Book Review ~ by Bonnie

So ... Uncle Larry ( my Uncle Larry ... married to my Aunt Jo ) threw out the idea of doing book reviews once a month. We tossed around the idea of him starting a blog for that specific purpose and then he thought perhaps the Alley blog would be a good place to do it !! I think it's a great idea and I'm going to get the ball rolling.

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If you read my blog regularly, you will have already read this review ... except that I'm going to change the last bit because I've since finished the book I was reading when I wrote my review !!

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On with it then ....

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I've just recently discovered Jodi Picoult. About two months ago, I read Plain Truth on the recommendation of my best friend Shay. Since then, I've been reading every Jodi Picoult book I can get my hands on !! ( well, from the library that is ! I have to reserve them, and pay $1 but to me, that is much better than paying $25-$50 to buy it new ! )

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I'm going to cut and paste (the cut and pasted segments will be in green) a little synopsis about each book from the Aussie Jodi Picoult.com.au site . And then tell you what I thought ! That way, I won't give away any details that I shouldn't !!

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Before I do though, I must say. These books may not be for everyone. They deal with some very confronting and difficult modern day issues that people ( lots of times children ) face. The reason I like them is that she writes her stories from the view point of EVERYONE involved in the situation ! From the policeman, to the lawyer, to the judge, to the victim, to the victims family and friends, to the suspect, the suspects family and friends. You name it ... if the person is involved in any way, you get their view point. I love the way she so thouroughly explores every persons side of the story ! Lots of times it's not even so much about who is right. Sometimes everyone is right and everyone is wrong. I find her books challenging of view points I hold about situations I've never been involved with. There you go. My little disclaimer. Just so you know !

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This is the first book I read that totally got me hooked on this author !

"Moving seamlessly from psychological drama to courtroom suspense, Plain Truth is a triumph of contemporary storytelling. Jodi Picoult presents a fascinating portrait of Amish life rarely witnessed by those outside the faith and discovers a place where circumstances are not always what they seem, where love meets falsehood, and where relationships grow strong enough to transcend death. ~~ When Ellie Hathaway decides to defend an unmarried Amish woman against the charge of the murder of her own child, the urban-savvy defence attorney finds herself caught in a clash of cultures with a people whose channels of justice are markedly different from her own. Plain Truth is the extraordinary story of two unforgettable women - and what happens when their disparate worlds collide."~~

This next one took me a bit longer to "get into" but I'm glad that I stuck it out through the first couple of chapters ! This book left me with many unanswered questions and things to think about.

"Anna is not sick, but she might as well be. By age thirteen, she has undergone countless surgeries, transfusions and shots so that her older sister, Kate, can somehow fight the leukemia that has plagued her since childhood. Anna was conceived as a bone marrow match for Kate a life and a role that she has never questioned until now. Like most teenagers, Anna is beginning to question who she truly is. But unlike most teenagers, she has always been defined in terms of her sister and so Anna makes a decision that for most would be unthinkable a decision that will tear her family apart and have perhaps fatal consequences for the sister she loves. ~~ Told from multiple points of view, My Sister's Keeper examines what it means to be a good parent, a good sister, a good person. Is it morally correct to do whatever it takes to save a child's life even if that means infringing upon the rights of another? Should you follow your own heart, or let others lead you? What happens when emotion catches up to scientific advances?" ~~

This is the book I started while Rory and I had our weekend away ! Once started, I found this one almost impossible to put down. Very difficult subject to read about but again, fascinating from the different view points of all the characters !

"Sterling, NH is a small, ordinary New Hampshire town where nothing ever happens – until a student enters the local high school with an arsenal of guns and starts shooting, changing the lives of everyone inside and out. The daughter of the judge sitting on the case is the state’s best witness – but she can’t remember what happened in front of her own eyes. Or can she?

Featuring the return of some familiar characters (Jordan McAfee from The Pact and Salem Falls; Patrick Ducharme from Perfect Match), Nineteen Minutes asks what it means to be different in our society, who has the right to judge someone else, and whether a person is ever whom they seem to be. ~~
Intricately textured and rich with psychological and social insight, Jodi Picoult's novels grab readers by the throat from page one and never let go. As emotionally charged as any she has written, Nineteen Minutes may be her most stunning work to date." ~~

I just finished this one a couple of days ago. I enjoyed this one too but it wouldn't rank among my favorites.

"Delia Hopkins has led a charmed life. Raised in rural New Hampshire by her widowed father Andrew, she now has a young daughter, a handsome fiance, and her own Search and Rescue bloodhound which she uses to find missing persons. But as she plans her wedding, she is plagued by flashbacks of a life she can't recall. What are these memories and what do they mean? In shock and confusion, Delia must search out the truth among these newly discovered recollections even when they threaten to devastate her life, and the lives of those she loves most. ~~
With consummate skill and sensitivity, Jodi Picoult examines what happens when the past we have been running from catches up to us, and questions who we trust to tell us the story of our lives before we are capable of remembering it ourselves. Vanishing Acts is an impressive exploration of the very nature."~~

This is the one I am currently reading. Only 1/4 of the way into it, I haven't formulated an opinion as to whether or not I like it. I am already attached to the characters though, so I'll read it to the end !! An interesting difference in this book is that there are actual comic book drawings about 6 times througout the book. Not something I've seen done before.

**** I've since finished this book. It was interesting. Not my favorite of her books. Maybe not even one I would recommend. Certainly don't start with this one ! But you never know ... you might like it better than I did. ****

"Comic book artist Daniel Stone never for a moment suspected that the same boy whom his fourteen-year-old daughter, Trixie, loved might inflict upon her the worst possible harm. Could the young man, who once made Trixie's face fill with light when he came to the door, have drugged and then raped her? She says that he did, and that is all it takes to make Daniel, a man with a past he has hidden even from his family, venture to hell and back in order to protect his daughter. ~~ With a story that transports readers from small-town New England to the wilds of the Alaskan bush, and interspersed with parallel vision through the striking pen-and-ink pages of Daniel's graphic novel, Jodi Picoult probes the unbreakable bond between parent and child - and the dangerous repercussions of trying to play the hero."~~

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What have you been reading lately ?

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