November 2010 - Book 30

House rules by Jodi Picoult
 Jodi Picault employs her much used style of varied persons to tell the story of Jacob, a young man with Aspergers syndrome, and his family. Fascinated by crime scene investigations, Jacob finds (or stages?) himself into the center of the murder investigation of his young tutor.

I found the facts surrounding Jacob and Aspergers syndrome fascinating and I have certainly in reading this story, gained a lot of sympathy for not only the sufferer but also the family. I can not help feeling extremely sympathetic towards other siblings and parents in this type of situation.

What I do love in Picault's work is the moral dilemmas lifted out which one often have to deal with while reading the book. On this book I found that element lacking. It was very  clear to me from very early on that Jacob could never have committed the murder and also why he did stage the scene. A bit disappointing.

Cat's opinion - a good read 7/10

May 2009 - Book 14

Harvesting the heart by Jodi Picoult

When I read the book I did not realize that this was only Jodi's second book and that possibly it does not offer the same challenges as her later books do.

Paige is a young woman that was abandoned by her mother as a toddler. This remains the main issue in her life as she meets a young medical student, Nicholas and marries him. Pushing aside her own dreams and talents to become his wife, she trips into an emotional ditch with the birth of their little boy, Max. When it all becomes too much for her, she does exactly what her mother did - she abandons him in his dad's care.

A bit too much of a romance story for my taste, at least characters develop and at the end of the book you do have a bit more empathy than at the beginning, both for Paige and her mother.

A so- so Picoult ( she has many more that are way better) - a 5/10

November 2009; Book no 32

Book 32: Handle with care by Jodi Picoult
In general I enjoy Jodi Picoult's books that deal with controversial topics - like her most read "My sister's keeper" and "Nineteen minutes". This book has more than its fair share of controvercial and heart breaking topics.

The main character Willow never speaks for herself and the whole book is constructed from letters or conversations directed to Willow. This makes for interesting reading and an unique angle.

What I did find very uncomfortable, I can really find no other way to describe it, is that I really never got to like Charlotte, in a sense the hero of the book. She is portrayed in a way which evoked very little sympathy in me - maybe this is due to peronality on my side. On the other hand, I really liked sone of the other characters where the father, Sean, and the doctor, Piper attracted me immediately.

I really hated the end of this book and would have loved any other ending.

Cat's opinion : an ok Picoult - 7/10