Goodreads | The Tenth Circle: A Novel

topics	replies	views	last activity
did i miss something, or is the drunk (joseph) daniel's long lost dad?	8	47	19 days ago, 01:05PM
Cane?	3	28	07/31/2008 10:17AM
The movie compared to the book	7	47	07/01/2008 08:14PM
The movie (6/28/08)	53	80	06/30/2008 08:37PM

Wormie rated it:

03/31/07

Read in March, 2006

recommends it for: nobody

Jodi Picoult’s most recent novel, “The Tenth Circle”, is, on the surface, a story of a family in transition. Daniel Stone is a loving husband and father. A comic book artist, Daniel put his family before his career, working from home so that he can take care of his daughter Trixie, while his wife Laura pursues her career as a college professor. From the outside, the Stones are a perfect close knit family but, as is often the case in real life, things are not perfect.

Daniel loves his f...more Jodi Picoult’s most recent novel, “The Tenth Circle”, is, on the surface, a story of a family in transition. Daniel Stone is a loving husband and father. A comic book artist, Daniel put his family before his career, working from home so that he can take care of his daughter Trixie, while his wife Laura pursues her career as a college professor. From the outside, the Stones are a perfect close knit family but, as is often the case in real life, things are not perfect.

Daniel loves his family, so he turns a blind eye to the rift that has formed between him and his wife. He stays silent when he sees Trixie growing up just a bit too quickly. He works on his graphic Novel “The Tenth Circle” and imagines that inaction will keep his family together.

One night his world falls apart. Fourteen year old Trixie comes home from a party in tears, her clothing ripped and her childhood gone. She accuses her 17 year old boyfriend of raping her. As Daniel rushes her to the hospital, he tries to reach his wife who is supposedly working late at the University. This is when the truth of her affair can no longer be denied. In just a few hours the fa�ade of the Stone family has been chipped away, and Daniel, Laura and Trixie lay broken in the rubble.

What follows is an often gripping story of love, betrayal, guilt, and responsibility. Through the first half of the novel, I found myself unable to put the book down. The story was powerful, I felt connected with the characters, and I wanted to know what would happen next. Picoult packs her novel with so many sub-plots and themes, that is it easy to lose oneself in the story. This, however, is also the book’s fatal flaw. Halfway through the novel, my interest began to lag. I wanted to know what happened, but there were so many sub-plots shooting off from the main story, that I started to feel removed from the family and what they were experiencing.

What began as a strong foundation for a great novel became complicated with so many twists and turns, that I lost my way. Surprises in the plot became predictable. I stopped believing in the plausibility of the action, and this made it impossible to enjoy or to even identify Picoult’s ultimate message.

So many things are right about this novel. Tying the story to Dante’s Inferno and his nine circles of hell was an ambitious endeavor, and Picoult makes it work. The idea that betrayal of one’s self will lead one to a new tenth circle of hell is interesting- the simple truth that we often create our own hell. The discussion of teen sexuality in today’s society was well explored, and is in some instances shocking. Picoult takes on the issue of identity, and of whether or not people are capable of change. There is so much to chew on in this novel, but ultimately, while it is tasty, it is hard to digest.

One interesting thing that Picoult does is to include a graphic novel within her book. Working with comic book artist Dustin Weaver, Picoult intersperses Daniel Stone’s graphic novel throughout her own. Between each chapter we are treated to a chapter of Daniel’s novel, which helps us to better understand his emotions. Daniel communicates most effectively through his art, so while he remains calm and supportive, it is only through his illustrations that we can see the depth of his rage and fear. I am not and have never been a fan of comic books, but I am a lover and a student of art, and I enjoyed the way Picoult included pictorial communication in this novel. It is something new and it is effective.

With “The Tenth Circle” Piccout has spread herself a bit too thin. Rather than highlighting her message, she buries it under too much detail and action. Instead of posing the questions, the final third of the novel tries, but fails, to hammer a message home. Ultimately, “The Tenth Circle” left me disappointed.
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Shannon rated it:

(review of isbn 1416538291)

05/20/08

bookshelves: comics, contemporary-fiction

Read in November, 2006

This is only the third Jodi Picoult book I've read, after Salem Falls and My Sister's Keeper, and it's not as good as those two. That said, there are some great things about this book.

