THE FARM by Joanne Ramos
An idea – pay poor women large sums to be the surrogate for busy, important, wealthy, lazy women who want their own child, but don’t want the bother, time commitment, inconvenience of actually bearing them.
Ramos has written a novel that presents that idea carried out to the fullest extent. The Farm is a lap of luxury prison for the surrogates. Reagan, an idealist asserting her independence from her father but controlling father, Jane, an impoverished Filipina eager for the large financial payout, and Lisa, a wild child with unknown needs, are the three surrogates.
The novel presents many topics for book groups to discuss and casual readers to ponder. Among them – attitudes toward money; styles of parenting; the poor; immigrants (legal or not); power vs weakness, education; exploitation by class, money, education, status, or race; crime and punishment; family; and of course, women.
A question that is not addressed in the novel but should be: What did Reagan do with her bonus and why? Although there is an epilogue, several questions remain of the final outcome for each of the women presented in the novel.
4 of 5 stars
I received an ARC for my freely given opinion.

In The Farm, author Joanne Ramos shows the stark contrast between the lives of working immigrant women and the privileged people for whom they work. The titled Farm refers to Golden Oaks, the facility where mostly underprivileged females have been recruited to act as surrogates to carry babies for wealthy clients. The reader is compelled to question whether the promise of large (although relative) monetary compensation is a win-win for both parties, or whether certain pay-for-work systems are exploitative. An enjoyable read, although I found the ending a bit too tidy.

3.5 Stars. Billing the book as a reproductive dystopian a la Handmaid's Tale did The Farm a bit of disservice. Instead, it should be though of as as a character-driven exploration of race, immigrants, class, and reproductive rights in modern America. Everything that happens in the book is fully plausible in today's society, and honestly probably exists. The Farm is actually Golden Oaks, a live-in center for the surrogates to be free from outside threats and distractions, eat only the most nutritious food, and live stress-free. What could be wrong with that? Ramos does a fantastic job interweaving multiple points of view to show how women, particularly women of color, immigrants, and lower class women, can be exploited and manipulated. Though I loved the themes around racial and class bias and reproductive justice, the book just fell a little flat in it's story. Lots of build up and character development with little happening at the end.

A story of class and privilege and the disparity of the two. Engrossing and incredibly well written. I was graciously provided this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Farm by Joanne Ramos shifts POV as we follow Jane, Ate, Mae and Reagan. Jane is a young Filipino woman looking for work to support her young daughter. She learns of a work opportunity as a baby nurse for NY's most wealthy clients from her cousin Ate. Ate, a well-known baby-nurse in the community for her sleep training program, is getting older and unable to fulfill the job requirements anymore. After an incident with a client, Jane is out of work and desperate for any opportunity to help make ends meet.

Mae, is the head recruiter for Golden Oaks, a sanctuary that provides individually selected surrogates to the richest clients. Reagan is a grad student, looking for a way to finance her MFA and help a couple in need. Through circumstance, their lives intersect and Jane and Reagan end up as Hosts at The Farm. The Farm provides for their every wish and necessity. Healthy food, massages, all prenatal care and luxurious living quarters. There's only one thing, the fetus comes first, always...

This one was not at all what I expected. When reading the synopsis, it sounds more like a dark and sinister dystopian novel. If that's what you are hoping for you won't find it here. This one is a slower-paced character driven novel on class and status in America. It explores the life of immigrant women and the choices they must face to provide a better life for their children in this country. The limited options and resources available to them. There doesn't end up being a ton of twisting plot points that push the novel forward. Just when it started to speed up and I thought the story was going to explode in a new direction, it slowed back down, which left me a little disappointed and wanting more. For fans of complex character development, these women are incredibly flushed out as you live their stories and feel for their circumstance. // ☕☕☕

Young immigrant women working as surrogates for rich couples...not at all well written. Unfortunately I did not enjoy this book at all, seemed outlandish and silly.

The Farm by Joanne Ramos is a debut novel which takes us to a medical spa of sorts for women who are serving as paid and professional surrogates for the wealthiest of the wealthy. The surrogate moms are referred to as Hosts and they are treated with the ideal environment in which to grow a baby…except they are not allowed to communicate with the outside world while they are there – their only job is to grow and nurture the perfect fetus.
This glance into a lucrative surrogate facility is supposed to be completely fictional…but It lends itself to the question if such places don’t already exist?
The plot is centered around an immigrant surrogate, Jane, who enrolled to be a host because of the large sums of money promised after she delivers a healthy baby, which is a motivator for most hosts in the program – a chance to change their circumstances and future options. However, Jane already has an infant daughter and must bid farewell to her for 9 months while she is enrolled in the program. Jane is eager to serve and she has agreed to fulfill her part of the agreement (under binding legal contracts with bonuses and incentives), but when he maternal instincts kick in on her baby back at home, the plot really deepens and we begin to examine whether or not this maternal wellness spa is such a great idea after all…
I enjoyed The Farm, and will definitely give it 4 Stars on Goodreads. I think my local Book Club Moms book club would enjoy this for a future title to discuss. Lots of issues to unpack in this book…the wealthiest 1%, the surrogates looking for a chance to change their station in life, the potential profitability of incubating children for money en masse, and more.

