The Farm

Locations
Call Number: Fiction / Ramos, Joanne, Adult Book / Fiction / General / Ramos, Joanne
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Westgate Branch, Pittsfield Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Ramos, Joanne	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	Fiction / Ramos, Joanne	4-week checkout	Due 05-23-2024
Westgate Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Ramos, Joanne	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Ramos, Joanne	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Malletts Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Ramos, Joanne	4-week checkout	Due 05-25-2024
Pittsfield Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Ramos, Joanne	4-week checkout	Due 05-19-2024
Traverwood Adult Books 4-week checkout	Adult Book / Fiction / General / Ramos, Joanne	4-week checkout	Due 05-11-2024

Nestled in New York's Hudson Valley is a luxury retreat boasting every amenity: organic meals, private fitness trainers, daily massages--and all of it for free. In fact, you're paid big money to stay here--more than you've ever dreamed of. The catch? For nine months, you cannot leave the grounds; your movements are monitored, and you are cut off from your former life while you dedicate yourself to the task of producing the perfect baby. Jane, an immigrant from the Philippines, is in desperate search of a better future when she commits to being a Host at Golden Oaks, or the Farm as residents call it. But now pregnant, fragile, consumed with worry for her own family, Jane is determined to reconnect with her life outside. Yet she cannot leave the Farm or she will lose the life-changing fee she'll receive on delivery. Heartbreaking, gripping, provocative, The Farm pushes our thinking on motherhood, money, and merit to the extremes, and raises crucial questions about the trade-offs women will make to fortify their futures and the futures of those they love.

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COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Good read, social commentary submitted by ktscott on July 18, 2021, 5:30pm I very much enjoyed the read of this book, but it wasn't for any kind of beautiful writing. The story was well told, but the real compelling part of this book was the commentary on women's bodies and how women are commodified based on their ability to give birth, their "pedigree" and the color of their skin. This book skimmed the surface, but would a be a good read for those who are starting to think about these issues. I think there's a real dystopian novel in here somewhere, but we didn't quite get there. There are so many more stories that could be told about some of the other characters, and I wish there had been more insight into what it felt like for surrogates. Still, an interesting read and a good summer interlude.

Compelling read; great for discussion submitted by 21621031390949 on June 10, 2022, 8:57pm This is a really interesting book that should spark some great discussions in book groups. It takes on the issues of reproductive freedom, race, socioeconomic inequities, and women's rights in a fictional portrayal of a surrogacy company. Part of me wants to label it dystopian, but that's really not accurate as surrogacy and even companies supporting surrogacy already exist in this country.

I found this to be a very compelling read, although the characters were a bit two dimensional. It's thought-provoking, and I would recommend it to others.