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Adopted: Perkins’ Recommended Reads
This list features titles that explore adoption in its many forms.
Exploring adoption in its many forms.
November is National Adoption Awareness Month. Although adoption rates have declined during the past decade, over 100,000 children are adopted in the US yearly in familial, domestic, foster care, and international adoptions.
Families, like books, can come in all different types, and our list this month reflects that. We’ve included memoirs by real life adoptees and adoptive families alongside fictional stories about the adoption process or the years afterward. While adoption can be a wonderful way to bring a family together in a new way, it has its challenges too. Read on to find a variety of perspectives about adoption and the adoption experience.
Digital book (DB), braille (BR), large print (LT), and audio described videos (DVD) copies of these titles are available from the Perkins Library or the Worcester Talking Book Library. Please contact the library to order any of these books.
Prepared by Leah Ellenbogen
Children’s Resource and Service Librarian
Perkins Library
All You Can Ever Know: A Memoir
Nicole Chung
The Korean author reflects on the story of her adoption by a white family, the sacrifices her biological family made, the prejudice she faced growing up, and her curiosity about her origins. Recounts her search for her biological family while starting a family of her own. 2018.
Download All You Can Ever Know, DB 94833
Download Braille, All You Can Ever Know, BR 22560
Becoming Nicole: The Transformation of an American Family
Amy Ellis Nutt
Chronicles the lives of the conservative Maines family who, having adopted identical twin boys as babies, were destabilized by the realization that one of the boys identified as a girl. The author details the emotional fallout, resistance and accommodation within the family, and the fight for Nicole’s rights. 2015.
Download Becoming Nicole, DB 83433
Download Braille, Becoming Nicole, BR 21606
Before We Were Yours
Lisa Wingate
The five Foss children are left alone at home in 1930s Mississippi and subsequently kidnapped by notorious child dealer Georgia Tann. In the present day, Avery Stafford meets elderly May–who used to be Rill Foss and is the sister of Avery’s Grandma Judy. Avery investigates her family’s history. 2017.
Download Before We Were Yours, DB 88202
Download Braille, Before We Were Yours, BR 21971
The Clan of the Cave Bear
Jean M. Auel
After her people perish in an earthquake during the Ice Age, Cro-Magnon woman Ayla is adopted by a beetle-browed Neanderthal clan. Banished several times for flouting taboos, Ayla finally realizes that she must leave the group, doomed to extinction, and seek out her own kind. Some explicit descriptions of sex. Bestseller. 1980.
Download The Clan of the Cave Bear, DB 15791
Download Braille, The Clan of the Cave Bear, BR 16674
The Comfort of Lies
Randy Susan Meyers
Five years ago Tia had an affair with Nathan and gave up their baby for adoption by Caroline and Peter. Now Nathan’s wife Juliette learns about the child, and Tia, who never forgot Nathan, wants him back, opening old wounds. Some descriptions of sex. 2013.
Download The Comfort of Lies, DB 76327
A Creed in Stone Creek
Linda Lael Miller
After the deaths of his friends Zack and Jillie, attorney Steven Creed adopts their five-year-old son Matt and moves to a fixer-upper ranch in Arizona. Steven and Matt become smitten with prosecutor Melissa O’Ballivan, but work conflicts threaten the growing romance. Strong language and explicit descriptions of sex. Bestseller. 2011.
Download A Creed in Stone Creek, DB 72831
Endangered
C. J. Box
When Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett’s adopted daughter April is found severely battered and unconscious in a ditch, he immediately suspects Dallas Cates—April’s rodeo-cowboy boyfriend. As April’s condition remains critical, Mrs. Cates begins an intense campaign to protect her son. Violence and some strong language. 2015.
Download Braille, Endangered, BR 22270
Everybody’s Son
Thrity N. Umrigar
When his mother is sent to prison, young Anton is adopted by successful judge David Coleman and his wife. Anton lives a life of privilege, but then he learns the lengths that David went to in order to keep Anton’s mother from regaining custody. Strong language. 2017.