Thank you to NetGalley! I received an advanced copy of The Farm in exchange for my honest review.

#thefarm #netgalley

I know writing a book is really really hard, so sometimes it really kills me to write negative reviews, especially when there is a lot of good in a book. But I just can’t get past this book’s weaknesses. There is so much potential in this book that I’m ANGRY about the weaknesses.

It’s a fantastic idea for a story, and the author has talent. It was amazing to read about all the different levels of haves and have-nots. No matter how poor you are, someone else always has it worse. No matter how much money you have, someone else has more. The stories of all these different women really bring this home, including how even the lowest level of “have” can exploit those under them.

But the premise of the story is absolutely unbelievable, or at least the author doesn’t give us any reason to believe it. The story takes place in a “surrogate farm” where pregnant surrogates live while gestating the babies of the rich. This is a somewhat believable situation except that the women are actually held prisoner there with no access to any one or any thing. Their cell phones are taken away – Why?? Their wallets are taken away! They are not allowed visitors except in rare cases, even if those visitors might be their own children. They can’t go anywhere. Their mail and email are read and their phone calls monitored! And as far as the reader can tell they are left with absolutely nothing to do all day except eat, sleep and exercise.

What could go wrong, right? Maybe I could believe these women would accept this if they were all poor, uneducated women from the Philippines like Jane is, but many of them are rich Ivy-league white women. Yet we are also to believe some of these women give away more than one year of their young lives to birth multiple babies.

I don’t buy this. I don’t buy that any of this would be legal, I don’t buy the women would stand for it, I don’t buy that a young women would do it more than once, I don’t buy that there wouldn’t have been SEVERAL women escaping and causing problems every single day. (I’m not speaking of surrogacy itself, only how the “Farm” is run in the book and how the women are treated)

If the author had given me something to hold on to, this book could have been chilling. If it was set in a foreign country where women have no rights, instead of NEW YORK. Or if it was clearly set in the future after the rest of our rights had been taken away. This could have been a companion to the Handmaid’s Tale (although I am in no way comparing this book to Margaret Atwood level of writing).

So I am angry, and honestly sort of angry at the author for putting me in this position. I’m mad at her editor and publisher for not telling her to just add a couple lines to set this book in some other place or some other time – not NEW YORK. This book could have been fantastic, it could have been creepy and chilling and terrifying. The author has it in her to write that kind of book. But the unbelievability of the main premise here just had me shouting at every action “THIS MAKES NO SENSE! THIS WOULD NEVER HAPPEN! THERE’S NO REASON FOR ANY OF THIS!”

So it gets 2 stars. Two stars for a solid idea, -3 stars for missing it completely.

P.S. A pregnant women leaving a building is NOT KIDNAPPING. I mean, come on.

Many thanks as always to NetGalley and Random House for kindly giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Fingers crossed for next time.

As an avid reader, I can certainly recognize why this book is receiving the hype that it has been getting. The focus on women's bodies, their role as mothers and the business side of pregnancy have been and continue to be very relevant issues. In fact, it makes The Farm a really great candidate for your next bookclub night. I just don't find myself on that hype train.

A story narrated by several different female characters and I wasn't able to connect with them. Actually, that isn't REALLY true, I actually did find Mae's storyline fascinating and she was such a strongly written character. I felt that I could question her ethics and role in this whole baby making business a heck of a lot more than other characters. It was Jane and Regan- the two characters I believe I was supposed to have a lot of empathy for - I just didn't!

Given the fact that I found myself continuing to shift this book down on my reading priority list, but did enjoy some elements in the story, it was a 3 rating for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group for a digital galley in exchange for an honest review.

Publication Date 07/05/19
Goodreads Review 11/05/19

The Farm is much more than "The Handmaid's Tale" with cashmere. This is more of an exploration of race, class, the immigrant experience, self-worth, family relationships, and reproductive rights.

Jane is a single mother, struggling to survive on her retirement home aide salary. Her aunt Ate Evelyn suggests she take over her baby nursing job for a few weeks and Jane does a wonderful job - until 'an incident'. A few month later, Ate suggests Jane apply to Golden Oaks, a five-star retreat, full of healthy juice and food, outdoor trails, around the clock healthcare, cashmere clothing....where hosts stay for 9 months, carrying the children of elite members of society.

