New York Times bestselling author Diane Chamberlain delivers a thrilling, mind-bending novel about one mother’s journey to save her child. When Carly Sears, a young woman widowed by the Vietnam war, receives the news that her unborn baby girl has a heart defect, she is devastated. It is 1970, and she is told that nothing can be done to help her child. But her brother-in-law, a physicist with a … brother-in-law, a physicist with a mysterious past, tells her that perhaps there is a way to save her baby. What he suggests is something that will shatter every preconceived notion that Carly has. Something that will require a kind of strength and courage she never knew existed. Something that will mean an unimaginable leap of faith on Carly’s part.
And all for the love of her unborn child.
The Dream Daughter is a rich, genre-spanning, breathtaking novel about one mother’s quest to save her child, unite her family, and believe in the unbelievable. Diane Chamberlain pushes the boundaries of faith and science to deliver a novel that you will never forget.
Praise for The Dream Daughter:
“Chamberlain writes with supernatural gifts…fate, destiny, chance and hope combine for a heady and breathless wonder of a read.” –Pam Jenoff, New York Times bestselling author of The Orphan’s Tale
“Can a story be both mind-bending and heartfelt? In Diane Chamberlain’s hands, it can. The Dream Daughter will hold readers in anxious suspense until the last satisfying page.” –Therese Fowler, New York Times bestselling author of Z
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Although not a fan of science fiction, I loved reading this book from the very first page. Couldn’t wait to hear what happened next.
This turned into a hard to put down read. Very good.
The Dream Daughter by Diane Chamberlain
October 2018
Women’s fiction
I received this digital ARC from NetGalley and St.Martins Press in exchange for an unbiased review.
This author has always been on my TBR list but didn’t have the opportunity until now to review her latest novel.
Although the story is presented with alternate narrators in different time periods it feels as if it is occurring simultaneously. The concept of time travel is used in this book as a unique means of exploring ethical dilemmas.
It was April of 1965 when Caroline Sears, a physical therapy student intern, meets Hunter Poole, a difficult depressed patient at rehab in Chapel Hill, NC. Carly seems to be the only one with whom Hunter connects after falling from a 3-story building who can assist with his recovery.
Jump forward to Naggs Head, NC in April of 1970 where Hunter is now married to Carly’s sister, Patti and a 1 year old son, John Paul. At this time Carly finds herself a widow with her precious husband Joe a casualty of the Vietnam War. Carly never had the chance to inform him of her pregnancy before he died. At 24 weeks pregnant it is discovered that the baby has an irregular heartbeat where she is referred to National Institute of Health (NIH) in Maryland for a fetal ultrasound study.
When the results of the study prove fatal for the baby, Hunter decides he needs to share his secret with Carly in order to save her baby. There are many twists and unexpected discoveries as Carly experiences the world in ways she dreamed possible. Her only goal is to save baby Joanna with a life saving surgery that hasn’t been invented!
Through time travel issues of the past and future are analyzed with a new lens. Is it acceptable to disturb the present with knowledge of the future knowing it would alter the present? Likewise, is it ever wise to alter the course of history once it has been set in motion? It becomes imminently obvious how the slightest changes can alter the ultimate outcome in time.
It was unrealistic for this to happen but I enjoyed the story line
I’ve read several of Diane Chamberlain’s books and loved them all. I had a hint that this one was different from her others, and I was pleasantly surprised by how different it was! I’m not giving anything away but I can say I loved it from beginning to end!
really enjoyed this book. so different and original. something different than what i usually read but really enjoyed
I loved this book. Being science fiction and time traveling, I’m sure most would not like it; but the time traveling has an important twist that most books on time travel do not. I don’t want to spoil it for those who read it; but, the book is a page turner, wonderful characters and has an excellent ending!
Awesome book
Definitely Not your average book, has a bit of sci-fi mixed in. Doesn’t take away anything and adds suspense.
I thought it was a really nice book- original and written beautifully
I loved this book !! Like many previous reviewers the blurb on the book is perfect.
But the book is so much more than that.
It was so well done: you couldn’t help but put yourself in Carly’s shoes.
I too am not going to give anything away .
Sit down , mute your phone and enjoy a great read.
I loved this book from the very beginning. I didn’t want to put it down until I finished it. Great characters and plot. I highly recommend!
It is 1970, and Caroline Sears is pregnant with her first child. When she learns that the unborn child has a heart defect and there is nothing that medical science can offer her, she is devastated, in part, because her husband, Joe, was recently killed in the Vietnam war.
Her brother-in-law, Hunter, is a physicist, who appeared mysteriously in their lives a few years earlier. A patient in the hospital where Caroline was a physical therapist, Hunter had no family or friends, and the circumstances surrounding his injury were suspicious, shrouded in secrecy. Still, he fell in love with and married Caroline’s sister, and has proven to be a wonderful husband.