Download Everybody’s Son, DB 89935
Far from the Tree
Robin Benway
While struggling with the emotional challenges of giving up her newborn for adoption, sixteen-year-old Grace begins her own search for her birth mother. Instead, she finds she has two siblings—Maya, her chatterbox younger sister, and Joaquin, her stoic older brother. Strong language. For senior high and older readers. 2017.
Download Far from the Tree, DB 89587
A Gate at the Stairs
Lorrie Moore
Naive college student Tassie is a nanny for Sarah and Edward, who are trying to adopt their biracial foster child. During the school year Tassie struggles with her job, falls for a Brazilian classmate, encounters racism, and endures a family tragedy. Some strong language and some descriptions of sex. Bestseller. 2009.
Download A Gate at the Stairs, DB 69697
Ginny Moon
Benjamin Ludwig
Ginny is an autistic fourteen-year-old who has been adopted after years in foster care. Her fragile new life is threatened, however, when her obsessive need to get her Baby Doll back brings her dangerous birth mother into her life again. Some violence and some strong language. 2017.
Download Braille, Ginny Moon, BR 22202
The Girl from the Train
Irma Joubert
1944. Six-year-old Gretl escapes from a transport train taking her family to a concentration camp. Minutes later, the train is destroyed by a bomb. Resistance fighter Jakob saves her only to send her to South Africa. Gretl must balance faith traditions. Translated from the original 2007 Afrikaans edition. Some violence. 2015.
Download The Girl from the Train, DB 87613
The Heart’s Invisible Furies
John Boyne
An Irishman reflects on his life. Born to an unwed country girl, Cyril is adopted by a wealthy couple from Dublin. His humble beginnings and his sexuality make it difficult for Cyril as he grows older, and he is always looking for his place in the world. 2017.
Download The Heart’s Invisible Furies, DB 88830
Her Name Is Rose
Christine Breen
A health scare reminds Iris Bowen of a promise she made to her dying husband to find the birth mother of their adopted daughter, Rose. With scant clues, Iris travels from Ireland to Boston and back in her search, discovering more than she intended. Some strong language. 2015.
Download Her Name Is Rose, DB 81844
Iron House
John Hart
As a boy, Michael took the blame when his weaker brother Julian killed a bully at their orphanage. Michael became a career criminal, while Julian was adopted by a senator’s wife and took up writing. Now on the run from mobsters, Michael reenters Julian’s life. Violence and strong language. 2011.
The Last Equation of Isaac Severy
Nova Jacobs
After mathematician Isaac Severy dies of an apparent suicide, his adopted granddaughter Hazel receives a letter from him. Isaac alludes to a secretive organization that is after his final bombshell equation, and he charges Hazel with safely delivering it to a trusted colleague. 2018.
Download The Last Equation of Isaac Severy, DB 93842
The Leavers
Lisa Ko
Eleven-year-old Deming Guo’s undocumented immigrant mother, Polly, heads off to work one day and disappears. With no other family to care for him, he is adopted by white college professors who rename him Daniel and shape him into an “All-American” boy. He struggles in this new life. 2017.
Download The Leavers, DB 86968
Life and Adventures of Jack Engle
Walt Whitman
Orphaned Jack finds his fortunes turned when he is adopted. When older, he apprentices for a lawyer who is scheming to steal the inheritance of his adopted daughter, Martha. Jack and his friends fight to save Martha from an unspeakable fate, and Jack discovers possible ties to his past. Some violence. 1852.
Download Life and Adventures of Jack Engle, DB 87654
Download Braille, Life and Adventures of Jack Engle, BR 21915
Little Fires Everywhere
Celeste Ng
Elena Richardson and her family lead an orderly existence in Shaker Heights, Ohio, until Mia and her daughter rent a house from them. When a neighbor tries to adopt a baby, Elena and Mia end up on opposing sides of the custody battle. Some strong language and some descriptions of sex. Bestseller. 2017.
