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It’s 1974 and Sandy Lincoln finds herself pregnant. Having been raised in a Christian home with defined morals Sandy decides that she will have the baby and give it up for adoption. On her way to live at her aunt’s home until the baby is born Sandy has a chance encounter with an old woman who tells her she will have twin boys. And, more ominously, that they must go to separate homes. Sure enough, Sandy does have twin boys and they are adopted out separately.

Fast forward to current day, we find Sandy teaching at the same high school she attended. A young student comes to her for advice because she finds herself pregnant. Sandy does her best to council her and through some twists and turns finds herself face to face with one of her sons.

This was an unusual little book but it had a little too much “religion” for my taste and a distinct pro-life vibe. Despite that the first half of the book was well written and interesting. The social norms and attitudes of the seventies were well captured. The second half captured me a little less. It seemed very repetitive and when I finally got to the end it made me wonder what I had just read. What started out as a book about teenage pregnancy, abortion vs. adoption and the choices to be made (as the title suggests) turned into a thriller involving illegal immigrants and rape. Even the mystery woman who, in my opinion, could have taken the story in so many different directions, does not reappear except at the very last to tie up loose ends. All in all, a little bit of a disappointment.
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I really enjoyed this book. When Sandy was going through her pregnancy I totally related to how she felt and how hard what she was going to be going through. I also know how she felt when she didn’t want to see her babies after they were born because I too felt like that when I had my daughter. I decided to see here when I was alone in the middle of the night which is what worked out best for me. Anyway there are parts in this book that I didn’t like or don’t understand like how she could separate the boys but I saw her logic I just didn’t like the choice. The author did a great job of getting all the emotions right when I came to Sandy placing the babies and the emotions leading up to that point. I think that this is a good book and people who know about adoption would like it. I am sure there are parts that some people in the adoption community wouldn’t like but all in all it is a good book and one that I am glad that I read. ( )

The year is 1974, and Sandy, a pregnant teenager is faced with the biggest choice of her life; to keep the baby growing inside her, to have an abortion which has recently become legal, or to go through with the birth and give up the baby for adoption. The stakes are high and all of them have lasting consequences.

Many young women have been faced with this choice, and Robert Whitlow tells a compelling story full of the emotional highs and lows that come along with unplanned pregnancies. He follows Sandy’s life into middle age where the choice she made years before is reawakened by another teenager. She is approached and confided in by a student where she works as a teacher, who is facing the same choices. Her decision whether or not to help her is just as difficult as her own choice had been, and is full of danger. Seamless writing, drama, and mystery from an author who is also an attorney, he expertly sets in place the legal and spiritual ramifications of The Choice. 4+ stars, read through Amazon’s Vine Program. This is the first book I’ve read by this prolific author and I’ll be looking into more from him. ( )

I figured I’d be a little attached to this story, given that the description lays out how emotional of a story it is, and if you follow my reviews you know how I like an emotional story! I had no idea how drawn into this one I would become. I loved the story and the characters. I couldn’t help but be drawn into this one. It lead me to one long sleepless night because I couldn’t put it down. I had to see how it was going to end.

Sandy seems to have her head on her shoulders, except for the fact that she ended up pregnant and not ready for the responsibility. That one night of mistake changes her life forever, but as she’s dealing with an unplanned pregnancy and the options that are available to her she shows herself to truly have her head screwed on straight. She’s faced with a few decisions as to what to do about the pregnancy. Even though she falters a few times in her steadfastness as she sets her mind on what she thinks is best she doesn’t back down. Her parents, the adoption agency, no one can make her change her mind. Once the pregnancy is over and her life returns to its new normal she takes that steadfastness with her through life. I can’t say that being in the situation she was in that I would have been able to be so strong in my convictions. It’s difficult as an adult sometimes to do what you feel is right when other’s are trying to persuade you, as a teenager it can be almost impossible at times. That is what I admired about Sandy the most. She took a little while to decide what she wanted to do, but when she made her choice there was no one that could tell her otherwise. When the story jumps and we are introduced to an adult Sandy her convictions are even stronger. She was willing to give up everything to do what she thought was right.

The story is amazing. It’s emotional, powerful, suspenseful, and inspiring. Sandy’s journey is one that many people have started out on, but I doubt too many people have ended up where she did at the end. While the writing wasn’t “beautiful” there was something magical to Whitlow’s writing. He’s a master of the written word. Even with the foreshadowing he used when the inevitable happens it’s almost like I didn’t see it coming. I think it’s in the way he weaves all the different parts of the story together. It’s not like he was hiding anything, but I got so swept up into the story that I just along for the ride. I wasn’t over-thinking with this one – I was just following the story as it happened. The ending really threw me, looking back I can see that it was going to happen but as everything unraveled I couldn’t believe it was happening.

I can’t say enough how amazing this story was. Even though the subject tends to be a bit of a heavy topic the story wasn’t a heavy story but it wasn’t light reading either. It hit that perfect mixture. I loved this one and am adding more of Whitlow’s books to my wish list. ( )