It's not the first book to deal with themes of rape and death - I read the Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold a couple of months before and could quickly see how Picoult handles the issues better, in, it felt, a more mature way. Her characters seem more realistic, for a start, and what they go t...more

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Susan rated it:

11/04/07

Read in October, 2007

recommends it for: mystery lovers

The Tenth Circle is the second book I’ve read by Jodi Picoult. Similar to My Sister’s Keeper, the plot is developed through a family’s struggles over one problem that destroys the family, but also brings the characters together. I cannot say the book was disappointing, but it wasn’t as great as My Sister’s Keeper. However, it did keep me reading because Picoult has a way of keeping the readers guessing what really happened. I would have given this book five stars i...more The Tenth Circle is the second book I’ve read by Jodi Picoult. Similar to My Sister’s Keeper, the plot is developed through a family’s struggles over one problem that destroys the family, but also brings the characters together. I cannot say the book was disappointing, but it wasn’t as great as My Sister’s Keeper. However, it did keep me reading because Picoult has a way of keeping the readers guessing what really happened. I would have given this book five stars if there weren’t so many scenes that disturbed me. But overall, the book was compelling and the ending was a real twist to the story, which Picoult does a lot. However, the ending of The Tenth Circle wasn’t as surprising as the ending in My sister’s Keeper because Picoult drops many hints during the investigation scenes and the character’s personality.

Picoult does not stay with one character, although it is evident who the main character is. She tells the story in the third person point of view but focuses on one specific character in each section, making it seem as though the story was told in multiple first person point of views. The Tenth Circle can also be considered a multigenre piece because Picoult includes comic strips in between chapters. I found this really clever because one of the characters in the story, Daniel Stone, is a comic book writer and the plot of his comic strips reflects how he interprets what is happening in his life and how he wants to overcome the obstacles. Picoult even made a little note at the end of the book that in each comic strip there is a hidden message. When these messages are pieced together, the theme of the book would be revealed. When I started to read the book, I thought the plot was developed through character relationships and development, but after reading Picoult’s note, it seemed to me that the theme and plot were well planned out before the book was written.

The book disgusted me at some point because of the way the characters acted. Trixie Stone and Laura Stone are the other two members of the Stone family who I have grown to hate. But I couldn’t hate them long enough because their characters are so real. Picoult demonstrates how adolescents act at a certain age because of peer influence and how rashly even adults act when they are curious (about a relationship in this case). What I really love about Picoult’s style is that she gets immediately to the point and keeps the plot flowing at a fast pace, which keeps the readers interesting. When she believes she has given the readers too much information, she will slow down her pace and let the readers relax and digest what happened while still reading. By doing so, the read isn’t too intense but enjoyable. I really recommend this book to any mystery lovers, and I suggest reading this book first before reading My Sister’s Keeper because reading My Sister’s Keeper first will spoil the suspense of The Tenth Circle; Picoult’s style is easy to predict after reading one book.
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Ashley rated it:

05/24/08

bookshelves: by-jodi-picoult

Read in March, 2008

recommends it for: all mature high schoolers and even parents

The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult is based on a fourteen-year-old girl, Trixie Stone, who is madly in love for the first time with an upper classman named Jason Underhill, who happens to be the star hockey player of the town and well known by everyone. Sadly though, Jason doesn’t love Trixie; he merely only likes her. Because of this fact, after he broke off their relationship, he was the only one to move on. Trixie became depressed, desperate, and determined. To relieve her emotional pain, sh...more The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult is based on a fourteen-year-old girl, Trixie Stone, who is madly in love for the first time with an upper classman named Jason Underhill, who happens to be the star hockey player of the town and well known by everyone. Sadly though, Jason doesn’t love Trixie; he merely only likes her. Because of this fact, after he broke off their relationship, he was the only one to move on. Trixie became depressed, desperate, and determined. To relieve her emotional pain, she began cutting, which is a sign of deep depression. Also, she created a barrier between her and her dad, just as Jason had done with her.