Download Little Fires Everywhere, DB 89018
Download Braille, Little Fires Everywhere, BR 22149
A Long Way Home, or Lion
Saroo Brierley
Man recounts ending up as a five-year-old on the streets of Calcutta, where he was taken in by an orphanage and adopted by an Australian couple. Describes his search for home and his two families. Originally published as The Long Way Home and basis for 2016 Oscar-nominated movie, Lion. 2013.
Download A Long Way Home, DB 87355
Download Braille, A Long Way Home, BR 21832
Love Love
Sung J. Woo
Former pro-tennis player Kevin learns of his adoption when he’s tested to be a kidney donor for his father. Devastated, he searches for his birth family. Both he and his sister Judy are dealing with the fallout of broken and burgeoning romances. Strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex. 2015.
The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher
Dana Alison Levy
The adventures of a family with two fathers, four adopted boys, and a variety of pets as they make their way through a school year—kindergarten through sixth grade—and deal with a grumpy new neighbor. For grades 3-6. 2014.
Download The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher, DB 80241
One Warm Winter
Jamie Pope
Wynter Bates was adopted as a child by a tech billionaire, but a scandal throws her parentage into question. To avoid the media, her bodyguard Cullen whisks her away to a secluded island, where they must pose as a couple. Some strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex. 2019.
Download One Warm Winter, DB 95214
Run for Your Life
James Patterson
NYPD hostage negotiator Michael Bennett is struggling to find a serial killer who calls himself the Teacher and who randomly targets people in the city. While texting with the sociopath, Mike tends to his ten adopted and newly motherless kids, who all have the flu. Violence and strong language. Bestseller. 2009.
Download Run for Your Life, DB 68436
Download Braille, Run for Your Life, BR 18151
The Seven Sisters: Maia’s Story
Lucinda Riley
Maia D’Apliése and her five sisters, all adopted, gather at their billionaire father’s estate after his death. They are each left a clue to their heritage. Maia’s clue leads her to Brazil, where she pieces together a story that traces back to Rio in the 1920s. Unrated. Commercial audiobook. 2015.
Download The Seven Sisters: Maia’s Story, DB 89630
The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane
Lisa See
Li-yan lives in a mountainside village where she and her family pick tea. As she grows up, she begins to rebel—eventually having a daughter out of wedlock. Her daughter, Haley, is adopted and grows up in California, wondering about her birth mother. Some explicit descriptions of sex. Bestseller. 2017.
Download The Tea Girl of Hummingbird Lane, DB 87914
Two Weeks
Karen Kingsbury
Cole is gearing up for college when he falls for Elise. Even after Elise confides that she is pregnant with another man’s baby, Cole wants to marry her. As her due date approaches, Elise has two weeks to decide whether to put the child up for adoption. 2019.
Where Women Are Kings
Christie Watson
When foster child Elijah is adopted by Nikki and Obi, they hope love will help him recover from his abuse-filled past. But Elijah longs for his Nigerian mother and clings to the stories she told him, including the fact that he is a wizard. 2015.
Download Where Women Are Kings, DB 82417
Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?
Jeanette Winterson
Award-winning British author highlights her lifelong search for happiness and love. Adopted by an abusive religious woman, Winterson was forced out of the house at sixteen when her sexual orientation was discovered but still managed to obtain an Oxford education and literary success. Some strong language. Bestseller. 2011.
Download Why Be Happy When You Could Be Normal?, DB 74545
Yes, Chef: A Memoir
Marcus Samuelsson
Samuelsson, who was born in a small Ethiopian village and adopted by a Swedish couple, recounts the ways his grandmother instilled in him a love of cooking. Describes personal challenges and career highlights, including becoming executive chef of New York City’s Aquavit and winning the Beard Award. Strong language. Bestseller. 2012.
