Weekend Writing: Reviewing Karen Kingsbury's "Someone Like You"

"Nearly all the people she loved were here, and the happiest thought occurred deep in her soul. She truly was home. And if she had it her way, she'd never leave again." - Karen Kingsbury, "Someone Like You"

How would you feel if you learned you were adopted as a baby? Here's the catch: you didn't learn this information until you were 22 years old. You would probably feel like Maddie West in Karen Kingsbury's 2020 novel, Someone Like You. A member of Kingsbury's famous Baxter family, Maddie recently graduated from college, is newly engaged, and she started her dream job working at the Indianapolis Zoo. 

Everything is perfect...Until it's not. Until a mysterious young man named Dawson Gage visits Maddie at the zoo, informing her about her biological family in Portland, Oregon. This news surprises Maddie because the only families she has ever known are her parents, her young sister, Hayley, and the Baxter family in Bloomington, Indiana. She's Maddie West. Her parents are Peter and Brooke (Baxter) West. Her aunts, uncles, and grandpa are the Baxter family. This is her family. 

Karen Kingsbury's novel, Someone Like You.

So, Maddie is shocked when her parents reveal the truth: Maddie was adopted as an embryo. Brooke and Peter adopted Maddie's embryo and Brooke gave birth to her. This was new technology in the early 2000s, and Maddie's biological parents, Larry and Louise Quinn, didn't want to have a relationship with Brooke and Peter. So, for 22 years, Brooke and Peter have been living with this lie. 

"Now these twenty-two years later, Brooke had no idea how she and Peter would break the news to Maddie. How could she tell her daughter, the one she gave birth to, that she had biological parents in Oregon? That she wasn't a part of the Baxter family or the West family, like she'd always thought. And that everything she's ever believed about her life was not the truth, but a lie. A terrible, cancerous, all-consuming lie."

Brooke and Peter promised they would tell Maddie the truth when she was a child, but it was never the right time. How can you tell your child she wasn't your biological child? After all, Brooke was pregnant with her. Brooke gave birth to her. Peter and Brooke raised Maddie from her very first day. They are her parents, but after learning the news, Maddie feels like she doesn't know who she is or where she belongs anymore. 

So, she decides to take a big leap and follow Dawson to Portland to meet her biological family. She has to learn about her real past, and this becomes more important after finding out her biological sister, London, was tragically killed in an automotive accident. Dawson was in love with London, and he's happy to assist Maddie on her quest to learning about her sister, her biological parents, and the life she would have had if she was born as a Quinn and not a Baxter-West. 

"'I'm not sure who I am now. All my life I've thought I was blood related to my family, and now I know I'm not. So am I more a part of Louise and Larry? Would London have been my best friend? I feel...disconnected from everything back home.'...'I'm not sure how long I'll feel like that.'" 

I'll be honest: I was frustrated with Maddie's attitude toward Brooke and Peter--her parents. I understand Maddie was upset she was lied to her entire life, but she started referring to them as her adoptive parents. She said they weren't her real parents and Hayley wasn't her real sister. I understand Maddie felt lost and that her parents shouldn't have lied to her, but she had a deep grudge against them. She left home to go to Portland without barely talking to them. She insisted they weren't her parents. There were several occasions where I wanted to slap Maddie across the face, which only made the reading experience more enjoyable. 

I think this was an intentional characterization from Kingsbury. She showed Maddie's initial maturity at the beginning of the novel (when everything was perfect), and then Maddie loses this maturity after finding out the heartbreaking news. She doesn't know who she is anymore, and she takes out this frustration and anger on her parents. She leaves and while meeting with the Quinns and Dawson, she matures more. She evolves and it's her coming-of-age story. 

With Dawson's guidance (and possibly blossoming love), Maddie learns to accept the truth. She learns to open her heart and understand why her life events occurred the way they had: Because it was God's plan. God placed Maddie in Brooke and Peter's family. They were still her parents, no matter what. She belonged to them, even though a part of her could live on with her biological family in Portland. But she belonged in Bloomington. 

"She had loved being here. But she was going back to Bloomington and one thing was certain, even with how she felt about Dawson. Maddie could hardly wait."

It was interesting to learn more about embryo adoption in this book. Kingsbury explained the process and I was learning about it alongside Maddie. This storyline was a plot twist for those who knew Kingsbury's Baxter family series. We have known Maddie since she was a young child in the Redemption series. Now she is all grown up and it was shocking to discover she was adopted. Readers probably felt the same level of shock and surprise Maddie experienced. It was unexpected, which is always entertaining to read. 

Karen Kingsbury (photo/Create Your Now)

Like always, Kingsbury presents relatable characters in familiar situations. Even though most of us have probably never experienced Maddie's situation, we can still relate to a coming-of-age story. We grow up and discover our true selves, and this process has to happen in its own time--in God's timing. It was God's perfect timing that Maddie met Dawson and learned about her personal history. 

Once again, Kingsbury has delivered an engaging, heartfelt novel. I was educated, challenged, and motivated to learn more. I loved reading Maddie's story and I can't wait to read another book by Kingsbury. Until next time...

Read on. 

-KJL-