The Baby Market does a fantastic job at looking at all the current challenges of the adoption process within America. Moody outlines a brief history of adoption and shares personal stories of families and individuals she has worked with regarding adoption agencies and specialists. There is a sad reality that the adoption process is broken and largely affects the couples trying adopt. Her arguments are well outlined and this book would be suited for individuals going into social work or adoption studies. This book I wouldn't say is for families looking to adopt, although many who have gone through the adoption process would feel comfort knowing they are not alone in their desires and with the challenges of adoption,

Thank you Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book.

Sometimes it is important for me to look at other perspectives. I am not a "fan" of adoption because it is an industry fueled by the desperation of pregnant (and often young) women. Women without the resources to keep their babies.
Of course the author has some bias. She works in the industry. I have my own bias as a former homeless pregnant teen. I kept my baby and I don't feel bad about it.
I struggle to feel sympathy for these "richer" established people who want a baby.
But I also understand that there are babies who need homes. Why is there so much money involved in this?! That is what the author is asking as well. We have different opinions about adoption but our opinions align when she brings up the money.
Why don't we have a social net for pregnant women so money doesn't have to factor into adoption decisions?
I absolutely loved learning about how the industry and how our perceptions of adoption have changed over the years.
And yeah we absolutely should not expect hopeful adoptive parents to financially support pregnant women. The men who got them pregnant aren't even expected to do that.
I did not walk away with complete empathy for adoptive parents, as I expected to; just anger that our isolating nuclear family/capitalistic society is harming babies.
I also could not agree more with her ideas about reforming the system. We have a whole mess to clean up but these are a start.

Despite all of my big feelings for this book I absolutely loved it an I am grateful the author wrote it. I hope my local library orders it because I want others to read it too.

Bravo! Looking forward to the next one.

Having read Anne Moody's previous book on the adoption industry, "The Children Money Can Buy," this book is an obvious sequel, so to speak. That being said, despite having a great deal of industry experience and offering significant nuance to some of the issues impacting the industry, Moody ultimately refuses to take a strong position on the policy changes needed to address these problems (for example, payment by potential adoptive parents to birth parents). The text also fails to engage with what are, at this point, mainstream critiques of adoption by adult adoptees. To write about adoption reform without those voices is to fail to address the topic well.

The adoption industry is something that is a weird interest of mine. I knew that there were sketchy things happening and that it is quite problematic at times and Moody's book exposed a variety of those things.

She outlines her personal problems with the adoption industry and process along with longstanding concerns and how she's witnessed them in her career. This provided a more humanistic view on the process and one that people considering adoption might understand more.

I appreciate that Moody only delves into American adoptions and doesn't try to cover the international side that she's unfamiliar with. She also does a good job of explaining the problems with foster-to-adopt that people may not consider.

I think this is a good book for anyone considering adoption and are unaware of the reasons why it is not a saving grace for most individuals.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for a review.

Adoption is close to my heart and I love getting my hands on new books about the topic. This new one from Anna Moody was perfect. It had all the things I enjoy reading about - facts, real stories of couples adopting and reform.

This book was outlined so well and flowed well from research and statistics to personal accounts. She's done an amazing job of making the rules of adopting understandable and also relatable.

I'm suggesting families in my various adoption groups read this.

Five stars for me! Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read it in advance.