Being Lara by Lola Jaye explores three women who are all entangled in a singular journey: the adoption of a young girl who was born in Nigeria and is raised in London by white parents for thirty years before being faced with her birth mother and all that comes with such a meeting.

I hate writing “bad” books reviews, but this was not my favorite. If you are the type of reader who believes in the “show me, don’t tell me” rule of writing, this might not be the book you loudly exclaim to be your new favorite, but it is an opportunity to peek into the lives of three women who struggle with countless different issues related to decisions made by both mothers, and share in the heartaches and joys associated with adoption. 

At the same time, though, I never really found myself rooting for any of the characters all that much. None of them were incredibly likable or interesting. The plot line was kind of ho-hum, and the ending? Not my favorite. You know when you finish a book and then stare at it like “Huh? Really? That’s it?” Yeah. That. I don’t like that.

Again, I hate writing less-than-glowing reviews, because maybe this could be your next favorite book and I just wasn’t feeling it. If you’re interested in inter-racial adoption, check it out and check back in a let me know if I was right or wrong!