History Literature / TheFarm

* DefiniteArticleTitle

* MixedRace: Jane is half-Filipino (on her mom's side) and half-American (most likely white, on her dad's side); her father was, in fact, a U.S. serviceman who abandoned her mother after Jane was born. Mae Yu is half-Chinese (on her dad's side) and half-American (also most likely white, on her mom's side).

* TheTheTitle

** Catholicism does become a minor issue when [[spoiler:one Polish Catholic Host is forced to abort—because her baby has the genes for a likely acute form of Down's syndrome, which wouldn't reflect well on the pregnancy program in general]]. In discussions with Coordinators and other Farm staff and stakeholders, Mae observes that the spectre of an abortion could unsettle any Host with a reasonably strong Catholic conviction, or at least upbringing.

* VillainsOutShopping: The novel goes into much detail about Mae's professional and personal life, so even if she's viewed as a villainous overlord and control freak at the Farm, readers also see how she's planning her upcoming wedding (down to dress fittings and flower arrangements), and hints at her having an outrageous bachelorette party, among other things.

* ChristianityIsCatholic: For the Filipina characters, practically a given, though it's not brought up much outside a few relevant traditions. Jane and the other Filipina Hosts on the Farm (as well as other non-Filipina Catholic hosts) hear Sunday mass at an in-house chapel. The officiating chaplain is also implied to be Filipino or possibly generic Latino.

Jane Reyes is a struggling Filipina nurse-cum-caregiver recently arrived in the States. It's hard enough that the jobs she's had so far are lowish in pay, but she's also saddled with an almost-newborn daughter, Amalia, a product of wedlock with a cavalier man who left them soon afterward. Moving to New York to find better opportunities, she rooms with her older cousin Evelyn Arroyo, often just referred to as "Ate" (Tagalog for "big sister"), who helps to care for Amalia and to find Jane a job. Eventually one very promising yet intriguing offer surfaces: how would she like to get pregnant with the babies of paying clients? No—not like ''[[TheOldestProfession that]]''—but rather, she'll be implanted with the fertilised eggs of rich clients who can't themselves risk birthing them (for age, medical conditions, lack of time or other reasons), and she'll be hired to bring those people's fetuses to term, for a tidy salary and the promise of a huge bonus upon safe delivery. The employer, Golden Oaks Farm, is a surrogate-pregnancy farm in upstate New York.

** Catholicism does become a minor issue when [[spoiler:one Polish Catholic Host is forced to abort—because her baby has the genes for a likely acute form of Down's syndrome]]. In discussions with Coordinators and other Farm staff and stakeholders, Mae observes that the spectre of an abortion could unsettle any Host with a reasonably strong Catholic conviction, or at least upbringing.

Jane Reyes is a struggling Filipina nurse-cum-caregiver recently arrived in the States. It's hard enough that the jobs she's had so far are lowish in pay, but she's also saddled with an almost-newborn daughter, Amalia, a product of wedlock with a cavalier man who left them soon afterward. Moving to New York to find better opportunities, she rooms with her older cousin Evelyn Arroyo, often just referred to as "Ate" (Tagalog for "big sister"), who helps to care for Amalia and to find Jane a job. Eventually one very promising yet intriguing offer surfaces: how would she like to get pregnant with the babies of paying clients? No—[[TheOldestProfession not like ''that'']]—but rather, she'll be implanted with the fertilised eggs of rich clients who can't themselves risk birthing them. And she'll be hired to bring those people's fetuses to term, for a tidy salary and the promise of a huge bonus upon safe delivery. The employer, Golden Oaks Farm, is a surrogate-pregnancy farm in upstate New York.

* NextSundayAD: Sort of an inversion. There's no specific dates to indicate what year this is all happening in, but it's likely almost the present or at most a few years down from 2019, since almost all the featured technology is largely identical with that of ThePresentDay, as of the date of publication; it is, however, bleeding cutting-edge (as befitting a newly-established, multibillion-dollar business catering to billionaire clients). Even the audio equipment strapped on the Hosts' stomachs and used to deliver music straight to the unborn babies sounds entirely plausible already; it's treated more as specialised quality equipment for a specific industry than a common gadget from the near future per se.

About a surrogate-pregnancy farm in upstate New York, it's in essence a small-scale, [[NextSundayAD very near-future]] {{Dystopia}}, described in some circles as the millennial answer to ''Literature/TheHandmaidsTale''.

A 2019 novel by Filipino-American author Joanne Ramos. In essence a small-scale, [[NextSundayAD very near-future]] {{Dystopia}}, described in some circles as the millennial answer to ''Literature/TheHandmaidsTale''.

* BigBrotherIsWatching: The Farm is crawling with CCTV cameras, and the GenreSavvy Lisa often makes beelines for camera blind spots. The Farm's Coordinators can also track the movements of their Hosts via the [=WellBands=]], fitness monitors the Hosts are required to wear at all times (but are at least physically removable).

* BaitAndSwitchReveal: Jane was worrying all this time that Amalia was terribly sick. [[spoiler:When she breaks out of the Farm, she locates the hospital where Amalia supposedly is, and finds that it was ''Ate'' who was hospitalised all this time. (Amalia herself is fine.)]]

A 2019 novel by Filipino-American author Joanne Ramos, described in some circles as the millennial answer to ''Literature/TheHandmaidsTale''.

* NextSundayAD: Sort of an inversion. There's no specific dates to indicate what year this is all happening in, but it's likely almost the present or at most a few years down from 2019, since almost all the featured technology is largely identical with that of ThePresentDay, as of the date of publication. Even the audio equipment strapped on the Hosts' stomachs and used to deliver music straight to the unborn babies sounds entirely plausible already; it's treated more as specialised equipment for a specific industry than a common gadget from the near future per se.

* MixedRace: Jane is half-Filipino (on her mom's side) and half-American (most likely white, on her dad's side). Mae Yu is half-Chinese (on her dad's side) and half-American (also most likely white, on her mom's side).

* NextSundayAD: Sort of an inversion. There's no specific dates to indicate what year this is all happening in, but it's likely almost the present or at most a few years down from 2019, since almost all the featured technology is largely identical with that of ThePresentDay, as of the date of publication.