and exercise routine strictly enforced? Would you still do it?
When Jane finds herself a single mother struggling to pay her bills and living in a less than ideal apartment situation, she jumps at the chance to become a Host-a surrogate mother for someone who desperately wants a child but is unable to carry one herself. Leaving her infant daughter is incredibly difficult, but with the extremely high paycheck she will be earning, Jane will be able to provide the very best for her daughter-in nine months.
But will all things, what seems to be too good to be true, often is. Jane discovers that the women they carry babies for are not infertile, they are highly successful women who don’t want a pregnancy to interfere with their career plans. When Jane discovers that her own daughter is ill, she isn’t allowed to leave the Farm to see her. If Jane leaves without permission, is she also kidnapping the child within her? Does she have any rights left? Why are all the Hosts young and mostly immigrants? What power does the Farm have over the women’s bodies?
The Farm raises all of the BIG questions about women’s rights over their bodies and how we view unborn children. The Farm seems like such a great idea-help out young women who need to make money by providing surrogacy services to women who want to focus on their careers. But how far will people go to monetize their services? Whois truly benefiting from these services and who is having their rights trampled on. How much is a child worth?
The Farm is a gripping and chilling novel about what happens when we monetize women’s bodies. It’s a completely plausible and realistic premise that feels innocent on the surface, until we dig deeper and start asking the really important questions.
Extremely well written, I loved this novel and read it two short days-on the beach. Yep, on the beach. Just rubbing that in. I found it completely fascinating and couldn’t put it down.
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