The Orphan Keeper

Seven-year-old Chellamuthu is kidnapped from his village in India, sold to a Christian orphanage, and then adopted by an unsuspecting couple in the United States. It takes months before the boy can speak enough English to tell his parents that he already has a family back in India. Horrified, they try their best to track down his Indian family, but all avenues lead to dead ends. Meanwhile, they simply love him, change his name to Taj, enroll him in school, make him part of their family—and his story might have ended there had it not been for the pestering questions in his head: Who am I? Why was I taken? How do I get home? More than a decade later, Taj meets Priya, a girl from southern India with surprising ties to his past. Is she the key to unveil the secrets of his childhood or is it too late? And if he does make it back to India, how will he find his family with so few clues? Summary from www.theorphankeeper.com

When we're not making paper flowers and chasing our kids, we both love to read!  If this book isn't on your to-read list, then you definitely need to add it!  It's one of those books that cause you to think about how you would react in various situations and you'll absolutely feel all the feels!  I found myself relating to several of the characters in different ways.

Perhaps my perspective as an adoptive mom caused me to ponder on not only on what Taj went through, but his Indian Mother and his Adoptive Mother as well.  I can only imagine the heartache both of them experienced as one lost her son for years and the other realized that he really did have a family back in India that they couldn't find.  After reading this book, I find myself even more grateful to know my daughter's birth family.  To know that she was placed with us because they love her so much. 

Taj was on a journey to find who he was, where he belonged, and how to get home.  When you look at these questions, they're ones we all typically ask ourselves and need to find our own answers to.   All of our stories and paths are different and yet, the same.  As Taj searches and you see the miracles that happen, I can't help but relate in a small way to the joy he felt when he found some of his answers.  

As you read The Orphan Keeper, your heart will break for Taj, you'll cheer him on as he searches for answers, and celebrate with him as he finds some of them! We hope you'll give The Orphan Keeper a read and tell us what you think of it!