But after Trixie was convinced by her best friend Zephyr that she should make Jason jealous by hitting on other guys and appearing to be easy, she lies to her dad by telling him that she is staying the night with Zephyr and that Zephyr’s mom will be there. When in reality, Zephyr’s mom is out of town and they are having a party full of guys, including Jason.

That night after giving oral sex to countless guys and playing strip poker, she finds herself alone with Jason. After realizing he doesn’t really want her back, but instead just wants to be friends with benefits, she tries to get away from him. Failing to do so, he rapes her.

Making the right decision, she chooses not to stay the night with Zephyr. Instead, she goes home in the middle of the night and places herself in the bathroom floor, where her father finds her crying and shaking violently. Then, she tells him. “Daddy, he raped me.”

After that night, Trixie’s life turns upside down.

They press charges and await a trial... but how can there be a trial if the suspect winds up dead?

What happens next? I can’t say, but you can find out. But I do have to say, things don’t always turn out the way you expect them to.

*** Sadly though, The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult has been challenged from a few highschools across the world because because it includes suicide and also sexual content, such as date rape and adultery. But in my opinion, it shouldnt be challenged nor banned because Picoult is not encouraging teens to do negative things but instead to send out a message: Do we really ever know anyone as well as we think we do?
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Nichole rated it:

07/19/07

So if one were to compare popular fiction with dining, you could probably say writers like Danielle Steele, John Grisham, Nora Roberts, etc are the McDonald's of writers. I would probably equate Jodi Picoult with Applebee's. Reading a Jodi Picoult novel is like casual dining. You pretty much know what you're going to get, and you don't expect anything life altering. But it's entertaining, it's atmospheric, and it certainly feels at least a bit more upscale.
This novel is about a family: a mom, ...more

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Tracy rated it:

08/17/08

bookshelves: fiction

Read in August, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

I think the honeymoon's over for me and Jodi. When I first read The Pact and Plain Truth, I thought she was great, but now she's leaving the cap off the toothpaste and her dirty socks on the floor. I truly wanted to love this book, and in the beginning I thought perhaps we were back to the standards of The Pact, but by the middle of the book I realized this was not the case.
First of all, there was way too much going on in this novel. I liked the dad's character and the parallel of his comic b...more

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Hope rated it:

05/28/08

I recently read The Tenth Circle by Jodi Picoult. On the surface the Stone family seems normal and perfect, but as the story continues their relationship falls apart. Daniel works at home as a comic book artist to be a stay at home dad for Trixie, while his wife Laura is a full time college professor. Daniel and Laura seem to put their daughter Trixie before everything else in life until the one time she actually needs her parents they aren’t by her side like she needs them to be.
When the...more

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Morgan added it

10/01/08

bookshelves: q1-2008

Read in October, 2008

recommended to Morgan by: My step-sister, Rachel
recommends it for: anyone who like Jodi Picoult

Fifteen year old Trixie Stone is just another ordinary teenage girl. As any other day would start, checking her alarm, slamming on the snooze button, buzzing right in her ear, uhh seven o'clock already! Trixie rolls out of bed, brushes her teeth, combs her hair, puts on the slutiest out fit she could find and rolled out the door. Waiting for Trixie outside the old rusted bathroom door, stood Zephyr, her best friend, who called Trixie a nut case. They plotted and plotted about how to get her ...more

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Lara rated it:

06/24/08

Read in June, 2008

The book is loosely based on/inspired by Dante's Inferno. I thought this was particularly ingenious. However, because of the 9 different levels of hell, it seemed that Picoult felt the need to make her characters go through each level in one way or another.

