As I have mentioned in a previous blog post, Jodi Picoult is one of my absolute favorite authors. She is a particularly skilled storyteller: the subject of her novels is often shocking and troubling material, which she then proceeds to try to make sense of. Needless to say, her novels are gripping, tense and completely un-put-down-able.
Jodi Picoult centers her novels around a particular action or event – ranging from murder to suicide to molestation – then lets her story evolve from there. She relays the reactions and emotions of those involved, and also often employs flashbacks to give the reader an extra layer of information and hindsight. For me personally, reading Jodi Picoult’s novels has shown me that things aren’t as black and white as I once thought. I’d often read the blurb of one of Picoult’s novels, and believe I knew exactly what I’d do in such a situation, or what my opinion would be on a certain issue. But then I’d read the novel, and Jodi Picoult would open my eyes to things I’d never considered before.
Although Picoult has written many amazing novels, here are a few of my favourites:
Nineteen Minutes
One day in Sterling, New Hampshire, local teenager Peter Houghton walks into his high school with a gun, and kills 10 people. What follows is the aftermath for Peter’s parents, fellow students and the police, as the whole town tries to work out how such a tragedy has happened. We see hurt, anger and guilt emerge within those who knew Peter personally, as all have played a part in his violent outburst, and all have burdens to bear.
This was the first Jodi Picoult novel I ever read, and it remains as one of my favorites. Picoult shows how easy it is to hurt those around you, and how all your actions have ramifications you couldn’t even dream of.
The Pact
This is one of Picoult’s earlier novels, and definitely the most emotional.
The Hartes and the Golds have been close friends for 18 years; they live next door to each other, and their children, Chris and Emily, grew up together. But then they get a phone call in the middle of the night. Emily is dead, and Chris is in the hospital; a suicide pact gone wrong. Two families are torn apart as they struggle to cope with a tragedy no one saw coming, and no one understands. This novel is extremely raw and emotional; Emily’s pain and anguish felt so real for me, and I couldn’t stop crying the whole way through. This novel gives the reader an insight into the psychology behind suicide, and how a seemingly happy teenage girl could want so desperately to end her life.
Perfect Match
This novel has perhaps the most delicate subject matter of all of Picoult’s works, and for this reason incites the strongest reactions from it’s readers.
Nina Frost is an Assistant District Attorney, and spends her days speaking for children who cannot speak for themselves. She sees children fall through the cracks of the legal system all the time as they are unable to testify for themselves, and as a result, monsters get away with their acts of violence. But then Nina’s 5 year old son Nathaniel stops speaking. The truth soon reveals itself – Nathaniel has been sexually abused, and Nina will do whatever it takes to catch the man responsible, and protect her child.
Picoult takes the reader round and round in this novel, as the subject of your scrutiny constantly changes: everyone is a suspect, even Nathaniel’s father. And the question remains throughout of what should be done when the villain is caught: is prison too good for a pedophile?
Change of Heart
After the death of her first husband in a drink driving accident, June has finally begun to get her life back on track. She has a loving husband and two beautiful children; she couldn’t be happier. But then her husband Kurt and her oldest daughter Elizabeth are murdered. Michael Wright is a priest, and one of the 12 jurors who once sentenced Shay Bourne to death for his crimes. But now June’s youngest daughter Claire needs a heart transplant, and Shay is volunteering. Can June live with her daughter having the heart of a murderer? Wouldn’t she do anything to see her live?
Old wounds are opened up and examined as the clock counts down for both Shay and Claire, one an act of god and the other demanded by the people. Change of Heart examines capitol punishment in a way I’ve never read before, and certainly made me reassess my own beliefs.
Second Star To The Write 