The Favor: A Novel (Hardcover)
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.
"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
“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
"[A] tale of hope in the advent of unexpected change. A touching novel about the power of female friendship, forgiveness, and honesty." — Kirkus