Some of the themes/issues dealt with in this book include: rape, adultery, cutting, teenage sexuality, depression, suicide, anger, dishonesty, drug use, abandonment, running away, and more. It all got to be a little bit too much for a ...more

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Liza rated it:

02/06/08

Read in February, 2008

Maybe because this is the fourth Piccoult book I've read, but this one, which was so acclaimed on the shelves, was a bit formulaic. I wasn't as taken by it as I thought I'd be. The topic was engrossing, a confused 14 year old, desparate to get her 16 year old boyfriend back goes above and beyond to seduce him then finds herself in a situation that she's not prepared for, with feelings she's not prepared for.

I appreciated the way Piccoult placed the issue of false accusations on the table, t...more

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Karen rated it:

06/26/07

bookshelves: i-read-it--you-should

Read in January, 2006

recommends it for: Everyone

There’s a surprise at the end of this book that I wish I had known about before I started reading. The Tenth Circle is a metaphorical journey through Dante's Inferno, told through the eyes of a small Maine family whose hidden demons haunt every aspect of their seemingly peaceful existence. Woven throughout the novel are a series of dramatic illustrations that pay homage to the family's patriarch, comic book artist Daniel Stone, and add a unique twist to this gripping story. Trixie Stone is an...more

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Rose Ann rated it:

05/29/08

bookshelves: club--today-s-reading-ladies, lent-to-others, own-read

Read in May, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jennifer rated it:

01/11/08

Read in January, 2008

So I think I'm missing something in Jodi Picoult's writing. This is the third book I've ready by her (Pact, Sister's Keeper) and I must say that I've felt the same way about all three. I don't really like the characters. I find it hard to feel sympathetic or compassionate towards anyone in the stories. Not that this is a requirement, but I think liking someone or feeling sympathy or empathy for them, makes for good reading. I will give Picoult credit in that she keeps me hanging on. I haven't no...more

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Gaby rated it:

05/01/08

Read in May, 2008

Jodi Picoult is officially one of my favorite authors. I loved this book! It was so good I didn't want to put it down.

When I first tried to read The Tenth Circle, I didn't get too far because I got bored and didn't really understand what was going on. When I picked it up again a couple of days ago, I couldn't put it down! I don't know what I didn't find interesting the first time I tried to read it.

This year in Global Lit. we read the Inferno. ...more

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Leigh rated it:

10/29/07

Read in October, 2007

The Tenth Circle is a book about Trixie, a young woman who is raped by her boyfriend. This one quick event has devastating consequences for herself, her family, her community, and the perpetrator. The book is constructed around a parallel journey undertaken by Duncan -- a character in one of of Trixie's father's graphic novels -- through the nine levels of Dante's Inferno. Pages from the parallel graphic novel are included at the beginning of each chapter.

I found the story to be intense and...more

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Ariella rated it:

08/19/08

Hm. I really don't know what to think about this one. As usual, Jodi Picoult has the gift of writing exactly what we all as humans acknowledge about human nature, yet are too afraid to say it out loud. She writes about our very deepest secrets and thoughts. If you want believability, this book gets a six out of five stars. In fact, I'd even go so far as to say that this is probably the most believable, life-driven book I've read. Better watch out though; this is NOT a book to be reading in your ...more

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Lain rated it:

11/30/07

I'm always up for a good psychological thriller, and Picoult certainly knows how to pick her topics. Memory regression, teen mass murder sprees, suicide pacts - you name it, and she's right there.

Though this book approaches the topic from an oblique angle, The Tenth Circle is, at its core, a story about family and the strength of those familial bonds. By tracing what happens to the Stone family after their daughter, Trixie, claims she has been raped by her ex-boyfriend, we investigate what ...more

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Lisa rated it:

04/21/08

Read in April, 2008

recommended to Lisa by: book club
recommends it for: book clubs--great discussion topics!

First, what I like about The Tenth Circle: Like the only other Jodi Picoult book I've read (My Sister's Keeper), I think the author does a really good job of picking interesting subject matter, and presents it in a compelling way. (As the mother of both a son and two daughters, I found the subject of this particular book to be thought-provoking. Was the 14-year-old protagonist raped, or not?) Picoult does an outstanding job of showing the flaws of her chara...more

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