Georgia and Gordon McKenna are both adopted children. As brother and sister they have been like many other siblings - best friends, rivals, keepers of secrets and more. When Georgia and her husband, Ray, die when their car runs off the road, Gordon begins the tortuous process of adopting his sister's orphaned 1 year old daughter, Keefer.
But Ray's family also want Keefer and, in the absence of blood ties on the McKenna side of the family, Gordon's desperate battle to adopt his adored niece seems doomed to failure under current US law. As Gordon and his parents use every method they can think of to win Keefer's adoption case, Gordon grows and changes from being carefree and immature to become the person who can truly raise his niece and also fulfil his own potential.
This novel is inspired by a true story. A battle waged by one family that changed US law and overcame an anomaly that discriminated against adopted people in favour of blood relatives in one aspect of family law.
Jacquelyn Mitchard writes with a deep understanding and empathy of a father's love for a child. Of how enduring emotional ties can be built from the ordinary everyday, and that fatherhood doesn't have to be genetic to be true and real. Her portrayal of the daily stuff of childhood is a delight and instantly recognisable to anyone who has spent more than a couple of hours in the company of a a pre-school child in his/her natural environment!
Highly recommended.
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