The Favor: A Novel

by Adele Griffin

Overview

From National Book Award finalist Adele Griffin, an insightful and warmhearted story of two very different women who make an unexpected connection when one decides to carry a baby for the other.

At I'll Have Seconds, a high-end fairytale vintage dress shop in Manhattan, Nora Hammond loves nothing better than pairing a rare find with the perfect client.

At home, Nora grapples with the bleaker reality of enormous debt, a tiny apartment, and ever-dwindling hope that she and her husband Jacob will have a family of their own.

When socialite Evelyn Elliot charges into Nora's life, the women spark an immediate connection, and Nora is jettisoned into the heady whirl of New York's moneyed elite. As Evelyn's stylist and confidante, Nora needs to learn all new rules of engagement for the uber-wealthy. But it isn't until Evelyn decides her next cause is to carry a baby for Nora, that these rules— and this unlikely friendship—are tested.

A contemporary story that celebrates alternative routes to family, The Favor is an incisive examination of what it means to long for a child and what relationships cost us—and what they're worth.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781728264059
Publisher:	Sourcebooks
Publication date:	06/13/2023
Pages:	352
Sales rank:	521,078
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.10(d)

Editorial Reviews

"A celebration of the unexpected paths and lasting power of female friendship….a gem of a book" — Rebecca Serle, New York Times bestselling author of In Five Years and One Italian Summer

"Adele Griffin is a compelling new voice in literary fiction." — J. Courtney Sullivan, New York Times bestselling author of Commencement, Maine, The Engagements, and Saints for All Occasions

"Beautifully written and charming and funny and real." — Jennifer E. Smith, bestselling author of The Unsinkable Greta James

"A wise and sparkling story about how we connect and where we belong." — Jenny Han, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Summer I Turned Pretty series

"Warm, bright, and funny. I cheered for Nora every step of the way." — Abbi Waxman, author of The Bookish Life of Nina Hill

"[A] tale of hope in the advent of unexpected change. A touching novel about the power of female friendship, forgiveness, and honesty." — Kirkus

“Empathetically portraying the toll of fertility treatment...recommended for book groups and readers that appreciate engaging, warm-hearted stories that delve into complex relationships and situations.” — Booklist

From the Publisher

2023-03-28
When a woman in need of a surrogate meets a happy-go-lucky socialite, she receives an offer she can’t refuse.

Nora Hammond has gotten used to her life. She works at the high-end Manhattan vintage boutique I’ll Have Seconds, spends lazy Sunday mornings with her husband, Jacob, and FaceTimes her best friend, Meg, to discuss the dream homes they find on Zillow. Nora is content with what she has, though she's gone through years of failed IVF treatments that left her with nothing but bills. Just when Nora and Jacob embrace the fact that they may never have a baby, their carefully curated acceptance ends on one fateful day—the day Evelyn Elliot strolls into I’ll Have Seconds. A “Kentucky Elle Woods,” Evelyn is lavish, stylish, and delightfully over-the-top, and she’s a breath of fresh air blown into Nora’s dreary life. Evelyn saunters around the boutique, dropping thousands on blouses, gowns, and the rare books Nora loves. Baffled by the sudden commission windfall, Nora can’t help but feel enamored with her new customer. Not only did Evelyn breezily provide I’ll Have Seconds with its largest sale in months, but she later sent Nora a special gift for her styling assistance: a one-of-a-kind Dior cloak designed for her mother’s favorite poet, currently worth upward of $15,000. Evelyn begins asking Nora to complete a few personal assistant–type favors, sprinkling in cash and extravagant gifts, until she unveils her biggest thank-you yet: She offers to be Nora and Jacob’s surrogate for their final embryo. Nora is hard-pressed to refuse Evelyn’s offer, but soon enough, Evelyn’s lackadaisical approach to pregnancy and the Hammonds’ financial burdens threaten to ruin the unlikely friendship. Griffin’s novel weaves a tale of hope in the advent of unexpected change. Nora and Evelyn couldn’t be more different, and yet they connect through their cause as mothers, almost as if they are long-lost sisters. As the two are brought even closer together by the baby they share, Griffin deftly portrays how, despite that fact that motherhood looks different for all women, the love remains the same.

A touching novel about the power of female friendship, forgiveness, and honesty.

Kirkus Reviews