Questions of exploitation, morality, and manipulation all come up when reading, because truly - at the core - surrogacy is already something that is already available. The idea of Golden Oaks isn't far-fetched, it actually seems like a logical move.

This is a fabulous book, that is also a terrifying look at a possible future. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this book.

*** 2 Stars ***
Publication Date: May 7th, 2019

Unfortunately this one did not work for me at all. I found this to be extremely boring and could barely get through it. The Farm refers to a "resort" where women sign up to be surrogates for wealthy people. They are paid extremely well however they are watched closely and there are some very unethical decisions being made at times. So yea, this happens in the world and people sign up to get paid to have babies and of course people involve race and class into who they prefer as a 'host' to their child. I must of missed the premise of this, it just fell flat for me. Sorry!

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for allowing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House for the ARC of this book. This in no way Influences my review.

This may look like a dystopian novel but it is a modern look at families and motherhood. Joanne Ramos posits a modern facility for Hosts women who are surrogates for the very wealthy, the Clients.

Mae Yu is the head of this facility. She is responsible for overseeing the legal, medical and the physical support teams. She also is responsible for obtaining the hosts with the support of people in the community who refer. She meets with each woman who has passed the initial screening to ensure their suitability.

The Hosts are paid good money for their services. The pay is based on their characteristics.

The host they choose is not only an emblem of the lofty expectations they have for the being implanted inside. So they gravitate toward, and are willing to pay a premium for Hosts whom they find "pretty or "well-spoken" or "kinda or "wise or even educated.


Mae is trying to encourage Reagan McCarthy to become a host. She is the "holy trifecta of premium hosts," Caucasian, pretty and educated. She comes from a wealthy family though is dependent on them to pay her expenses. She could use the money to become more independent but she is looking for more from the experience, a sense of purpose, meaning.

Jane is from the Philippines. She is a single mother living with her infant daughter in a dormitory where there are 3 sets of bunk beds per room. Her cousin, Evelyn is helping her to make it on her own. It is Evelyn, known as Ate (Tagolog for big sister) who suggests Jane look into becoming a surrogate. As it turns out, Mae is looking for a few more Filipinas. They make great Hosts: their English is good, they have mild personalities they are service-oriented and attractive.

Reagan and Jane are roommates at Golden Oaks, often referred to as the Farm. There they have the most nutritious meals, regular ultrasounds fitness classes and any other service that supports the healthy development of the baby. There are conditions though. They must not tell anyone about the facility, their access to the outside world is monitored and they are not allowed visitors unless their Client approves.

While surrogacy is currently a valid option for people who cannot have children, this novel introduces it as an exclusive business model which adds it's own ethical issues. It is also an opportunity to explore questions about motherhood, age and independence. As Mae says to her male boss, "If women could outsource their pregnancies they'd be the ones running the world."

It also opens up questions about economic worth and equity. Many of the Hosts are immigrant and are not paid the same as white, educated Hosts. How voluntary is the agreement when someone is already economically disadvantaged.

Joanne Ramos explores of of this in an engaging story told through the perspectives of Jane, Reagan, Mae and Ate. This would be an ideal book club selection as members take up different points of view.

In the Hudson Valley, the Farm is a place where surrogates (hosts) live. These hosts, most often immigrants, are paid a great deal of money by wealthy people to produce a healthy child. The Farm is a beautiful place, with organic food, private trainers, daily massages, and much more. Sounds like heaven until the hosts realize that for the whole pregnancy, they are trapped at the Farm where their every move is monitored.

The Farm touches on motherhood, race, money, and much more. Yes, this could have been an amazing book but it fell a little flat for me.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House and Joanne Ramos for the opportunity to read and review this thought-provoking debut novel - 4.5 stars!

Golden Oaks is a facility in beautiful Upstate New York, where wealthy clients who cannot become or don't want to be pregnant can outsource that to mostly immigrant women who are paid to put their lives on hold and become surrogates. The book mostly follows Jane, an immigrant from the Philippines, is separated from her husband and trying to take care of her baby, Amalia. When her elderly cousin suggests that she apply to Golden Oaks to become a Host and she will watch the baby, Jane feels it is the best option for her daughter. She will make a lot of money for their future and Amalia will be well taken care of.

Golden Oaks requires you to submit to being totally controlled - everything is secret, the Hosts' every move is scheduled and monitored, the Clients are mostly kept secret - but the monetary rewards can be great for those who follow the rules.

This is definitely a story of race, class and motherhood. Would be a great bookclub selection - highly recommended!

After finishing this book, I wasn’t sure if The Farm was a model for the future of surrogacy or an abuse of the gift women have to bear children. I suppose that may be a line the author wanted to tow and use to push boundaries, and it certainly made for some uncomfortable moments considering the ethics of such an endeavor.

