In Chosen, her debut novel, author Chandra Hoffman unveils an idealistic adoption caseworker who becomes entangled in the lives of adoptive and birth parents, with shattering results. It all begins with Chloe Pinter, who believes she’s living the dream in Portland, Oregon as she matches birth parents with adoptive parents. She feels the “honor of being a part of such an important moment” – in the creation of a family. The satisfaction she gets from her work shields her from the stresses of her personal life, including her moody, beautiful boyfriend. But her job satisfaction begins to crumble as the messiness of her clients’ lives intrudes. First, there are the Novas, the attractive, still-in-love couple who endured years of infertility before conceiving their own child. There’s also Francie McAdoo, the desperate half of a wealthy couple for whom adoption is a last chance. Finally, there’s Jason and Penny, the down-on-their luck couple who have nothing – except the baby Francie wants more than anything. Then a baby goes missing, and dreams descend into nightmares, forcing everyone to reconsider what he or she really wants – and how to get it back.

Though I’d rate it R for language and sexual situations, Chosen was one of those books I read with awe and envy. How does a young novelist write with such depth and insight and imagination – and do it all superbly the first time out of the gate? This novel, in my opinion, has it all. Interesting, gritty, human characters – many of whom I would love to know personally – and others I would not. Storytelling masterfully balanced between character-driven and plot. And holding it all together, wordsmithing that ranks with the best of them.

In addition to these externals, the author herself provides another reason I liked this book so much. In her Author’s Notes, she remarks, “I wanted to tell a story in which there are no heroes or villains, just shades of gray, real people trying to recover from their stumbles with grace.”

That’s life. That’s real – and in this case, eminently readable.