The Memory Keepers Daughter by Kim Edwards.

I am surprised to read any discouraging reviews of this book. It grabbed my attention first-thing and sucked me into its plot to the end. The characterizations are unfortunately very true to life - people often share outer lives without ever confiding their inner selves. You have to live with your decisions, and lies only get harder and harder to divulge as time passes. Edwards caught this truth and showed it very compassionately and honestly. I found the whole family story to be very sad, especially since she spells out David's past & reasoning for his decision. The book is realistic in that people go on and handle what life throws them, good and bad. The history behind opening public schools to children with Down's Syndrome was also very interesting - I'm not so sure that society has changed much in this regard since 1960s/70s.