But Hunter tells Caroline a whopper of a tale. He claims that there is help available for the baby, but in order to obtain it, Caroline will have to summon her courage and strength. She will need to take — quite literally — a huge leap of faith that will allow her to travel to the future.
The Dream Daughter bears all the hallmarks of a Diane Chamberlain novel. Complex family relationships and characters facing enormous challenges who must find their own resilience and determination in order to overcome them. But The Dream Daughter also features a science fiction aspect — time travel. Chamberlain has concocted a wildly imaginative story that involves the intricacies of propelling oneself forward into the future, as well as the ability to travel backward in time. And, in Caroline’s case, with the correct calculations and no small amount of luck, return home to carry on her life as the mother of a healthy baby girl.
In the hands of a less-skilled writer, The Dream Daughter could have been a ridiculous story. But because of Chamberlain’s deft handling of the plot nuances and her signature development of the characters, The Dream Daughter is an utterly charming — indeed, mesmerizing — but fanciful story about the lengths to which one woman will go in order to save her child. And the sacrifices she is willing to make in order to ensure that her child is not only healthy, but happy and provided for. It is also a look at what it means to have faith in and completely trust another human being, as well as one’s own instincts.
To say more about the book would require giving away key plot points and spoiling the sometimes harrowing surprises Chamberlain injects into the story. Caroline and Hunter, the main characters, are surrounded by a supporting cast of fascinating, quirky characters. Caroline is earnest, naive (at the outset), and tested in ways that parents who have ever had to make sacrifices for a child will relate to. The unpredictable story will keep readers guessing until the conclusion. Chamberlain provides an emotionally satisfying and entirely plausible ending that is both heart-warming and haunting. Stories about time travel has long been hugely popular, and The Dream Daughter is a worthy addition to the genre.
Thanks to Net Galley for an Advance Reader’s Copy of the book.
This was an unusual and interesting read about time travel and a mother’s determination to save her child through whatever means necessary. Diane Chamberlain never disappoints and I strongly recommend this book.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a review copy. This is my honest opinion.
The narrative moves easily between different times because time travel is an element that runs throughout the story. Interesting characters and several good twists to the story.
How far would you go to save the only connection that you had left to your husband? It’s 1970, after learning that her beloved husband Joe was killed in Vietnam, Carly also discovers that she’s pregnant. Thankfully, she has a wonderful support system with her sister, Patti, brother-in-law, Hunter, and their toddler son on the beautiful Outer Banks of North Carolina.
When Carly learns that her baby, a daughter, will most likely die shortly after birth due to a heart defect, she is devasted and desperate to hold onto Joe’s baby. But, when Hunter approaches her about a way to save the baby, Johanna, Carly knows that he’s gone insane. Time travel? Carly knows she has no options….but can Hunter’s plan save Johanna?
I loved this book and did not want it to end! I received an ARC copy of this book from Bookish First in exchange for my unbiased review. I will definitely be looking for more Diane Chamberlain titles.
I just read this book, and it is great! I am not a fan of time travel at all, but just forget about that, and read the book. It is so much more than just time travel…it is about family, love, loss, and the characters are just so real in the book. This author truly knows how to write a book that will keep you reading late in the night!! I could not imagine how this book was going to end, but it ended so incredibly good. Diane Chamberlain is one of the best authors out there….highly recommend!
A great book as all Diane Chamberlains books are
One of my favorite Diane Chamberlain books.
4.5 stars
I will be forever grateful to the person who randomly left The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes in the tiny library at the all-inclusive resort in Riviera Maya, Mexico. While on vacation, I decided to explore the “library” (duh!) which consisted of a shelf in the lobby bar. It was there that I picked up my first ever Diane Chamberlain novel and became an instant fan. What I thought looked like “a fairly decent book to read by the pool” quickly became my obsession and had me looking up how many other books I could read by Chamberlain.
In The Dream Daughter, Chamberlain breaks form, but still delivers on a captivating story and some of the best storytelling around. I was immediately hooked on this book and drawn in by the characters. And throw in some time travel, and well, just call me #fangirl.
Aside from the amazing storytelling, the way Chamberlain makes you FEEL and the connection to Carly, Hunter and Patti, I really liked how the time travel was explained. Chamberlain made it make sense. It was “science-y” but not too much so, but it made you believe that it could happen and it made sense in the story.
That is all I am going to give you folks because this is a book that needs to be explored on your own. The blurb gives you the basis of what you need to know. The rest of it, you should enjoy the journey for yourself and get immersed in this wonderful novel. I highly recommend this book.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press for my copy of this book via NetGalley