Lucky Baby by Meredith Efken
Published 2010 by Howard Books, 293 pages
Genre: Christian Women’s Fiction with magical realism
Meg Lindsay is a Christian woman who is still affected by her controlling, mean mother. Finally she gets around her wounded heart enough to want to be a mother herself–specifically, to adopt a child from China. It takes some fast talking before her geeky atheist husband, Lewis, gets on board with the idea.
Meg’s had dreams of her new daughter and has no trouble picking out Eva’s small face on the adoption website. Eva’s a six-year-old with a cleft palate, which is easily fixable by surgery. But when it’s time for Meg to bring Eva to America, Eva throws a fit.
Eva has a little friend at the orphanage, two years older, who has cared for her and protected her from bullies. The friend is going blind and needs Eva as much as Eva needs her.
How can Meg and her husband hope to replace this survivor’s bond with the bonds of family love? The challenges of mothering Eva make Meg fear she’s turning into her own mean mother. She nearly gives up.
The writer unfolds the story with grace and truth, relying on waking dreams for beautiful imagery and meaning. It’s no ordinary book, and I really liked it.