Critical Praise

"First novelist Gowda offers especially vivid descriptions of the contrasts and contradictions of modern India...Rife with themes that lend themselves to discussion, such as cultural identity, adoption, and women’s roles, this will appeal to the book club crowd."

—Library Journal

"Fiction with a conscience, as two couples worlds apart are linked by an adopted child…A lightweight fable of family division and reconciliation, gaining intensity and depth from the author’s sharp social observations."

—Kirkus

"Set in California and the teeming city of Mumbai, Secret Daughter is a beautifully composed compelling story of love, loss, discovery and the true meaning of family."

—Anjali Banerjee, author of Imaginary Men

"Gowda has masterfully portrayed two families... linked by a powerful, painful tie that complicates their lives... A thought-provoking examination of the challenges of being a woman in America and in India --- and in the psychological spaces in between."

—Chitra Divakaruni, author of One Amazing Thing