As far as the characters, the book is told from several alternating perspectives. I was the most captivated by Jane and Mae, but often found myself skimming through the others. The book also skips chunks of time sometimes, and will leave with a cliffhanger for a character but then next time not pick up exactly where it left off. This frustrated me at times, as it felt like the story line was finally progressing, only for me to be pulled somewhere else and never taken back to the obviously interesting reveal.

Mediocre is best to describe The Farm by Joanne Ramos. This was one of my most anticipated reads for this year and I was excited to read something set in a dystopian futuristic setting that had a Handmaid’s Tale feeling, but this was a bit of a let-down.

This book has an all female lead, with several women — all with different lifestyles, families, class and stories. There are three hosts — Jane, who left her baby behind, Lisa the rebellious one, and Reagan. These three went through intense vetting before being selected for the farm. The other characters include Ate, a nurse who is too old to be a host mother, and Mae a wealthy boss of the farm Golden Oaks. For nine months the host women are medically monitored and at the end, they baby is handed over to the client. They do this for a significant financial gain.

This book delves more into the reasons why these women decided to come to the farm and become host and less about the farm. Their reasons for joining vary, so the book really explores the personal emotions and ambitions of what a person would do, and how far they’d go, for themselves and their family.

This book tackled some pretty heavy hitting themes too! From race, inequality and even sacrifice, it was all done with a female dominated cast of characters. That is was really made this book standout, the masterful way all the female characters were written and how each one was a intertwined with one another.

One of the worst aspects of this book was the ending. I know, those who are keeping up with my reviews, this is another book with a weak ending. Don’t even get me started on the senseless epilogue that went on FOREVER!

I think what I really wanted out of this book was more about the farm, Golden Oaks, and less about the personal stories. How did such a place come about? Who decides on the women who get to have the surrogates? Who runs the place? How did the government not get involved? I mean, in many ways this was Handmaid’s Tale yet voluntary — that within itself dumbfounds me. I wanted more on the farm and this book seriously dropped the ball on it. It could have been so much darker and sinister than what we got. But that could be me still on my thriller bender!

The basis of The Farm by Joanne Ramos was intriguing and I was so excited to read this. But the execution and ending was both disappointing and unrealistic. For being one of my most anticipated reads for 2019, I was really defeated by what I got.

Thank you to Netgalley, Random House Publishing and Joanne Ramos for providing me with an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This was a book about women becoming surrogates for the wealthy in a spa like surrounding. The story explored race, class, wealth, privilege and much more. This book turned out to be an ok read for me. I think the storyline had great potential but I was a little disappointed in how the story developed.
Many thanks to Random House and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I went into this novel blind not knowing what the premises was about and I'm glad I did because I have seen reviews comparing this to Margaret Atwood and as a dystopia novel.. I did not feel it was really either. The farm to me is more of a story of a woman Jane trying to make the best life for her and her daughter Amelia and sacrificing so much to make that happen. Jane is in a facility that houses women to be surrogate Mother's to the wealthy. They are paid in trimesters and more once they deliver. I very much enjoyed this concert and was interested about the subject. However when Jane loses contact to her daughter her roommate devises a plan to get her out and go find her. After this the story goes downhill for me and the ending just seemed a bit too perfect to me after thing else. I really enjoyed the farm 'art of it and wish more of the plot was around that and not the other people taking care of her daughter .overall I did like it but just lost interest towards the end.

This is a book made for 2019. It hits relevant themes of immigration, class, motherhood, and power.

Jane, an immigrant from the Philippines, has the chance to seize her own American Dream - for a cost. She just has to act as a surrogate, a Host, for an affluent family’s baby. All of her needs will be met. She just has to separate from her own child for the duration of the pregnancy. This is a provocative look at what it means to be a woman, a mother, a citizen.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for an ARC of this book.

After reading the synopsis I thought I was in for a dystopian book about women becoming surrogates on The Farm and then realizing it is actually more sinister, like a twist on The Handmaid's Tale. WRONG!

My biggest question is WHY do publishers do this?? Why do you advertise a book as something that it is not? When a synopsis is written, you want to write it in such a way that you will attract reader that will rate you book high and write a glowing review. If you write a misleading or false synopsis it only makes the reader annoyed and you get a lower rating and all you reviews will complain about how it was not what they wanted to read.

I wanted that dystopian book! That twist of The Handmaid's Tale. The main character doesn't even go to the farm until well into the book. None of this is dystopian. Surrogates are already a thing. They are already paid to carry a persons child. They are already given special restrictions from the biological parents. This is not dystopian. I was so distracted by the fact that what I was reading was not at all what I expected that I was not emotionally invested in any of the characters. I kept waiting for something to happen that would make it a dystopian. It never happened