From bestselling author Angela Hunt, the heart-wrenching story of a young mother who unknowingly gave away her own child after serving as a surrogate for a childless couple.

After growing up as an only child, Amanda Lisandra wants a big family. But since she and her soldier husband can’t afford to have more children right away, Mandy decides to earn money as a gestational carrier for a childless couple. She loves being pregnant, and while carrying the child she dreams of having her own son and maybe another daughter…

Just when the nearly perfect pregnancy is about to conclude, unexpected tragedy enters Mandy’s world and leaves her reeling. Devastated by grief, she surrenders the child she was carrying and struggles to regain her emotional equilibrium.

Two years later she studies a photograph of the baby she bore and wonders if the unthinkable has happened—could she have inadvertently given away her own biological child? Over the next few months Mandy struggles to decide between the desires of her grief-stricken heart and what’s best for the little boy she has never known.

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With over four million copies of her books sold worldwide, Angela Hunt is the bestselling author of more than one hundred books, including “The Nativity Story.” Hunt is one of the most sought-after collaborators in the publishing industry. Her nonfiction book “Don’t Bet Against Me,” written with Deanna Favre, spent several weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. Angela’s novel “The Note” (with sales of over 141,000) was filmed as the Hallmark Channel’s Christmas movie for 2007 and proved to be the highest rated television movie in the channel’s history. Angela’s novels have won or been nominated for several prestigious industry awards, including the RITA, the Christy Award, the ECPA Christian Book Award, and the Holt Medallion. She often travels to teach writing workshops at schools and writers’ conferences, and she served as the keynote speaker at the 2008 American Christian Fiction Writers’ national conference. She and her husband make their home in Florida with mastiffs. In 2001, one of her dogs was featured on Live with Regis and Kelly as the second-largest dog in America.

The Offering: A Novel by Angela Elwell Hunt

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was an exceptionally written book, and I have nothing but praise for the style, the story, and in many aspects, the reality of the story. I always am impressed when Christian authors venture into areas that many don’t dare to go, and that of surrogacy is just such an area. I honestly didn’t even know that surrogacy was something that was still going on, but I learned that it is definitely a thriving, lucrative business that just tends to stay out of the news.

One of my few complaints is that this book is not “Christian” enough, and unfortunately, this is a recurring trend. When a book is published as a Christian book, I always come in with the expectation that it will be clean (which this book is) and carry a message that is not only positive but points back to God. God’s influence is seen in this book, but I just don’t see the characters turning to God and relying on Him as they go through their lives. There was a lot of Catholicism in the book, and of course, there was mention of heaven. But I don’t understand why Mandy and Gideon don’t turn to God before they make major decisions. They talk about prayer, but I see them talking and thinking through things rather than asking “What would God have me do?”

One other issue I have concerns the issue of surrogacy. I am glad that the book touches on the fact that it may not be right for a Christian to be involved in this practice. Amelia gives some wonderfully biblical thoughts concerning this, but I don’t understand why the issue is never raised again. What about the frozen embryos that never got the chance? Will they just be allowed to die? I wish the author had at least had Mandy consider that issue again, but she never does.

I will say that the overarching message of the book is emotional and amazing. What Mandy does is sure to pull on your heartstrings, and I think God is shown more in the last third of the book than anywhere else. But still, I don’t see Mandy change her mind due to anything having to do with God. It is this kind of ambiguity that has led me to rate this book as a four rather than five.

I was sent a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are one hundred percent me, and I was not financially compensated in any way.

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