My rating: 3 of 5 stars
I received a copy of Progeny through NetGalley in exchange for my unbiased and honest review.
Anita Bihovsky's Progeny is a story that centers around a young girl named Selene Mannon. As her mother lay dying from cancer, Selene learns that the woman she has always known as her mother is not really her real mother. Selene was conceived through IVF (in vitro fertilization) and the egg came from a donor.
The revelation left Selene conflicted. She loved the woman who had given birth to her and raised her but she feels she has been betrayed because the fact that there is another woman out there who is her biological mother. Selene asks the help of her mother's sister, Lila to help her find out who donated the egg that led to her birth.
Lila and Selene try their best to find information about Selene's biological mother and learn that some crucial files are not where they are supposed to be. In their search, they meet a pediatrician named Deandra Robbins who is also trying to locate important files to help her three young patients who seem to have some mysterious medical condition and were also conceived through IVF by the once famous Dr. Tillman.
As their search for answers become to grow more urgent, they learn that there is more to Dr Tillman's work than meets the eye. And just when Selene manages to find the answer she is looking for, she learns more shocking facts that reveal shocking dark secrets.
I liked reading Progeny though I do find myself wanting to hit Selene's head with a rolling pin for being so... I have no word for it. I mean, she has been raised by a loving and wonderful mother and she goes into this ultra-dramatic phase wherein she feels so betrayed and wants to find her biological mother. I can understand the urge to find ones roots if one finds out one was adopted (there is always that feeling of needing an answer to why one was abandoned or given up which is understandable) but she was born to the mother that raised her! So what if the egg was donated? Her mother's heart and blood helped nurture her and give her life!
That being said, the story is very interesting and the twists and turns are exciting. Progeny is a good read. However, it would have been more exciting if the story of the "babysavers" was much more developed. All in all a good read.
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